@@citydweller99 "The Straight Story" may take that mantel. A pure delight. And is exactly what it says it is. Lynch was an unusual expressionist. His vision/s will be sadly missed. Hope they watch it some day.
@@thebillryan True.. The Straight Story was a nice departure from his usual style. However, of his more abstract body of work.. Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart are a nice mix of his usual artistic touches with a straightforward story.
Lynch talked about an incident when he was younger where there was a commotion outside his small town home at night where there was a naked traumitized woman being helped by neighbors and his parents. He saw this through his window. The next morning everything was as usual at his house and his parents never spoke about it. This mystery changed him and he began to realize there was another side to his small town underneath the normal exterior.
One of David Lynch's favorite themes is the evil secretly lurking underneath the facade of civilized society. The opening scene is a metaphor: a nice suburban neighborhood, and then the camera zooms into the grass to show a world of bugs savagely eating each other.
"Beguiling" is my label for her beauty. More sinister (somehow) than "enchanting" and it's rather wonderful she shared that with her mom's looks, which leads me back to rewatching SPELLBOUND.
@@Cbcw76 Oh wow, can't remember the last time I watched that one. Every time I think of Rosselini and Bergman I can't help thinking about Cactus Flower (1969)
LOVE this movie. I work in restaurants, and every time someone mentions Heinekin I feel compelled to declare "HEINEKIN?! F#$% THAT SH&%^! PABST BLUEEE RIBBON!" To the shock and dismay of my coworkers. Great to see you guys honoring Mr. Lynch, one of the best filmmakers of our time.
Absolutely love this film. My first encounter with Lynch back in the 80s. FYI, the opening scene isn't an accident. The tightening hose and water pressure represent the father having a massive stroke (hence, him grabbing his neck).
@@x_mau9355 Incorrect. Perhaps not entertaining TO YOU, however the popularity and dedicated fanbase of 'weird' cinema all over the world is a testament in itself.
@ "Weird is not entertaining". Says who? Entertaining definition: interesting and pleasurable; diverting; amusing Weird film directors: Coen Brothers Tim Burton (just about everything) Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 12 monkeys etc) George Miller (Mad Max) David Lynch Wes Anderson Guillermo Del Toro Weird music: Velvet Underground The Doors Jimi Hendrix Weird Artists: Dali Chagall Van Gogh Munch Pollock Picasso Magritte Miro Matisse
I agree. I may not have enjoyed every David Lynch film; however, I respected that he tried to do something different and captivating. This film has its own cult following and it's my favorite of all the David Lynch's films.
This role was after he got sober. DL had initially had the idea of Frank inhaling helium, but DH told him that doesn't get you high, and suggested it be something that he'd be getting a high from.
I met Dennis Hopper a few years after this came out randomly standing behind him in a queue for a buffet at an awards ceremony! He was absolutely lovely; one of those special people that you meet in life that leave such a positive impression. RIP Dennis. RIP David.
Blue Velvet feels like David Lynch took those teenager sleuthing adventure books (Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, etc) from back in the day and combined that vibe with some film noir. It is not an easy film to take in initially but it is wonderful in its emotions, sounds/music, suspense, and the whole atmosphere of intense danger lurking around the corner of small town USA. There are some really effective scenes, and one of my personal standouts would be Laura Dern's lovely speech in the car about her dream involving robins. It's so wholesome and sweet and genuine--- plus, we have that soft church organ music off in the nighttime background adding a totally ethereal and wondrous flavor to the moment. That is just _one_ part of David Lynch's craft ... showing a glimmer of hope and love during a tale of intense evil and mayhem. So cool.
Exceptionally surreal, unsettling, and dark in all the strangest ways. Yet that's exactly what David Lynch delivers best, and he delivers it well in this film with a strong story.
My interpretation was that Frank represented a possible "darkness" inside Jeffrey, one hidden deep inside, much like the cockroaches at the beginning. I think Frank saying to Jeffrey "you're like me" was a sign that perhaps Frank wasn't so different from Jeffrey at one time, perhaps being a wide-eyed idealist at one point before fate and circumstances took him down a dark path. I think even more than taking Frank down at the end, Jeffrey is able to overcome whatever "darkness" is inside himself.
