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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
directed
by David Lynch
U.S. 1986
Home from college, Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) makes an unsettling discovery: a severed human ear, lying in a field. In the mystery that follows, by turns terrifying and darkly funny, writer-director David Lynch burrows deep beneath the picturesque surfaces of small-town life. Driven to investigate, Jeffrey finds himself drawing closer to his fellow amateur sleuth, Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), as well as their person of interest, lounge singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini)—and facing the fury of Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), a psychopath who will stop at nothing to keep Dorothy in his grasp. With intense performances and hauntingly powerful scenes and images, Blue Velvet is an unforgettable vision of innocence lost, and one of the most influential American films of the past few decades. *** Beneath the surface of small-town serenity lies a dark domain where innocence dare not tread and unpredictability is the norm. It is the haunting realm of BLUE VELVET. In this “shocking, deeply disturbing, startling mixture of the heartfelt and the horrific” (Newsweek), clean-cut Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan, “Twin Peaks”) realizes his Mayberry-like hometown is not-so-normal when he discovers a human ear in a field. His investigation catapults him into an alluring, erotic murder mystery involving a disturbed nightclub singer (Isabella Rossellini, Death Becomes Her) and a drug-addicted sadist (Dennis Hopper, Speed). Soon, Jeffrey is led deeper into their depraved existence past the point of no return. *** Jeffrey (MacLachlan) is the contemporary knight in slightly tarnished armour, a shy and adolescent inhabitant of Lumberton, USA. After discovering a severed ear in an overgrown backlot, he embarks upon an investigation that leads him into a hellish netherworld, where he observes - and comes to participate in - a terrifying sado-masochistic relationship between damsel-in-distress Dorothy (Rossellini) and mad mobster Frank Booth (Hopper). Grafting on to this story his own idiosyncratic preoccupations, Lynch creates a visually stunning, convincingly coherent portrait of a nightmarish substratum to conventional, respectable society. The seamless blending of beauty and horror is remarkable - although many will be profoundly disturbed by Lynch's vision of male-female relationships, centered as it is on Dorothy's psychopathic hunger for violence - the terror very real, and the sheer wealth of imagination virtually unequalled in recent cinema. Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE |
Posters
Theatrical Release Date: 19 September, 1986
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
MGM (SE) - Region 2,4 - PAL vs. MGM SE- Region 1 - NTSC vs. Castle Home Video - Region 2 - PAL vs. MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Thanks to Enrique B Chamorro and Vincent Bouche for the DVD screen caps!
Comments: |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.
ADDITION: Criterion
- Region 'A' - Blu-ray
- (April 2019)
Criterion's release of
David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" arrives on a dual-layered
Blu-ray, with an
all new 4K digital restoration, supervised by the director. The 2.35:1
1080P image has a modest bitrate. Most significant, is that Criterion's
presentation shows a little more information on the top and bottom of
the frame, with even more revealed on the left, while the right side of
the frame stays the same. It is likely that the MGM
Blu-ray was
slightly distorted, given such movement in the frame. This 4K transfer
shows a generally brighter image, with occasionally darker moments.
