Blue Velvet 25th Anniversary: Smooth Yet Criminal
Finally, a worthy version of this film. Sure, VHS tapes that you could trade like samizdat had an appeal amongst film geeks a couple of decades ago. But Blu-ray quality and size have allowed MGM to bring a superb transfer and so many extras that any fan will be left dazed. David Lynch might not always make sense, but here is your chance to pull back the curtain some, thanks to an eight-part documentary (!) that explores characters and plotlines in depth. Of course, that's paired with an extra 50 minutes or so of deleted footage that adds a lot.
So, what is Blue Velvet about? Well, like much of the director's work, this portrait is of an American world that is familiar and dreamy, but dark and often deeply disturbing. There's sweetness (Laura Dern, who plays a high school student), and voyeurism. Dennis Hopper offers a stellar performance as Frank, a twisted sexual monster, who controls Isabella Rosselini- and you can't miss Dean Stockwell in his fairly small but fun role. The score is perfectly fitting, the cinematography finally able to be fully appreciated.
Blue Velvet is beautiful, haunting, and certainly worth a watch. If you already own a copy, this one is definitive- the extras, like vignettes and outtakes make for a more whole experience than earlier versions. And if you don't have one, the 25th Anniversary Edition of Blue Velvet is worth buying a Blu-ray player for. $16, available now online and in stores.
About the Author
Greg Greg dreamed up the idea for the Truly Network while living in Hawaii, which began with a single site called TrulyObscure. In 2010, when advertisers and readers were requesting coverage beyond the scope of that site, TrulyNet was launched, reaching a broader audience over a variety of niche sites. Formerly the head technology correspondent for the Des Moines Register at age 16, he has since lived and worked in five states and two countries, helping a list of organizations and companies that includes the United States Census Bureau, TripAdvisor, Events Photo Group, Berlitz, and Computer Geeks. He also served as the Content Strategy Manager for HearPlanet, a multi-platform app that has reached over a million users and has been featured in the New York Times, Hemispheres Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, Fox Business News, PC Magazine, and even Apple’s own iPhone ads. Greg has written as a restaurant critic and feature journalist for a number of national and international publications, including City Weekend Magazine, Red Egg Magazine, the Newton Daily News, Capital Change Magazine, and an arm of China Daily, Beijing Weekend. In addition, he has served as a consulting editor for the Foreign Language Press of Beijing, as well as a writer and editor for the George Washington University Hatchet, the school newspaper of his alma mater. Originally from Iowa, Greg is currently living in the West Village of Manhattan.
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