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Blue Velvet

Blue Velvet

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-10-11 09:51:26
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Michael Atkinson
  • ISBN：1839023716
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Summary

For many， Blue Velvet is David Lynch's masterpiece。 It represents a unique act of cinema: an 80s Hollywood studio film as radical， visionary and cabalistic as anything found in the avant-garde; a mysteriously symbolic and subterranean 'cult' movie that nevertheless has recognisable stars and was broadly distributed; a genre piece with the ambience of a fearsome， hyper-composed nightmare; an American 'art film' by Hollywood's only reputable 'art film' director。

Michael Atkinson's intricate and layered reading of the film shows how crystallises many of Lynch's chief preoccupations: the evil and violence underlying the surface of suburbia， the seedy by-ways of sexuality， the frightening appearance of the adult world to a child's eyes， presenting it as the definitive expression of the traumatized innocence which characterizes Lynch's work。

In his afterword to this new edition， Atkinson situates Blue Velvet within a culture that has changed drastically in the 35 years since its release， and in doing so， he considers the film's lasting significance as it slowly turns from contemporary phenomenon to an interpretable artifact。

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Reviews

Jeff Miller ，

5 star book for a 5 star film。I've never hidden my love of David Lynch， and predictably have seen Blue Velvet many times。 Whilst it's impact never lessens， this little BFI Modern Classic does bring up a few little elements that I had either not addressed fully， or not really considered before， shining more light on this masterpiece。 It's easy to over-intellectualise Lynch's work， and that is where this works， Atkinson will take it to that level of analysis， but then just pull back enough to make 5 star book for a 5 star film。I've never hidden my love of David Lynch， and predictably have seen Blue Velvet many times。 Whilst it's impact never lessens， this little BFI Modern Classic does bring up a few little elements that I had either not addressed fully， or not really considered before， shining more light on this masterpiece。 It's easy to over-intellectualise Lynch's work， and that is where this works， Atkinson will take it to that level of analysis， but then just pull back enough to make interesting points。To paraphrase the man himself '。。。if just felt right'; and sometimes that's all you need。Interestingly Atkinson is quite down on Lynch's cultural behemoth 'Twin Peaks' and wonders if Blue Velvet will be his 'Citizen Kane'。。。possibly something he would have thought even more when 'Lost Highway' came out shortly after this book was released。。。but then 'Mulholland Drive' happened。。。David Lynch is a fascinating artist， we are lucky to have him， and this book presents a very interesting look at one of his greatest works。 。。。more

Rodrigo Quinan ，

Desconstrução interessante do clássico filme Veludo Azul。 O crítico interpreta o filme como um bizarro coming-of-age do personagem principal， que desperta como adulto ao tornar-se um voyeur em um mundo de opressão sexual， insanidade e violência。 Os argumentos psicológicos da confusão de violência com sexo， prazer sexual com dor são sólidos， numa reconstrução dos heróis， vítimas e vilões da narrativa como mães， pais e crianças; o argumento do mundo depravado penetrar na classe média americana （es Desconstrução interessante do clássico filme Veludo Azul。 O crítico interpreta o filme como um bizarro coming-of-age do personagem principal， que desperta como adulto ao tornar-se um voyeur em um mundo de opressão sexual， insanidade e violência。 Os argumentos psicológicos da confusão de violência com sexo， prazer sexual com dor são sólidos， numa reconstrução dos heróis， vítimas e vilões da narrativa como mães， pais e crianças; o argumento do mundo depravado penetrar na classe média americana （estilizada como dosa nos 1950 como fonte de mal， exemplificado até pelas marcas de cerveja consumidas pelos personagens ser um retrato conservador tem sido eternamente debatido。 Infelizmente é curto e pouco se aprofunda em qualquer coisa que se propõe， sendo mais uma mera curiosidade do que uma análise densa que faça jus a importância do filme。 。。。more

Patrick McCoy ，

Michael Atkinson takes a look at David Lynch's classic film in BFI: Blue Velvet （1997）。 There is a brief introduction but this book is mostly a close reading of the film that sometimes strays into psychoanalytical territory。 The theoretical discussions are short and relevant to the points he makes in the context of the film。 I know I saw this film a few times in the 80s， but I probably haven't seen it in over 30 years。 It was something of a cultural touchstone among my fiends in high school， wit Michael Atkinson takes a look at David Lynch's classic film in BFI: Blue Velvet （1997）。 There is a brief introduction but this book is mostly a close reading of the film that sometimes strays into psychoanalytical territory。 The theoretical discussions are short and relevant to the points he makes in the context of the film。 I know I saw this film a few times in the 80s， but I probably haven't seen it in over 30 years。 It was something of a cultural touchstone among my fiends in high school， with its reverence for Pabst Blue Ribbon over Heineken。 He was one of the artists who was exposing the rot that lay under the surface of society in the Reagan years， much like the subversive music of punk and post punk bands that exploded on the scene in the 80s as well。 So I'm inspired to re-watch it in context of more recent Lynch projects such as his most recent season of Twin Peaks， in which many of the tropes he developed in this film are still used-hypnotic slow songs in a seedy road house club， nefarious doings by villainous people， dreams， 50s era kitsch， and the like。 。。。more

