Blue Velvet (1986)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

David Lynch

Writer:

David Lynch (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 September 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Most Talked About Film of the Decade (US Laserdisc release)

Plot:

After finding a severed human ear in a field, a young man soon discovers a sinister underworld lying just beneath his idyllic suburban home town.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Detective | Police Detective | Hospital | Singer

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 17 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Isabella Rossellini	...	Dorothy Vallens
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Jeffrey Beaumont (as Kyle Maclachlan)
Dennis Hopper	...	Frank Booth
Laura Dern	...	Sandy Williams
Hope Lange	...	Mrs. Williams
Dean Stockwell	...	Ben
George Dickerson	...	Detective Williams
Priscilla Pointer	...	Mrs. Beaumont
Frances Bay	...	Aunt Barbara
Jack Harvey	...	Mr. Beaumont
Ken Stovitz	...	Mike
Brad Dourif	...	Raymond
Jack Nance	...	Paul
J. Michael Hunter	...	Hunter
Dick Green	...	Don Vallens
Fred Pickler	...	Yellow Man
Philip Markert	...	Dr. Gynde
Leonard Watkins	...	Double Ed
Moses Gibson	...	Double Ed
Selden Smith	...	Nurse Cindy
Peter Carew	...	Coroner
Jon Jon Snipes	...	Little Donny
Angelo Badalamenti	...	Piano Player (as Andy Badale)
Jean Pierre Viale	...	Master of Ceremonies
Donald Moore	...	Desk Sergeant
A. Michelle Depland	...	Party Girl
Michelle Sasser	...	Party Girl
Katie Reid	...	Party Girl
Sparky	...	The Dog
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert J. Maxwell	...	Slow Club Customer (uncredited)

Directed by
David Lynch

Writing credits
David Lynch		(screenplay)

Produced by
Fred C. Caruso	....	producer (as Fred Caruso)
Richard A. Roth	....	executive producer (as Richard Roth)

Original Music by
Angelo Badalamenti

Cinematography by
Frederick Elmes		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Duwayne Dunham

Casting by
Pat Golden
Johanna Ray

Production Design by
Patricia Norris

Set Decoration by
Edward 'Tantar' LeViseur

Makeup Department
Jeff Goodwin	....	makeup supervisor
Dean Jones	....	special effects makeup
Barbara Page	....	assistant makeup artist
Barbara Page	....	hair stylist
Dean Gates	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Fred C. Caruso	....	production manager (as Fred Caruso)
Gail Kearns	....	production supervisor (as Gail M. Kearns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ellen Rauch	....	first assistant director
Ian Woolf	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Michel Anderson	....	props-set dresser
Shaw Burney	....	set prop man
Catherine Davis	....	art department assistant
Vernon Harrell	....	props-set dresser
Edward 'Tantar' LeViseur	....	property master (as Tantar Leviseur)
Tanya Lowe	....	scenic artist
Loren McNamara	....	props-set dresser (as Loren Mcnamara)
Les Pendleton	....	construction coordinator (as Les Pendelton)
Paul Sebastian	....	props-set dresser
Dawn Serody	....	draftsperson
Robert Testerman	....	chief scenic artist
Tim Viereck	....	lead carpenter
Arron Waitz	....	props set dresser
Doug White	....	props-set dresser
Mark S. Turner	....	stand-by painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Alan Abrams	....	assistant sound editor
Mark Berger	....	re-recording mixer
Karen Brocco	....	assistant sound editor
Frank E. Eulner	....	sound recordist (as Frank Eulner)
Rob Fruchtman	....	sound editor
Vivien Hillgrove Gilliam	....	dialogue editor (as Vivien Gilliam)
Sarah Goldsmith	....	assistant sound editor (as Sarah Rothenberg)
Richard Hymns	....	sound effects editor
Pat Jackson	....	sound editor
Ann Kroeber	....	sound mixer
Patrick Moriarty	....	boom operator
John Morris	....	assistant sound editor
John Nutt	....	dialogue editor
David Parker	....	re-recording mixer
Paige Sartorius	....	assistant sound editor (as Page Sartorius)
Michael Silvers	....	dialogue editor
Alan Splet	....	sound designer
Dennie Thorpe	....	foley artist
John Verbeck	....	assistant sound editor
Philip Rogers	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
George R. Hill	....	special effects (as George Hill)
Greg Hull	....	special effects

