Search - Blue Velvet [Special Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Strong Sexual Content, Not For Children, Profanity, Substance Abuse Movie Release: 1986 DVD Release: 06/04/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 1 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 21 Genres: Mystery, Americana, Post-Noir (Modern Noir), Crime Thriller See Also: Blue Velvet

Director David Lynch crafted this hallucinogenic mystery-thriller that probes beneath the cheerful surface of suburban America to discover sadomasochistic violence, corruption, drug abuse, crime and perversion. Kyle MacLachlan stars as Jeffrey Beaumont, a square-jawed young man who returns to his picture-perfect small town when his father suffers a stroke. Walking through a field near his home, Jeff discovers a severed human ear, which he immediately brings to the police. Their disinterest sparks Jeff's curiosity, and he is soon drawn into a dangerous drama that's being played out by a lounge singer, Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) and the ether-addicted Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper). The sociopathic Booth has kidnapped Dorothy's young son and is using the child as a bargaining chip to repeatedly beat, humiliate and rape Dorothy. Though he's drawn to the virginal, wholesome Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), Jeff is also aroused by Dorothy and in trying to aid her, he discovers his dark side. As the film nears its conclusion, our hero learns that many more indivduals are tacitly involved with Frank, including a suave, lip-synching singer, Ben (Dean Stockwell), who is minding the kidnapped boy. Director Lynch explored many similar themes of the "disease" lying just under the surface of the small town, all-American façade in his later television series Twin Peaks (1990-91). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Kyle MacLachlan - Jeffrey Beaumont
Isabella Rossellini - Dorothy Vallens
Dennis Hopper - Frank Booth
Laura Dern - Sandy Williams
Hope Lange - Mrs. Williams
Dean Stockwell - Ben
Brad Dourif - Raymond

One of the great cinematic causes célèbres of the 1980s, David Lynch's florid and surreal examination of the corrupt undertow of an innocent community receives an appreciative DVD presentation in this release from MGM Home Entertainment. Blue Velvet has been given a letterboxed transfer to disc in the widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and has been enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16 x 9 monitors. The transfer was supervised by David Lynch (though unlike most Lynch-approved editions, this one includes chapter stops), and it makes Frederick Elmes' cinematography look nearly as good as it did in theaters, preserving the rich blues and reds of Lynch's signature palate. The English-language soundtrack has been given a rich-sounding but effectively accurate remix in Dolby Digital 5.1, while a dubbed French track appears in Dolby Surround and a Spanish version is in Dolby Digital Mono. Optional subtitles have been provided in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Topping the film's selection of bonus materials is "Mysteries of Love," a 70-minute documentary on the making of Blue Velvet, which features illuminating interviews with much of the film's cast and crew (though Lynch appears only in older interview clips). Also included are photo montages which attempt to suggest the look and style of several deleted scenes (the outtakes themselves are apparently lost forever), three galleries of production stills, an excerpt from Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel's televised review of the film, and the film's original trailer. All in all, this edition of Blue Velvet offers an excellent video presentation of the film and is as sound a place as any to evaluate its virtues, which are still being debated. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide