As the noise grows louder, the camera then goes right under the grass and into darkness, until the darkness remerges to be beetles crawling under the ground. All right. The robin comes in with the beetle in its mouth, mirroring the opening sequence which showed the bright, happy suburban life (introducing the robin early on) and which descended immediately into darkness, when we go underground and see the teeming underworld of suburban wasteland, the beetles scampering over each other. But by the end they become this image of how close our darkness lies. This is evident throughout the film and the dynamic between the three leads. Symbolism was mostly present in the colors that mostly stand out to the human eye - black, white, red, blue, and a little bit of yellow. The rest of the cast is ok, nothing spectacular. Frank is a foul-mouthed, violent sociopath whose orgasmic climax is a fit of both pleasure and rage. By now the song “Blue Velvet” is completely gone and all we hear is buzzing and crunching and sliming of the bugs, as well as the trademark Lynch drone. Specifically in Sandy’s monologue, she explains the biggest contrast in the film between love and darkness. The use of color in this film is absolutely outstanding. One of the many factors why most tend to either hate or love his movies, I don't believe I know someone lukewarm about his works. I like unconventional things on films, for example Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but here in my opinion the result is poor and unbalanced. They look kind of similar, he's wheezing and struggling to speak (Frank uses an inhaler later on), and there's a vaguely threatening quality in the way he interacts with his son. Directed by David Lynch. $3.99 Rent HD. The hose is now literally a phallus. We’re brought into a world which seems dreamlike and fantasised. Now there’s an entire essay to be written on the importance of this song and how it relates to the film, but let’s leave that for another time. Together with green, the color blue is known to be the most relaxing on both the eyes and the mind in the entire color palette. Frank succumbs to every sexual want, drink and drugs but we're still aware that he too has a past that he fell away from. It’s a suburban house like any other. Blue Velvet – 15,380 people a month google for further explanation. The frame dissolves in to a blue sky and we hear the musical namesake of the film, the love song “Blue Velvet”. I'll address your first point: the robin. The suspense is all so gripping. The static shots used throughout the scene further represent this fixated state. I think it comes down to taste if you find it to be an example of "how a master filmmaker builds tension and anticipation" or some heavy handed editing/cutting. It's more or less the argument I make to others about why this film is interesting. This irregularity in the Blue Velvet universe is commented on several times by various characters who repeat the phrase, “it’s a strange world” in varying contexts. But we can't have happiness without darkness littering the trail behind us. It seems Jeffrey’s quest is similar to the robins, as he is destined to bring love into this world of darkness, to rid the world of trouble, effectively ridding the town of Frank. In Lynch’s version of the Primal scene Jeffrey is in the position of the son, witnessing this sexual act of the parents. A child approaches him as the dog repeatedly bites at the spraying water. I have reacted to "Blue Velvet," too. It's not real at all. There’s something wrong with his hose (pun intended). Everything is oh so pleasant. Getty Images. In the final scene of the clip we get dialogue for the first time. I love this film and I think that your analysis of the opening scene is spot-on. This essay will discuss the film Blue Velvet, with reference to Erica Sheen’s book ‘The Cinema of David Lynch: American Dreams, Nightmare Visions’. Many of Lynch's films mirror his own experiences with creativity and especially his espousal of using meditation to "dive within" for inspiration. Dorothy was a troubled woman with sexual endeavors and had a way of manipulating innocent men. Pushing deeper and deeper to show us what lies underneath all these on-the-surface pleasantries we were exposed to so far. I sometimes think of it as equivalent to Coltrane's Giant Steps - there's a really strong structure around Lynch's riffs, and that structure starts to recede more and more as Lynch's career goes on, with something like Inland Empire being close to Sun Ship in terms of its lack of approachable organizing structure. Guess I'll go see Transformers: Age of Extinction now. I like to think of Lumberton as a proto-“Twin Peaks” town, and if you do compare that show to this film you will recognize many similarities. Blue Velvet Revisited is a 2016 documentary film, directed and edited by Peter Braatz.Using a montage technique, it documents the making of David Lynch's critically acclaimed film, Blue Velvet, using a combination of filmed footage, photographs and interviews captured on set by Braatz, with an accompanying soundtrack by Cult With No Name, Tuxedomoon and John Foxx It really comes across how personal this film feels to you. Now you are talking: Blue Velvet is my favorite film, has