Cinema
Blue Velvet
David Lynch · 1986
Synopsis
Jeffrey Beaumont, a student, returns to Lumberton, North Carolina, after his father's attack. Crossing a vacant lot, he finds a severed human ear, swarming with ants, and takes it to Detective Williams. Sandy, the detective's daughter, puts him on the trail of Dorothy Vallens, a cabaret singer, and Jeffrey investigates on his own with her; he discovers the world of Dorothy and Frank Booth, a sadistic gangster, behind the well-kept facades of the town.
Context
After the critical and commercial failure of his previous film, Lynch obtained final cut from the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group in exchange for a budget of six million dollars; a first cut of four hours was reduced to two. The film was released in the United States on 19 September 1986, and in France in January 1987. It borrows from Kenneth Anger and Douglas Sirk, marks the first collaboration with the composer Angelo Badalamenti, and the Roy Orbison song heard in it revived interest in the singer.
Who it is for
A film of two hours, in English, rated for viewers aged twelve and over in France, which contains scenes of rape.
Prizes and reception
Nomination for directing at the Academy Awards, acting award for Isabella Rossellini at the Independent Spirit Awards, and ranked by Sight and Sound, in 2012 and 2022, among the hundred greatest films of all time.
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