A Color in Film Study
Blue Velvet
David Lynch · 1986
criterionDramaCrimeHorrorMysteryRomanceThrillerHarvard Film PhD Program: Narrative FilmsCriterion Collection
Size
Finish
$60.00
Synopsis
College student Jeffrey Beaumont returns to his idyllic hometown of Lumberton to manage his father's hardware store while his father is hospitalized. Walking though a grassy meadow near the family home, Jeffrey finds a severed human ear. After an initial investigation, lead police Detective John Williams advises Jeffrey not to speak to anyone about the case as they investigate further. Detective Williams also tells Jeffrey that he cannot divulge any information about what the police know. Detective Williams' high school aged daughter, Sandy Williams, tells Jeffrey what she knows about the case from overhearing her father's private conversations on the matter: that it has to do with a nightclub singer named Dorothy Vallens, who lives in an older apartment building near the Beaumont home. His curiosity getting the better of him, Jeffrey, with Sandy's help, decides to find out more about the woman at the center of the case by breaking into Dorothy's apartment while he knows she's at work. What Jeffrey finds is a world unfamiliar to him, one that he doesn't truly understand but one that he is unable to deny the lure of despite the inherent dangers of being associated with a possible murder. Still, he is torn between this world and the prospect of a relationship with Sandy, the two who are falling for each other, despite Sandy already being in a relationship with Mike, the school's star football player.
Cast
Dennis Hopper·Isabella Rossellini·Priscilla Pointer·Hope Lange·Brad Dourif·Frances Bay·George Dickerson·Dean Stockwell·Laura Dern·Kyle MacLachlan·Angelo Badalamenti·Jack Nance
Film Credits
Cinematography by Frederick Elmes, with production design by Patricia Norris.
Screenplay
David Lynch
Cinematography
Frederick Elmes
Production Design
Patricia Norris
Music
Angelo Badalamenti
Country
United States
Language
English
Rating
R
Runtime
120 min
Box Office
$8,551,228
Awards
Nominated for 1 Oscar. 18 wins & 18 nominations total
IMDb
7.7/10 · 235K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
91%
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