been since i dragged my friends to see it when it opened. He uses a wide angle lens to put us in the closet with Jeffrey and switches in and out of a close up of Jeffrey’s face and his point of view. Critics have seen the film as one long dream sequence in Jeffrey’s head, as he awakes in the end of the film on a lawn chair and everything seems fine, with Sandy in the kitchen. And because there is something mysterious and even frightening under that blue velvet. He lets people say those things, says "Yeah," then talks about missing Elvis's first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show because he was out for a walk, looking at what color lawns are in the dark. The next shot is of the television that the mother is watching. "Blue Velvet" contains scenes of such raw emotional energy that it's easy to understand why some critics have hailed it as a masterpiece. For instance, Jeffrey halts mid conversation to demonstrate an imitation of a chicken for Sandy, in which she laughs and they continue walking. When Frank proceeds to open the closet Jeffrey shoots him in the head, killing the Father figure. I tend to lose sight of the fact that, yes, indeed Lynch was a painter before moving into film. I saw the Straight Story long before I was even into film the way I have been for the last few years, but I have seen Twin Peaks which I liked a lot, although I wouldn't argue is the greatest TV show ever. We get more quick shots of the town, the last one being of a strange man whirling a chain (another detail that reminds us of that crucial juxtaposition). We continue listening to the local radio as we’re introduced to the town in a wide establishing shot. One of Frank's fetish objects is a blue velvet robe that he makes Dorothy wear during the ordeal. Red, white and blue – this is the quintessential image of Rockwellian suburbia. I saw Blue Velvet, and I loved it, except the ending. Several parts of the movie remind me of dreams or the type of dreams that I've had. It doesn't belong in the real world. They can't win every time. Because think about the scourge of beetles lurking just beneath the surface. There is a bizarreness that gives the sense we are dealing with life through the lens of a dream. This lack of reaction implies this dreamy detachment. Each character seems to receive strange dialogue and disturbing events with complacency. And he's going right for the throat with his portrayal of the ugliness that can be found underneath that picture-perfect illusion of small-towns and suburbs. The beautiful cursive font does not conflict this idea, it supplements it since the font is lacking any jagged edges. In the following shot we are shortly introduced to our protagonist as we watch him walk with some melancholy through a green field. For Sandy... well, Sandy is just Sandy. The next shot goes deep in to the grass. These are two Freudian theories that can be seen within Blue Velvet. The main character just goes deeper and deeper into this mystery and it becomes a mystery thriller in dream land. And all of a sudden, thousands of robins were set free and they flew down and brought this blinding light of love. We first hear a deep noise, before we’re brought down to the level of the grass. The main four characters depict the contrast of the central theme of desire, each showing a different side of longing. Blue Velvet. And look at how brilliant the juxtaposition of this imagery is. I like Blue Velvet a lot because there is a lot of really varied readings about it. Saying that though I always think that the robin is so artificial that it makes me wonder how long this "victory" will last. Thousand miles away from Twin Peaks. Don't forget the scene where Jeffrey disguises himself as the bug exterminator! We go past that well mown lawn and see something disgusting. We're where Yankee Candle comes from f'chrissakes, Nelson Rockefelker went to private school here. I really hope this doesn't come off as rude, especially because I think your analysis is exactly right. I would guess this would be true for many people. The day is saved...for now. The Subconscious Both Freud’s theories of the Oedipus Complex and Primal scene are dealt with in ones subconscious. LYNCH DISCOVERED ISABELLA ROSSELLINI IN A RESTAURANT. The bottle is close to breaking with this new wine, and it finally breaks. 1. Frank is the epitome of someone who has completely succumbed to their dark side to the point that they are the dark side. It’s a very homely atmosphere but the doll in the center of the frame seems creepy as hell. What does the dreamlike vision do for the story? Blue Velvet isn’t a tale of morality or a preachy proclamation, but instead a very real depiction of the danger in attaching oneself to nostalgic dreams. These desires are for love (Sandy, Frank), moral closure (Jeffrey), sexual satisfaction (Frank), success (Dorothy), and human closeness (all), things proving to be quite elusive for the characters. This can be seen from the very start of the film, as the blue curtains open and we’re brought into the world of Blue Velvet. I found Blue Velvet to be disturbing in a very soap-opera kind of way. This little summer adventure he was having coming right into his 'normal' life. The darkness has been dispelled. EDIT: