Often in film criticism, the words “cult classic” are overused — unless you’re talking about a filmmaker with a filmography as iconic as David Lynch. Most people probably also associate Lynch with Twin Peaks, cherry pie, and a damn fine cup of coffee. Over a decade before TV viewers tuned in each week to find out who murdered Laura Palmer, Lynch was shopping around the screenplay for his neo-noir film Blue Velvet. It was turned down by several major studios due to controversial themes of sex and violence, until the independent studio De Laurentis Entertainment Group agreed to finance and produce the film, which was finally released in 1986. Now, The Criterion Collection has put together a gorgeous director-approved 4K digital restoration Blu-ray of Blue Velvet, which includes a cornucopia of special features.
A scene from David Lynch’s BLUE VELET. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, Blue Velvet follows college student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan), who returns home from college after his father becomes ill and is immediately immersed in a bizarre mystery. After finding a severed human ear, made by Jeff Goodwin of Wilmington’s own Bearded Skulls MUFX group, Jeffrey embarks on an investigation into who the ear belongs to with a detective’s daughter, Sandy Williams (Laura Dern). When they learn that a lounge singer named Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) might somehow be involved, they hatch a plan to get inside her apartment to look for clues. Dorothy catches Jeffrey in her apartment and finds herself strangely attracted to him. Mesmerized by Dorothy and attracting the attention of a host of shady characters, including psychopath Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), Jeffrey is soon plunged into a world of sex, crime, and chaos. Despite some of the problematic subject matter, such as Dorothy Vallens’s infamous rape scene, Isabella Rossellini’s performance is fearlessly flawless, while Dennis Hopper’s intensity as Frank Booth kickstarted his career in 1986, and Kyle MacLachlan’s subdued, dreamlike Jeffrey Beaumont cements Blue Velvet as classic cinema.
L-R: Isabella Rossellini as Dorothy Vallens and Kyle MacLachlan as Jeffrey Beaumont in David Lynch’s BLUE VELET. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
From the opening shots of blood red roses in front of a white picket fence below a blue sky to Isabella Rossellini’s deep blue eyeshadow and bright red lips as she sings “Blue Velvet” in front of the signature Lynchian red curtains, Frederick Elmes’s (Eraserhead; Wild at Heart) legendary cinematography gives the film a dreamy ambiance and otherworldly quality. The Criterion Collection 4K UHD Blu-ray of Blue Velvet impressively preserves the exquisite beauty of the original film, while also making it accessible for home viewing, and the film looks immaculate.
L-R: Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth and Isabella Rossellini as Dorothy Vallens in David Lynch’s BLUE VELET. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
There is an abundance of lore surrounding the making of Blue Velvet, including the fact that Lynch based some of the story and characters on incidents that occurred when he was growing up. Happily for cinephiles, there is no shortage of behind-the-scenes goodies on the Criterion of Blue Velvet. The Blu-ray includes The Lost Footage, 53 minutes of deleted scenes and alternate takes; Blue Velvet Revisited, a feature-length making of the movie filmed during production by Peter Braatz (Glazier Blues); Mysteries of Love, a 70-minute documentary from 2002 on making the film; It’s a Strange World: The Filming of Blue Velvet, a 2019 documentary featuring interviews with crew members and trips to shooting locations, as well as David Lynch reading from the book Room to Dream; and an interview with composer Angelo Badalamenti (Mulholland Drive; National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) from 2017.
The gorgeous 4K digital restoration Blu-ray of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet with special features will be available from The Criterion Collection beginning June 25th and is a stunning addition to any classic movie collection.
Blue Velvet Special Features:
- 4K digital restoration, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, supervised and approved by director David Lynch
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Alternate original 2.0 surround soundtrack
- The Lost Footage, fifty-three minutes of deleted scenes and alternate takes assembled by Lynch
- Blue Velvet Revisited, a feature-length meditation on the making of the movie by Peter Braatz, filmed on set during the production
- Mysteries of Love, a 70-minute documentary from 2002 on the making of the film
- Interview from 2017 with composer Angelo Badalamenti
- It’s a Strange World: The Filming of Blue Velvet, a 2019 documentary featuring interviews with crew members and visits to the shooting locations
- Lynch reading from Room to Dream, a 2018 book he coauthored with Kristine McKenna
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: Excerpts by McKenna from Room to Dream
- Cover by Fred Davis
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray Combo June 25th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official The Criterion Collection Blue Velvet webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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