Very brave for watching. I always said Hoper as Frank Booth was a great villain because he could be your neighbor and you’d never know he was so wacked as opposed to someone like Hannibal Lector who is a fine villain but the chances of you ever meeting him are slim.
Blue Velvet was a minor phenomenon when it came out. It was huge comeback for Lynch after the "Dune" disaster and it totally revived Dennis Hopper's career. Moviegoers and mainstream media got their first real introduction to David Lynch, as "Eraserhead" was an art house movie seen by few, "Dune" was a commercial and critical flop, and "Elephant Man" wasn't really his story. "Wild at Heart" is similar to "Blue Velvet" in that it's pretty straightforward but still soaked in Lynchian weirdness. "Twin Peaks" too. "Eraserhead," "Lost Highway" and "Inland Empire" are all pretty incomprehensible to most.
David Lynch was an extraordinary, unique artist and a brilliant, highly influential director. If you want to see a completely atypical but very fascinating film by him, I highly recommend "The Straight Story", which hides its depths in a plot that initially seems conventional without the usual surreal elements.
One of David Lynch's favorite themes is the evil secretly lurking underneath the facade of civilized society. The opening scene is a metaphor: a nice suburban neighborhood, and then the camera zooms into the grass to show a world of bugs savagely eating each other.
This movie and Scorsese's remake of CAPE FEAR have a similar quality of 1950's-60s Cinemascope melodrama submerged in the realism of their own time. BLUE VELVET skews more surreal, but both movies are as much dream as story. American dreams and nightmares. Freud, Hitchcock and wholesome Americana. 👓
This is why, like Kubrick, sonnenfeld, Fincher, Cronenberg and a few others, Lynch movies have to be watched over and over! Eraserhead and mullholland drive, still bend the mind! This movie to me, was a melding of 50s innocent sockhop kids, get thrust into the drug partying techno excesses, of the 80s! And Hopper's character, here is another level!
Adding Johnathan Demme to the list. Watch and rewatch Blue Velvet, Something Wild, and Dr Strangelove, pay attention to everything , and you just went to film school for a year.
@jfrancism-lr9kc I have to skip Jonathan, the same way the record dorks from the movie, high fidelity, had to skip someone because of their association with the movie, the big chill. Jonathan did an early, perfect man really a robot, girl rom-com love story, which believe it or not starred a young John Malcovich. so I can't include Demme.
@@jfrancism-lr9kc sorry but I think Jonathan Demme is way too hit-or-miss. Aside from Kubrick who is almost on a league of his own (maybe only another 3 or 4 directors in history are at that level), I wouldn't put Demme up there with Lynch or even Fincher and Cronenberg.
RIP David Lynch, Dennis Hopper, Hope Lange, Frances Bay, Dean Stockwell, George Dickerson, and Jack Nance. The scene where Hopper says, "DONT LOOK AT ME!" and slaps around Isabella Rossilini's Dorothy was on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments. When people saw the poster they thought it was a romantic movie, but it was actually a dark neo noir crime thriller. Lol!
Dennis Hopper, as Frank Booth, played one of the most terrifying, ether-huffing, psychopaths ever put on film. He was an iconic actor who made films with James Dean in the 1950s, co-wrote, directed and starred in “Easy Rider,” one of the most influential films of the 1960s, and wrote, directed, and acted in many other famous films. His career was seriously impacted for many years by a drug and alcohol problem, but he eventually got sober and recovered enough to see a career resurgence. He was also a respected photographer and painter.
Probably one of the few movies Lynch made that had a narrative that could be followed. Elephant Man, Dune, Wild At Heart and I think his best movie, The Straight Story. Very hard to find this movie on any service in Australia. If you can source it, certainly recommend it. The beginning of this movie was very much a visual metaphor for what was going on in the scene and what was to come. The hose being twisted and constricting the blood flow was showing the father suffering what I believe was a stroke or heart attack. Also, showing the wholesome scenes of town life with beautiful colours and people waving then having the camera go below the grass line showing that just below the surface is very much a horror show and violent underneath. Probably one of the few instances of symbolism in a Lynch movie that I got straight away.