made my analysis of the opening sequence clearer, elaborated on the implications of the old woman's line. She also is seen as a mother figure to Frank too, as he makes evident by calling her ‘Mommy’. Notice how there is a gap between one set of kids and the other...that gap is supposed to represent Dorothy's missing son. Lynch uses many visual motifs to further establish a symbolic Oedipus complex with the characters. I recommend you watch that clip before reading on and to keep it in mind (and even revisit it) as we continue forward. Take the opening sequence, for example- everything there is real, but try finding a sequence like that in any other "realistic" film. It's one thing to explain what a scene is doing, it's another to celebrate it within the analysis. Jeffrey will behold horrors, and he’ll fall in love. What I don't understand is - I've seen this analysis for the film before, and whenever I do, it is used as a reasoning for why the film is so great and important. The film is a simple story, a Romansbildung... a coming of age story. Rossellini and Lynch … Though in real life he calls this process "beautiful" and "transcendent", his films tend to flip the focus to the dark side of his inspirations and fascinations. So, I guess it means that there is trouble until the robins come. Welcome to Lumberton folks! It manifests itself most commonly with “the erosion of the joie de vivre”, but not in this film. During Frank’s personality changes, he defines himself as both the ‘Daddy’ and ‘Baby’. I love this post. Nice detailed analysis. It's all too much like a sick vivid dream, that explores the horror and imagination of something that couldn't possibly exist. It encompasses the events of the entire film, if we view Jeffrey as the robin, hopeful, curious, agent of light. He is all dressed in black, telling us that he’s no ordinary Norman Rockwell townie. In dreams, reactions and feelings are either detached or exaggerated, such as extreme feelings of fear from nightmares or euphoria from good dreams. As an experienced and clever film critic, I even know how to write fashionable praise about the film -- how to interpret the director's message, how to show I am bright enough to understand his subtleties. The swaying fabric reinforces this pleasant image and everyone knows just how soft velvet is. He stops and throws a rock at a shed – a small but important clue to his character, showing him as curious. First off it is a clear statement that we’re entering a new sequence in the film, and secondly it reinforces the unease in the viewer because it is such a sudden and unexpected shift in tone. The frame dissolves in to a blue sky and we hear the musical namesake of the film, the love song “Blue Velvet”. The strangeness reinforces that we are not dealing with a story in the real world but rather one in which the strangeness of a dream is common place and a more horrifying nightmare constantly lurks underneath. But there is so much more in the film too. Lynch delves into the subconscious through his use of thematic imagery. Its not too long. [2: 2004; p.54; Gonzales] The Oedipus complex involves the idea of longing for the Mother and showing a strong jealously or hatred towards the Father figure. From the first time I saw it, I knew exactly what the film was trying to say in this opening sequence. Maybe the love that saved the day is as artificial as the robin we see at the end, I think it's more showing that we're always on the fringes of darkness though. The film cuts fast between these next few repeated shots -- the father tugging, the hose, the choking -- culminating in the father suffering a stroke. Once I can be disengaged with the film, then I can also get more analytical about it. The shot begins as we see an ear. Everything feels fairly grounded. Everything within this scene fits Freud’s theory perfectly. The dialogue between Jeffrey and Sandy is just downright entertaining to listen to, there's just something about it that pulls me into their little world and I can understand what each character is feeling. Hopefully this will unravel some of the film’s themes for you folks who have seen it and find it lacking or impenetrable. Whether this adds anything or not, this is something I worked on dealing with the possible context for the image of the man in yellow being shot in the head; the question is not whether or not the hypothesis given is valid or not - but to demonstrate that circumstances surrounding this incredibly exotic, very memorable image may well be very mundane, the way this movie takes things that would be the very mundane components of another movie into something striking, a world that feels as if it's never been shown before. And look at how he proves he's a master by. I think that in Blue Velvet a huge debt is owed to Alfred Hitchcock who pioneered this kind of meticulous and clear communication with the audience. I can't understand anything of it (even when I read the interpretations). At no point does it dip into the fantastic or the dreamworld, as Peaks or Mulholland do, even if the explanation for these dreamworlds is madness. It is very possible. The world is populated with each character being a heightened version of a more realistic archetype (the naive detective, the all American girl, the noir damsel jazz singer, the perverted antagonist). But I don't find any of this to be less than completely obvious. “So I wanted them to be engaged in what I was doing. Films that have that quality can also be great. The surrealism. Because Jeffrey is a curious boy. Through his victory over Frank, Jeffrey inherits the role of Father. There's a fair amount of profanity used in the movie, mostly in the form of the use of the … We are unable to move, just like the camera.