There are still strong blacks, revealing detail in the shadows while
keeping a healthy contrast. As the below screen captures can attest,
colors have slightly shifted from the MGM disc, in some cases they're
warmer, in others they are colder. The grass surrounding the ear, for
example, goes from a forest-green to a more yellow hue. Yet in the sixth
cap with Isabella Rossellini looking towards the camera, her dress now
appears to be a more subdued purple, as opposed to the brighter MGM's
red. I tend to prefer the darker MGM image, though the new Criterion
Blu-ray has a
visible and consistent grain texture and some may prefer the brighter
look. "It’s a Strange World: The Filming of “Blue Velvet" is a brand new 16-minute documentary featuring interviews with crew members and visits to the shooting locations. Also here is a 16-minute 2017 interview with frequent Lynch composer Angelo Badalamenti. "Room to Dream" is 18-minutes of an audio recording with Lynch reading from the book he coauthored with Kristine McKenna. "The Lost Footage" has appeared before. Next up is "Blue Velvet Revisited". In 1985, German filmmaker Peter Braatz was invited by director David Lynch to Wilmington, North Carolina, to document the shooting of Blue Velvet on Super 8, in photographs, and in audio recordings. The result is this eighty-nine-minute unconventional "meditation" on the film, with music by Cult with No Name, Tuxedomoon, and John Foxx. "Mysteries of Love", which has previously appeared as an extra on other discs is a seventy-minute documentary from 2002 on the making of the film. Criterion have included a brief extra, the minute-long "Test Chart" features footage from the production of the film, for grayscale balance. Fans can rest assured that Criterion's release of David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" is worth the wait. Though some may prefer the darker look of the MGM release (myself included) it is hard not to appreciate how lovely this 4k transfer looks, with beautiful grain and detail. Though Lynch apparently does not approve of audio commentaries, the extras on this disc are worth a look. Picking up this Blu-ray should be a no-brainer. Colin Zavitz *** ADDITION: MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - (October 2011) - Looks to be taken from the same source as the SE DVD - but the image shows all the basic improvements of the new format. It is notably more detailed - has slightly even more information in the frame, colors are solid and tighten up and contrast is substantially superior. The two-hour film is housed on a dual-layered disc with a healthy bitrate (more than 6X that of any of the SD transfer). This 1080P gave me an impressive presentation. I could detect no digital manipulation nor flagrant flaws of any kind. Thumbs up on the visuals. Audio goes lossless with a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround at 2990 kbps. All the Lynch-esque music sounds wonderful in HD sounding classic, nostalgic and crisp - there are some subtle separations piercing their way to the rear speakers - and dialogue is always clear and consistent. Depth is more seething than overt. The disc is rife with foreign language DUBs and subtitles marking it as a region FREE Blu-ray - also available in Europe (Germany). Supplements were highly anticipated by Lynch's loyal fans and they don't disappoint. We get the previously seen "Mysteries of Love" - an 8-part, 1 hour 10-minute, documentary featuring interviews with Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan and cast and crew - still in 480i. But the big news is over 50 minutes of never-before-seen lost footage (in 1080P). There are some surprises and suspense - fans who can't get enough of the film will definitely want to indulge. There is also "A Few" Outtakes - listed as 'new'. The short Siskel and Ebert critical review, 4 Vignettes (I Like Coffee Shops, The Chicken Walk, The Robin, Sita) and TV Spots / Trailers exist. Everything but a commentary but it's so nice to see some new stuff.
For the price this is one of the easiest
purchases of the year - I saw Blue Velvet theatrically but while
my memory fades I am confident that this is the best representation
available for home theater consumption. This masterpiece remains
timeless and the
Blu-ray
is strongly recommended!
*** ***
The UK version is more
than slightly cropped as you can tell by the captures below (2.10:1 from
2.35:1). It is also quite hazy in direct comparison to the Region 1 SE
version. I note a shade of edge enhancement in the SE Region 1 (look at
the roses) . I think that the Region 1 SE has also had some contrast
boosting and it has manipulated the colors ( look at the ear ). The
Region 1 is better for many reasons, but it is far from a perfect DVD.
Lots of extras on the Region 1 and a nice long Dennis Hopper interview
on the UK edition. A shame, I doubt a better version will come out for a
while, so the Region 1 and its flaws are the one to buy.
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(MGM
SE - R2 - PAL LEFT vs. MGM
SE - R1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. - RIGHT)
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Castle Home Video - R2 - PAL
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MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray
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Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
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ubtitle Sample - Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
1) MGM SE - R2 - PAL TOP 2) MGM SE - R1 - NTSC - SECOND3) Castle Home Video - R2 - PAL - THIRD 4) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - FOURTH5) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM SE - R2 - PAL TOP 2) MGM SE - R1 - NTSC - SECOND3) Castle Home Video - R2 - PAL - THIRD 4) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - FOURTH5) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM SE - R2 - PAL TOP 2) MGM SE - R1 - NTSC - SECOND3) Castle Home Video - R2 - PAL - THIRD 4) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - FOURTH5) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM SE - R2 - PAL TOP 2) MGM SE - R1 - NTSC - SECOND3) Castle Home Video - R2 - PAL - THIRD 4) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - FOURTH5) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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More Blu-ray Captures
1) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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