Lynch is not an easy watch, but very rewarding to the attentive viewer. You have to look for the meaning of a Lynch film inside yourself. Just like life itself.
There's also another meaning. One of David Lynch's favorite themes is the evil secretly lurking underneath the facade of civilized society. The opening scene shows a nice suburban neighborhood, and then the camera zooms into the grass to show a world of bugs savagely eating each other. That's the meaning of the robin at the end: it's eating the bug we saw in the opening scene
The fact that Blue Velvet wasn't even nominated for Best Picture of 1986 at the Oscars is a travesty considering that it was clearly one of the best films of the year. The five nominees that year were Platoon, Children of a Lesser God, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Mission, and A Room with a View, and I can think of at least two of those films that I would replace with Blue Velvet.
I always thought the lack of a nom was a Likeability issue. Hopper was clearly so unlkeable in that film. I only lliked LESSER GOD and HANNAH myself but BLUE is the film that is in my Most Memorable films from that year. LESSER, HANNAH, BLUE... maybe MISSION, but I've only seen that twice in the decades. Doesn't rewatchability count? It does in my mind.
@@Cbcw76That's a good point. Rewatchability should count, but the problem is that you can only gauge a film's rewatchability from the amount of repeat viewings, which can take years on home video and cable TV. Also, many Oscar nominated films have recency bias, having been released during the awards season between October and December, and the Oscars are only a few months later in March of the following year.
1995's FUNNY BONES appears to be a comedy but has a dark mystery and a semi-thriller ending to it - that was so surprised I came back the next morning and rewatched against as the theater opened. VERY interesting. And MEMENTO is another one I knew I needed to see ASAP.
Lynch's best film. Very uncomfortable to watch at times, but necessary. LOVE Frank Booth's character. Dennis Hopper's portrayal of how cruel and abusive people are also somehow needy, embarrassing, even infantile is PERFECT.
Oh man, I've been blessed with so many Lynch reactions the past few days! It's a shame it takes the passing of a great artist like him to be recognized and appreciated by new audiences, but I'm certainly glad that you've found him anyway. This is definitely one of his more "accessible" films, and probably his most generally entertaining, even while maintaining the weird and surreal elements he's known for. You guys should definitely watch all of his work, either on or off the channel (Eraserhead, Dune, Wild at Heart, and The Straight Story would be the ones I'd recommend for the channel).
Saw this in the theater when it released….. It was a mind blowing film at that time. Great movie that still makes an impact. Glad you both experienced it.
This was fun, guys! By the way, "quirkiness" is definitely not a terrible term at all when describing David Lynch or his work.I think it's one of the most appropriate and natural descriptors for him. In all the pantheon of filmmakers, he probably deserves that adjective more than any other and that's a good thing. Please do react to "Twin Peaks"! It's one of the most influential TV shows of all time and the number of shows and showrunners who owe it either a direct or indirect debt is crazy. "The Sopranos" creator David Chase is a huge fan and once even said that there would be no "Sopranos" without "Twin Peaks", even though the two shows are extremely different. Also, in addition to "Eraserhead", don't forget the film "Wild at Heart" with Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, and a crazy cameo from Willem Dafoe. There will never be another quite like David Lynch. He was a truly unique and visionary artist with an uncompromising dedication and integrity in his craft.