Josh ，

My second read from the pile of BFI classic film books my wife bought at a library sale， Atkinson's mostly worthwhile and entertaining close read of Lynch's Blue Velvet stays near to the text， using what's in the frame and on the screen to make his interpretations and connections。 Atkinson leans a little too heavily on Freudian oedipal theory for my taste， but he does a solid job backing up most of his analysis with evidence drawn from the film's form， images， sounds， and dialogue。 As much as I My second read from the pile of BFI classic film books my wife bought at a library sale， Atkinson's mostly worthwhile and entertaining close read of Lynch's Blue Velvet stays near to the text， using what's in the frame and on the screen to make his interpretations and connections。 Atkinson leans a little too heavily on Freudian oedipal theory for my taste， but he does a solid job backing up most of his analysis with evidence drawn from the film's form， images， sounds， and dialogue。 As much as I enjoyed the book， I have to point out some quirks in Atkinson's prose that rubbed me the wrong way。 Whenever Atkinson brings up any supporting actors who are even slightly overweight， he always describes them as "fat，" even when making points that have nothing to do with their physical characteristics。 He occasionally describes the clothes of some of the women in the film as being "slutty" or "sluttish。" He also takes a couple condescending cheap shots at the Roy Orbison and Julee Cruise songs on the soundtrack。 The book is 20 years old， and Atkinson may have grown up a little since then， but someone should have told him to knock it off。 He also makes some bizarre assumptions and absolutist statements whenever he veers too far away from his close reading of the film's style。 Fortunately， this is mostly confined to the first few and last few pages。 （Two of the weirdest: He makes the astute point that Blue Velvet seems to exist in a blend of the '50s and the '80s where the '60s and '70s never happened， and then says it's interesting that the film stars two actors so tied to the counterculture '60s in Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell。 So far， so good， but then he writes this: "However Lynch intended it， it seems that perhaps he was unable to find a role as well for Bruce Dern， and opted for his daughter instead。" Huh？？ At the end of the book， Atkinson tracks the film's influence on '80s and '90s culture and weirdly gives the film credit for the Velvet Underground's brief 1993 reunion。 What？？） I realize I spent more of this review bitching about the book than praising it， but I did find it an enjoyable read overall。 。。。more

Katia ，

Movie （1986）Isabela Rosselini Kyle MacLachlan

Mark ，

A little before halfway through this book， Atkinson writes， "A sound indication of the degree to which the ambience of Lynch's universe is so successfully contrived is that we often don't know why it works，" with no apparent irony regarding the fact that this is presumably the exact problem which he's been tasked with addressing。 It's this essentially uncurious and non-inquisitive nature of Atkinson's writing that is most unappealing; even if the reader were to accept the premise that there is n A little before halfway through this book， Atkinson writes， "A sound indication of the degree to which the ambience of Lynch's universe is so successfully contrived is that we often don't know why it works，" with no apparent irony regarding the fact that this is presumably the exact problem which he's been tasked with addressing。 It's this essentially uncurious and non-inquisitive nature of Atkinson's writing that is most unappealing; even if the reader were to accept the premise that there is no "solution，" that Lynch's technique is fundamentally impossible to understand， the exploration of this impossibility alone could have made an intriguing book。 Instead， Atkinson uses the lack of obvious connection between the film and the response to it as an excuse to do little exploration at all， and to cut it short whenever he feels like it。 He embraces the unconventionality of the film， and is an effective writer， employing carefully chosen vocabulary and metaphors， and even includes some interesting tidbits about material left in the editing room （though alongside some commonly familiar such examples）， but at times seems overly hostile toward any critical or academic response to Blue Velvet， as if one should only be permitted a gut-level reaction to this film （or perhaps any）。 Atkinson seems especially dismissive of feminist theory， and theorists in general， to the degree that it seems almost as if he is using this opportunity as a vehicle for a stealth populist reclamation of the art film; unfortunately， it takes on the guise of near-anti-intellectualism， despite the academic tone。 I got the sense at times that he felt compelled to position his book in opposition to established criticism， as if by doing so， he could avoid having to give the book a point of view of its own。 At the end of the bulky middle section （the book is awkwardly structured like a parody of an undergraduate's first draft--three chapters: one a brief introduction， one a brief conclusion， and one the ungainly and unfocused middle）， Atkinson does manage to make an effective and coherent point （not one supported by the length or even all of the content of much of the chapter， but still）， that he immediately and unfortunately undercuts with the superfluous， tacked-on third chapter。 。。。more

Andy ，

Excellent treatment of David Lynch's 1986 masterwork （in my opinion） Blue Velvet。 All of the BFI Modern Classics volumes are thin， but Atkinson explores quite a lot in just 80 pages。 I wish the book were longer， but that's what you get with this series。 A must-read for anyone interested in Lynch's work in general and this film in particular。 Excellent treatment of David Lynch's 1986 masterwork （in my opinion） Blue Velvet。 All of the BFI Modern Classics volumes are thin， but Atkinson explores quite a lot in just 80 pages。 I wish the book were longer， but that's what you get with this series。 A must-read for anyone interested in Lynch's work in general and this film in particular。 。。。more

Harry Hunter ，

Mommy baby wants to fuck！

Ryan Splenda ，

A very nice criticism of Lynch's masterpiece。 I was looking for more on the dream vs。 reality argument that is clearly presented in this movie。 Nevertheless， the Oedpial and perverse family arguments were well explained。 A very nice criticism of Lynch's masterpiece。 I was looking for more on the dream vs。 reality argument that is clearly presented in this movie。 Nevertheless， the Oedpial and perverse family arguments were well explained。 。。。more

Tommy ，

Could have delved much deeper。 With many references to his earlier films， refers to Lost Highway （1997！！） as "in production" = needs new edition badly。 Could have delved much deeper。 With many references to his earlier films， refers to Lost Highway （1997！！） as "in production" = needs new edition badly。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Blue Velvet

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Blue Velvet&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Blue Velvet&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0