Blue Velvet is an Experience, Wow!
You may recall that I wrote a blog on White Zombie’s La Sexrorcisto album a while back. If you’re not familiar, you can read it here. Anyway, I mentioned that this wasn’t an album but an experience and that it was hard to come down from the energy trip it was. Well, David Lynch’s Blue Velvet from 1986 was this album only a movie. Wow, this was a wild ride and an energy trip for sure. I could barely dictate my blog notes after watching this one because I had to chill out for a minute. Let’s toast a Papst Blue Ribbon beer and hit some nitrous oxide from the pocket of our sports coat then jump in this one. Just a joke but let’s begin our discussion of this controversial ‘80s film.
Let's Go Back to the '90s and VHS Tapes
Come with me if you will to the late ‘90s. My boi Daz and I went to hang out with a fellow who would become the valedictorian of our class. He earned a free ride to a prestigious college from his SAT score alone. This kid was odd but super cool. He liked to write novels and kept to himself. Weirdo films were his thing and many that I look for today I first heard of through him. Anyway, he rented Blue Velvet and another movie on VHS from Pick-a-Flick video. The three of us watched it and I remembered it being crazy but, I had forgotten just how crazy. This was such a fun experience because his parents let him watch whatever he wanted and me and Daz could smoke cigarettes there too. This made the experience even better for two rebellious teenagers.
Scenery in Blue Velvet
There are many intriguing things to see when watching Blue Velvet. The furniture and clothes are interesting. Blue Velvet takes us to nightclubs and apartment complexes, homes, and down city streets. This movie was filmed in Wilmington, NC if you’re interested. Blah, blah, 4 things stood out to me. First, there is a waterfall dresser with a circle mirror. A must-have for my collection. Second, there was a mid-century pink ribbon glass lamp that was crazy cool. The last two things have tires. First, Frank Booth, the main antagonist, drives a 1968 Dodge Charger. Need I say more? Finally, and perhaps most awesome of all, there was a 1971 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Lifeliner Ambulance. It is a clean full screenshot of it too – wow! You can see the screenshot below. You can visit IMCDb here to learn more about the vehicles in this film.
Frank Booth Makes Blue Velvet & The Greatest Acting I've Seen To Date
Blue Velvet may feature the best acting I have ever seen. Let’s look at a couple of illustrations. First, Kyle MacLachlan’s character Jeffrey Beaumont was fantastic. When he was afraid, I was afraid. When Jeffrey was cautious, I was cautious. He was so convincing that I felt like I was in the film and his role. As he hid in a closet and witnessed the introduction of Frank Booth, played by Dennis Hopper, I felt like I was hiding too. I’ve never experienced acting like this before. On to Frank Booth, wow! Frank Booth scared me. Dennis Hopper plays one of the best psychopaths I’ve ever seen on screen, and I’ve seen many. Blue Velvet was relatively clean until Frank showed up. Then the language and violence peaked. We’ve probably all experienced one of these personalities in our lives. I have.
Blue Velvet Through the Artist Lense
Film critics could spend countless prose on Blue Velvet, I’m sure. There’s so much to look at and analyze in this masterpiece. I have no training in film, so I’ll talk about what stood out to me. Putting my artist glasses on, here’s my perspective. When I was in psych school at Clemson, they taught me words like “mania” to describe how I feel most all the time. I think it comes with the artistic gift and helps with the different way in which I see the world. That’s another conversation for another time but, everything is fantastic, sometimes surreal, and always distracting for someone creative. Again, I can only speak for myself, but that’s how my mind tends to work. This part of me linked with Blue Velvet – we connected.
It’s not enough to just be loud in your voice, you must use profanity. Profanity itself is not enough, you must excessively use profanity and choice words frequently. Violence? Oh yes, and it must be extravagant and administered with style. There is no punching someone but beating them unconscious and leaving them along the highway. Your friends hold them so they can’t fight back, and you can enjoy the punishment. You can’t just drive a ’68 Dodge Charger. You must take people on “joy rides” with no joy at all. You must push that Charger to the limit. Don’t make turns, slide around corners as you scream and laugh. It’s not Papst Blue Ribbon Beer, it’s “Papst ‘Explicative’ Blue Ribbon Beer.” I’m not saying I feel like this, just illustrating the lavishness of Blue Velvet’s world.
White Picket Fence, Rose Garden & All
As an artist who dabbles in video production, I noticed some things that I found relatable. Video transitions are something that I pay attention to since I’ve been using Adobe Premiere Pro. Creative uses of these are highly regarded in my eyes. Blue Velvet had a few. The one that stood out to me occurred early in the movie. You could just dip into a black screen then into the next scene or, you could take a creative approach which might look like the following. The camera zooms in on a grassy yard, into the blades of grass where it finds a beetle, then into the soil behind the beetle, whose dark color becomes black which then becomes the black screen that then fades into the next scene. Thought was given to transitions in Blue Velvet and that’s an artistic touch.
Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" & The Blue Velvet Soundtrack
A third example is the scene in which Dean Stockwell’s character “Ben” sings “In Dreams” by Roy Orbison into a light used as a makeshift microphone for his performance. It’s Roy Orbison singing, and Ben lip sings along. All of this takes place as he is dressed in ‘70s fashion and holding a cancer stick in a cigarette holder. Ben has on a lot of makeup and the crowd in the brothel he is running is as low class as him. A man can be seen standing on the arm of a leather couch in the background. This same fellow later is dancing on the couch as he holds a snake above his head. All of this is such a surreal event and Frank Booth, the psychopath, is very moved by the performance. No, “In Dreams” playing over some filler footage wouldn’t have been enough.
A side note on the Roy Orbison song – the soundtrack for Blue Velvet is nothing less than hypnotic. Every tune is perfect – such a great soundtrack – RZA-level quality here. There’s so much in this movie that I can’t cover it in just one blog. Blue Velvet’s pace is slow but consistent. Except for bursts where Frank Booth is being a psychopath. This helps to create great suspense that soaks the entire 2 hours. There are plenty of twists and turns and honestly, Blue Velvet reminds me a good bit of Natural Born Killers. With all the turns, it ends right where it starts with a portrait of an American family, a white picket fence, a blue sky, a rose garden, a manicured lawn, and all.
A Papst Blue Ribbon and I'm Out
While I have added Blue Velvet to my favorites list, I could not handle this level of energy all the time. I think my mind would explode. If you’ve never seen Soft White Underbelly on YouTube, you should check the channel out. The host interviews people from the underbelly of society. Frank Booth would be a fantastic guest on this show – he would fit. If he wasn’t violent. Blue Velvet was not well received when it was originally released but, it has since gone on to be a fan favorite. From what I’ve read, because of the violence and sexual nature of the movie, it was criticized heavily. Although progressive as evil is, David Lynch’s classic is nothing by today’s standards.
I’d love to talk to someone who saw Blue Velvet in 1986 when it came out. I was 4 and even if I had watched it, I wouldn’t remember. So, if you saw it on its opening run, please let me know in the comments. Let’s get a conversation started. What was it like? Just how controversial was it? While you’re on my page, you can read more blogs here, look at my artwork here, and link up with me on social media here. All likes, follows, shares, etc. are appreciated. Peace.