Great film choice! I think you guys are starting to really get a sense of Lynch's work. His two biggest themes were Americana & the contrast between the surface & what lies beneath + dream logic. I think, "Blue Velvet," is one of Lynch's more approachable films because he leads with the Americana (the picket fences, high school romance, bright Technicolor grading, etc.), and uses the surrealist dream logic to create a sense of unease without fully immersing the audience in it. I think you guys will enjoy, "Wild At Heart," more than, say, "Eraserhead," because it's closer to, "Blue Velvet's," narrative structure. Just be forewarned that Lynch never shied away from showing violence, because he had a keen sense of when & how to shock the conscience of the viewer.
one of my all time fave movies!! when i see dorothy hug her son at the end... i get emotional.... also, i read david's book "room to dream" ... a few things i remember ::: the robin at the end of the movie was actually a dead robin, being puppeteer'd. it was too hard to find / train a real robin. the song "mysteries of love" was written because he couldnt get his 1st choice, Roy Orbison's "crying" the scene where Dorothy walks up naked to the boys all fighting was something that happened to david in real life when he was like around 9
Heineken? Fuck that shit! PABST BLUE RIBBON! Damn i love this movie, damn i love Dennis Hopper, damn Isabella Rossollini is gorgeous, and damn, David Lynch made some fantastic movies
R.I.P. David Lynch. Films like this and 'The Elephant Man' prove just what a singular visionary he was... I lament that Universal and Dino De Laurentiis didn't let Lynch make 'Dune' the way he wanted... he wanted a three-hour dreamscape, they wanted a more conventional two-hour film... they won, but tacitly acknowledged their mistake when 'Dune' became an unexpected bestseller on home video. They went to Lynch in 1987 and offered him the opportunity to restore the film to his original vision... Lynch point-blank refused as that whole experience had been so traumatic for him. Enticingly, in 2022, Lynch talked about possibly going back to 'Dune'... "if I could go back in I’ve thought, well, maybe I would on that one go back in. [...] I would like to see what is there. I can’t remember, that’s the weird thing [laughs]. I can’t remember. And so it might be interesting-there could be something there. But I don’t think it’s a silk purse. I know it’s a sow’s ear." Sadly, and as far as we know, he never got that chance, alas...
It's implied Jeffrey's father had a stroke, and that's why he ends up in the hospital. Lost Highway is pretty good if you haven't watched that one already. RIP to David
One of the best psychotic crazy movies I can't even describe it from the dictionary I make it bad for even saying the word but the word is yeah thank you very much for playing this video😊
I saw this in a film class in college when I was 19. My first experience with David Lynch. I didn't know movies could be this weird while also having classic movie tropes like heroic music when Laura Dern first appears. The guy at the end standing up while being half dead was at the time definitely the strangest thing I had ever seen.
I saw this in the theater when I was 19. I have never been more on edge during any film and it changed the way I saw movies. RIP David. Please go a step further and do Wild At Heart.
Once you experience Blue Velvet you never forget it; an assault on the senses while being oddly comforting, and by the end you realize you have seen the intimate details of the dark underbelly that's always been there.
It is not an overstatement to say that when I first saw this movie in the theatre in 1986, my mind was blown and I’d never seen anything like this. To this day my sisters and I do the slo-mo parade wave in homage to this movie. We got bold and watched Eraserhead several years later. I could see some connections from a film style perspective but it was also like no other film I’d ever seen. It was so visual and weird!
Thank you for reacting to more Lynch! I really enjoyed your Mulholland Drive reaction and I'm glad we're getting more Lynch on the channel. Great reaction! 👍🏻
This is director David Lynch's masterpiece, and part of a surreal neo-noir trio that continues with Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive. Blue Velvet was also the precursor to David Lynch's groundbreaking television series, Twin Peaks.
frankly, id watch every lynch film at some point. Lost Highway is a masterclass in lighting and subverting expectations. plus its creepy as f in some spots. Straight Story is g-rated wonderful storytelling. Twin Peaks seasons 1 and 2, Fire Walk With Me, then Twin Peaks the return. Inland Empire and Eraserhead are fantastic midnight movies when your brain is a little loopy , kind of like watching late night Adult Swim. And of course, Wild At Heart for Nicholas Cage energy
I still need to watch whole thing. This was my parents most hated movie. They brought up the ear thing for years, and took me awhile to find the title since they forgot it.
Ha ha!! One of my absolute favorite films. So many layers beneath the surface narrative to explore and think about!!! Dean Stockwell's scene is one of the all-time great scenes!!!