*. The Oedipus Complex is a psychoanalytical trope which can be clearly seen throughout Blue Velvet. “‘Blue Velvet’ was my second film and my second film with David,” MacLachlan said. An analysis of Blue Velvet. I spent a great deal of time my freshman year of college unpacking this film, here are some of my thoughts regarding the Lynchian universe and numerous juxtapositions contained within the film (for me, Blue Velvet is a film of contrasts). Very well said. I do enjoy Blue Velvet, but mostly for the unique atmosphere it creates. As Gonzales says: “The permutation of roles and attributions, positions of identity and desire, are everywhere evident in the texture of Lynch’s narrative. Now there’s an entire essay to be written on the importance of this song and how it relates to the film, but let’s leave that for another time. This introductory credits sequence perfectly captures the essence of the film and sets up the tone. At the end, one robin has eaten one beetle. Jeffrey gives up his “unhealthy attachment to the mother figure and displaces his affection onto a more appropriate figure, that is, Sandy” [3: 2004, P.57; Gonzales]**, The Primal Scene *Freudian’s Primal scene theory can also be seen in the film in one key scene. The Oedipus complex is represented in the film by the three lead characters, Frank Booth, who represents the Father, Dorothy Vallance, who represents the Mother, and Jeffrey Beaumont, who represents the son. Blue Velvet is one of the darkest films I have seen. And look how undeniably amazing all of this is...". New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Press J to jump to the feed. However, the obvious and purposeful artificiality of the robin continues with the theme of an unrealistic universe Lynch has created for his film. There's definitely a lot of essays about how its a comment on the Reagan era, or just American life in general, which I agree with. The acting is powerful in other words, although at first something seemed so different, almost as if the actors were reading dryly from the script they had just remembered, but it eventually becomes engrossing and real. It is all so… mundane. It is a realization that serves as a crucial motivating factor for our young protagonist for the rest of the film. The main thrust of the film is dealing with being caught between good and evil. There's just something, disturbing about the place and kind of trippy. It might be Pollock, or da Vinci, Michelangelo, van Gogh, Cezanne, Picasso, or whoever. It's not real at all. And of course if there are any objections to this text I will be happy to discuss them as well. The surreal portrayal of an underground group of criminals, led by the sexually abusive Frank Booth, is incredibly dream like and downright scary. And all we see is classic small-town Americana. I too think the message and theme is quite clear (and it is also clear how Lynch goes about realizing his goals), but that in no way detracts from the greatness of the film. It gives these credits a sense of mystery. I think this line is far more important than a bit of comic relief for the ending. It is in fact so important that the film goes even closer on the animal. I just think that vision of the roses is so simple and elegant, what could be romantic becomes something much more lurid by the end. I think it's always important to see Lynch in the context that he began as a painter, rather than in narrative arts. Frank Booth embodies the beetle, the underworld. I like the dreamer vision, but I don't get the symbolisms it tries to use, and to be honest Lynch gets on my nerves having to guess all the time what the hell is trying to tell me (probably nothing). So many jokes have been made about Americans and their lawns. Conclusion To conclude, it is clear from analysing Lynch’s Blue Velvet, that this complex film deals with a great many themes and theories. And this approach of Hitchcockian simplicity and clarity is also a trademark of many other master filmmakers, like Michael Haneke and Stanley Kubrick (who even used this method against itself in films like 2001 and The Shining, in order to create ambiguity and even confusion). Zizek examines the Oedipal Interpretations of Blue Velvet's most infamous scene. I think The Elephant Man is his best and I guess if that wasn't so successful he wouldn't have had the freedom to do Blue Velvet. The film cuts for the first time and we see the father watering the lawn – another iconic image. We are horrified, but also completely fixated and unwilling to remove our eyes. A crucial reinforcement of what was merely hinted at before – sexual dysfunction. She’s holding a stop sign towards us, telling us that we have arrived at our destination. 16. 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