Stunts
Reginald Barnes Jr.	....	stunt performer
David Boushey	....	stunt performer
Robert Burton	....	stunt performer
Mark Fincannon	....	stunt performer (as W. Mark Fincannon)
Richard Langdon	....	stunt coordinator
Sherrie Ann Langdon	....	stunt performer
John W. McEuen	....	stunt performer (as John W. Mceuen)
Dean Mumford	....	stunt performer
Debra Shuckman	....	stunt performer (as Debra Schuckman)
Ken Sprunt Jr.	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Jock Brandis	....	rigging
Donne Daniels	....	key grip
Mark Shane Davis	....	dolly grip (as Mark Davis)
Monte Dhooge	....	electrical department
Lex DuPont	....	first assistant camera (as Lex Dupont)
Tim Farrow	....	electrical department
Austin Goss	....	rigging
Mike Hall	....	rigger
Douglas Evan Hersh	....	rigging (as Doug Hersh)
Robert Hoelen	....	rigging
Neil Holcomb	....	electrical department
Michael Katz	....	gaffer
Ross Kolman	....	rigging
Joe C. Maxwell	....	best boy (as Joe Maxwell)
Umberto Montiroli	....	still photographer
David Rudd	....	camera assistant
Roger Russ	....	electrical department
David Salamone	....	electrical department (as Dave Salamone)
Dennis E. Shelton	....	electrical department (as Dennis Shelton)
Anthony Stephens	....	grip department (as Tony Stephens)
David W. Strong	....	rigging (as David Strong)
James Tomaro	....	rigging
Steve Venetis	....	rigging chief
Jeff Williams	....	grip department
Franklin Williams Jr.	....	generator operator (as Frank Williams)
Jay W. Yowler	....	rigging (as Jay Yawler)
Joe D'Alessandro	....	grip (uncredited)
Dan Kneece	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sharon Bialy	....	casting assistant
Pamela Guest	....	casting associate (as Pam Rack)
Nina Axelrod	....	casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gloria Glynn	....	costume shop supervisor (as Gloria Laughridge)
Ronald Leamon	....	costumer
Henry Earl Lewis	....	set wardrobe

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter (as Donnah Bassett)
Brian Berdan	....	apprentice editor
Tim Craig	....	apprentice editor
Jonathan P. Shaw	....	assistant editor (as Jonathan Shaw)
Mary Sweeney	....	assistant editor
Daniel S. Frisch	....	post-production assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
Mark Adler	....	music editor
Angelo Badalamenti	....	conductor
Sandina Bailo-Lape	....	assistant music editor
Todd Boekelheide	....	music re-recording mixer
David Lynch	....	composer: additional music

Transportation Department
John Bankson	....	driver
Doug DuRose	....	driver (as Doug Du Rose)
Pat Hill	....	transportation coordinator (as Patricia Hill)
Cynthia Jarose	....	driver
A. Welch Lambeth	....	driver (as Welch Lambeth)

Other crew
Morris Atkins	....	location coordinator
Celia Claire Barnes	....	production assistant
Frank Behnke	....	intern associate
Edward Bowen	....	location assistant (as Edward Bown)
Peter Braatz	....	intern associate
Mary Bridges	....	craft service
Patty Clark	....	production assistant
Kathryn Colbert	....	production office coordinator
Chrissie Davis	....	production secretary (as Sarah Christine Davis)
Steve Day	....	production assistant
Roe Fonvielle	....	production assistant
Cindy J. Gray	....	assistant accountant (as Cindy Jo Gray)
Bobby Kearns	....	production assistant (as Robert Kearns)
Kathi Levine	....	assistant accountant
Lyn Lucibello	....	auditor (as Rita M. Lucibello)
Jennifer Chambers Lynch	....	production assistant (as Jennifer Lynch)
Rina Sternfeld-Allon	....	script supervisor (as Rina Sternfeld)
John Wentworth	....	assistant: David Lynch
John Wildermuth Jr.	....	key production assistant (as John Wildermuth)

Production Companies

• De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG) (presents)