It is very interesting to me how much David Lynch was able to tap into the spirit and adventerous natures of the young characters so well and at the same time deliver the natures of the older and oldest characters so well. To be able to bring us characters across the age spectrum like that in such a believable way really displays an acute obsevation of all of us and an innate wisdom.
If you had a harder time with Mulholland Drive, you're normal. You're supposed to have to figure out more, and that's a good thing. Repeated viewings reward. This was the role that brought Dennis Hopper back from career death. He was in Apocalypse Now, but he was so messed up (as he had been for years) that nobody wanted to work with him. Lynch gave him this role and rescued his career.
The appearance of Laura Dern might be one of the best character introductions in the history of film. It's certainly my favorite, right before Ray Liotta in Goodfellas
Jefferey was a good guy, but he started turning deviant once his dad was in the hospital. frank is i think who he would become if he kept going down this path. so he ends up killing frank, killing that side of himself, everyone is reunited with family at the end, and the bird is like what sandy said about the robbins like that they would come back once everything is right again.. and then the bird is eating the bug, like the dark underworld of suberbia. something like that i think?
One of David Lynch's favorite themes is the evil secretly lurking underneath the facade of civilized society. The opening scene is a metaphor: a nice suburban neighborhood, and then the camera zooms into the grass to show a world of bugs savagely eating each other. That's the meaning of the robin at the end: it's eating the bug we saw in the opening scene.
It would be so cool if you guys watched Twin Peaks! The order is the first two seasons from the 90's, then the movie "Fire Walk With Me" and then Season 3 also know as Twin Peaks: The Return from 2017.
For Twin Peaks, the one to watch first is the iconic TV series. The movie appeared later and it is a kind of prequel to the TV series. The movie is ok, but it is the TV series, that is really legendary. Blue Velvet was one of the corner stones of the Neo-noir style that became popular in 1980s. The other legendary film of that genre is Body Heat, which is also something You should absolutely watch. It is one of my all time favorites. Of course, I also heartily recommend watching the great films of the original film noir genre from 1940s and 50s.
YES! And PLEASE take a trip down to Twin Peaks soon...it's only 48 episodes total (plus a movie in the middle) and it's the first prestige show ever (not to mention the wildest!)
The only thing that I am sure about when it comes to Blue Velvet is that the opening scene shows the contrast between the seemingly perfect idyllic world and the ugliness lurking just beneath the surface. That's driven home by what suddenly happens to Jeffrey's dad as he waters the garden. The reactions of the cop when Jeffrey brings him the ear seem very matter-of-fact and unreal. That feeling continues throughout with Frank, Ben, and just about every interaction between any of the characters. My reading of it is that Jeffrey is asleep in the garden and it's all a dream until we emerge from the ear and we see a typical gathering of people. Jeffrey's mind has simply made a dream story of the people around him. Eraserhead and Lost Highway are similar in that they are confusing and open to interpretation. I love them both. Twin Peaks is arguably the best TV show of the last century. If you ever go through that, I'm sure it will finally push me to join your Patreon and watch full reactions. It's not easy to put yourself out there for films that don't have a clear meaning, but I think your discussions are always intelligent and I like hearing your perspectives.
"What is happening?!" A signature question in any David Lynch film.
RIP to one of the greatest directors of all time, David Lynch.
And Blue Velvet is one of his more accessible/easy to understand movies :)
@@citydweller99 "The Straight Story" may take that mantel. A pure delight. And is exactly what it says it is. Lynch was an unusual expressionist. His vision/s will be sadly missed. Hope they watch it some day.
Greatest director? 😂
@@thebillryan True.. The Straight Story was a nice departure from his usual style. However, of his more abstract body of work.. Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart are a nice mix of his usual artistic touches with a straightforward story.
Does this mean we get closer to a twin peaks reaction
That would be my dream. I've been waiting that for years. No big reaction channel has done that sadly.