Distributors

• De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)
• Alamode Film (2003) (Germany) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Columbus Film (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Concorde Filmverleih (1987) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Finnkino (1987) (Finland) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• AMLF (France)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (Czech Republic)
• CBS/Fox Home Video
• Castle Home Video (1999) (UK) (VHS)
• Filmmuseum Distributie
• Finnkino (2001) (Finland) (DVD)
• Jovem Pan Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (worldwide) (video)
• Paramount Pictures (Canada)
• PolyGram Video (1996) (UK) (VHS)
• Scanbox Entertainment (1999) (Finland) (VHS)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• TV3 (1992) (Finland) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (video)

Special Effects

• Van der Veer Photo Effects (titles & opticals) (as Van Der Veer Photo Effects)

Other Companies

• Cherokee Studios  music recorded and mixed at
• City of Wilmington, North Carolina  special thanks to (as The People of Wilmington, North Carolina)
• DEG Film Studios Inc.  catering by (as D.E.G. Film Studio)
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Film Symphony of Prague  music score recorded by
• Fincannon & Associates  additional casting (as Mark Fincannon And Associates)
• Fincannon & Associates  extras casting (as Mark Fincannon And Associates)
• Great Northern Brokerage Services  insurance by (as Great Northern Brokerage)
• Joe Dunton Cameras America  cameras and lenses by (as Joe Dunton Camera America)
• New Hanover Memorial Hospital  special thanks to
• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound re-recording
• State of North Carolina, The  special thanks to
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Finland:K-16 (1999) | Finland:K-18 (1987) | Israel:18 | Brazil:16 | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (re-rating) (1999) | Argentina:18 (video premiere) | Mexico:D (cut) | Norway:15 (re-rating) (2007) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | Greece:K-17 (tv rating) | Switzerland:18 (canton of the Grisons) | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

DEG Film Studios - 1223 North 23rd Street, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Company:

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)

Trivia:

Dean Stockwell held a worklight in the "In Dreams" sequence only after director David Lynch saw him holding one during a lighting session. He was originally supposed to hold a microphone.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Frank and Ben received their glasses there's some froth topping Frank's beer, but not Ben's. However, in the close-up of Ben there's clearly a thin layer of froth. Back to both in frame, and again Ben's beer has no froth.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Radio announcer: It's a sunny, woodsy day in Lumberton, so get those chainsaws out. This is the mighty W.O.O.D., the musical voice of Lumberton. At the sound of the falling tree, it's 9:30. There's a whole lotta wood waitin' out there, so let's get goin'.
Nurse Cindy: Mr. Beaumont? Your son Jeffrey's here to see you.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Wrongfully Accused (1998)

Soundtrack:

Blue Star

Only in dreams…

With Blue Velvet, David Lynch made a film that was so pure to his original vision that it would become the archetype of his work for the next fifteen years. Here, Lynch cast his ever probing, surrealist gaze upon small town middle America, and for the first time in a US film, showed the audience the darker side to what was often depicted as nothing more than the birth place of apple pie. We are drawn into the story almost immediately, with what would seem like a simple depiction of small town life, but the use of slow-motion hints that there is something not quite right with what we are looking at. So by the time Lynch has pushed his camera through the soft green grass of a regular front lawn, only to show us the slithering insects that hide in the darkness, we know that we are about to enter a very dark world.

Blue Velvet is a world filled with not only darkness, but also ambiguity. The characters of this world are constantly hiding behind some kind of façade, be it the wardrobe doors that practicing teenage voyeur Jeffrey peers from behind as he watches Dorothy and Frank interact, or something as simple as the make-up worn by Ben. Everything suggests to us that these characters inhabit a world at night, a world away from the life they live in the day. As the film moves closer and closer to the climax Jeffrey begins to feel more of a connection with Frank, having to go to some very dark places within his psyche. However Lynch's message, that underneath the normal persona of a regular human being is a repressed pervert laying in wait, or whatever point he is making doesn't really translate well. Not least to today's audience.

Blue Velvet is very much a film of its time, that time being the mid-eighties, with aids paranoia everywhere, it's easy to see this metaphor for the dangers of sex and love within the films turgid dreamscapes. But beneath this message hides a strong detective story, a modern day neo-noir that delivers interesting twists and a controversial pay-off with it's almost fairytale climax. This is the film David Lynch got right, proceeding to make great films that where all personal, but completely different in terms of style and substance from one another. Blue Velvet is a great film, with some fine (albeit bizarre) performances, still challenging to this day, If only Lynch hadn't gone on to spend the rest of his career re-making it.