Some of the smaller channels have, but it's not as common as other things. Popular channels always follow trends.
oh my! yes please twin peaks! 😩👏🏻
@ They should follow old trends 😎
Yessssssss
Lynch talked about an incident when he was younger where there was a commotion outside his small town home at night where there was a naked traumitized woman being helped by neighbors and his parents. He saw this through his window. The next morning everything was as usual at his house and his parents never spoke about it. This mystery changed him and he began to realize there was another side to his small town underneath the normal exterior.
He was also very well known for making stories up to troll interviewers, he did it constantly and joked about it.
One of David Lynch's favorite themes is the evil secretly lurking underneath the facade of civilized society. The opening scene is a metaphor: a nice suburban neighborhood, and then the camera zooms into the grass to show a world of bugs savagely eating each other.
@@scottneil1187i’ve never heard this before
He's spewing BS.
Imagine being so unique as a director that your last name becomes an adjective
Cronenberg too. Two weird Davids leaving their mark on cinema.
Hitchcockian, that's another adjective from a movie director and visionary.
Kubrickian
Coppolian
@@jimlechuga3193 great director but I think he had his "ian" card revoked when he made Jack.
Sandy: *pours out her heart and her thoughts about how there's still hope in the world*
Jeffrey: "yOu'rE a NeaT gIrl" lol
I saw the title and laughed, you are in for a ride.
A ride, good idea!
@@davidpeters44 Brilliant
"No thanks? What's that mean?"
David Lynch was a national treasure. And Isabella Rosselini is the daughter of Ingrid Bergman from "Casablanca" and she's every bit as beautiful.
"Beguiling" is my label for her beauty. More sinister (somehow) than "enchanting" and it's rather wonderful she shared that with her mom's looks, which leads me back to rewatching SPELLBOUND.
@@Cbcw76 In Death becomes Her she channeled her mother, I think:)
@@simonfrederiksen104 YES! It was 1989's COUSINS (with Ted Danson) that keeps me separating her from 'Mom' - although there's not need.
@@Cbcw76 Oh wow, can't remember the last time I watched that one. Every time I think of Rosselini and Bergman I can't help thinking about Cactus Flower (1969)
LOVE this movie. I work in restaurants, and every time someone mentions Heinekin I feel compelled to declare "HEINEKIN?! F#$% THAT SH&%^! PABST BLUEEE RIBBON!" To the shock and dismay of my coworkers. Great to see you guys honoring Mr. Lynch, one of the best filmmakers of our time.
My friend's and I still stay that often.
Is this why that cheap beer became so popular with bearded hipsters in the 90s?
Absolutely love this film. My first encounter with Lynch back in the 80s.
FYI, the opening scene isn't an accident. The tightening hose and water pressure represent the father having a massive stroke (hence, him grabbing his neck).
Yes. Thank you.
An excellent choice....virtually nobody reacts to this movie.
And there is a reason. Weird is not entertaining.
Weirdos are not entertaining.
@@x_mau9355
Stick to Michael Bay then.
@@x_mau9355 Incorrect. Perhaps not entertaining TO YOU, however the popularity and dedicated fanbase of 'weird' cinema all over the world is a testament in itself.
@
"Weird is not entertaining".
Says who?
Entertaining definition:
interesting and pleasurable; diverting; amusing
Weird film directors:
Coen Brothers
Tim Burton (just about everything)
Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 12 monkeys etc)
George Miller (Mad Max)
David Lynch
Wes Anderson
Guillermo Del Toro
Weird music:
Velvet Underground
The Doors
Jimi Hendrix
Weird Artists:
Dali
Chagall
Van Gogh
Munch
Pollock
Picasso
Magritte
Miro
Matisse
I agree. I may not have enjoyed every David Lynch film; however, I respected that he tried to do something different and captivating. This film has its own cult following and it's my favorite of all the David Lynch's films.
Great movie and Dennis Hopper gives one of the all-time great villain performances.
This role was after he got sober. DL had initially had the idea of Frank inhaling helium, but DH told him that doesn't get you high, and suggested it be something that he'd be getting a high from.
I met Dennis Hopper a few years after this came out randomly standing behind him in a queue for a buffet at an awards ceremony! He was absolutely lovely; one of those special people that you meet in life that leave such a positive impression. RIP Dennis. RIP David.
I saw Eraserhead in a cinema in Paris when I was 14......not sure i'm over it yet...
You and so many others.
Rarely anyone reacts to this classic Noir. RIP Dennis Hopper. Great reaction as always!
A 86er cult classic.
Jeffrey is one of my favorite takes on the fundamental morally ambiguous detective lead.
... and RIP to David Lynch too!
RIP Lynch. A true artist in every aspect of his life. I know he's out there living the art after life now too
Always liked Blue Velvet, weird enough to be interesting, but still understandable. Amazing how many people have never even heard of it.
These folks are courageous, watching Blue Velvet. Now everyone else will follow. In the next year at least 6 others will also review this film.
Blue Velvet feels like David Lynch took those teenager sleuthing adventure books (Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, etc) from back in the day and combined that vibe with some film noir. It is not an easy film to take in initially but it is wonderful in its emotions, sounds/music, suspense, and the whole atmosphere of intense danger lurking around the corner of small town USA.
There are some really effective scenes, and one of my personal standouts would be Laura Dern's lovely speech in the car about her dream involving robins. It's so wholesome and sweet and genuine--- plus, we have that soft church organ music off in the nighttime background adding a totally ethereal and wondrous flavor to the moment. That is just _one_ part of David Lynch's craft ... showing a glimmer of hope and love during a tale of intense evil and mayhem. So cool.
Exceptionally surreal, unsettling, and dark in all the strangest ways. Yet that's exactly what David Lynch delivers best, and he delivers it well in this film with a strong story.
Here's to one of the last of our greatest visionaries 🍺 Thanks for reacting to this American classic!
David Lynch was a genius at exposing forgotten traumas and memories.
I’ve never clicked on a video faster! Thank you for doing this. Love your channel.
My interpretation was that Frank represented a possible "darkness" inside Jeffrey, one hidden deep inside, much like the cockroaches at the beginning. I think Frank saying to Jeffrey "you're like me" was a sign that perhaps Frank wasn't so different from Jeffrey at one time, perhaps being a wide-eyed idealist at one point before fate and circumstances took him down a dark path. I think even more than taking Frank down at the end, Jeffrey is able to overcome whatever "darkness" is inside himself.
RIP David Lynch.
This is one of my favorite movies.
Very brave for watching. I always said Hoper as Frank Booth was a great villain because he could be your neighbor and you’d never know he was so wacked as opposed to someone like Hannibal Lector who is a fine villain but the chances of you ever meeting him are slim.
This movie unsettles me the more times I watch it, like I’m trapped in a nightmare I can’t get out of.
That is a good way to describe the Silent Hill video games, which were heavily influenced by this movie.
That's a perfect description of every David Lynch film, and my guess is that he'd have loved to hear you say that
Blue Velvet was a minor phenomenon when it came out. It was huge comeback for Lynch after the "Dune" disaster and it totally revived Dennis Hopper's career. Moviegoers and mainstream media got their first real introduction to David Lynch, as "Eraserhead" was an art house movie seen by few, "Dune" was a commercial and critical flop, and "Elephant Man" wasn't really his story. "Wild at Heart" is similar to "Blue Velvet" in that it's pretty straightforward but still soaked in Lynchian weirdness. "Twin Peaks" too. "Eraserhead," "Lost Highway" and "Inland Empire" are all pretty incomprehensible to most.
David Lynch was an extraordinary, unique artist and a brilliant, highly influential director.
If you want to see a completely atypical but very fascinating film by him, I highly recommend "The Straight Story", which hides its depths in a plot that initially seems conventional without the usual surreal elements.
It's based on a real man - at the time the story got repeated all over tv.
The whole story is that you never know what's happening under the facade...or the white picket fence.
Or in the deepest parts of ourselves
One of David Lynch's favorite themes is the evil secretly lurking underneath the facade of civilized society. The opening scene is a metaphor: a nice suburban neighborhood, and then the camera zooms into the grass to show a world of bugs savagely eating each other.
This movie and Scorsese's remake of CAPE FEAR have a similar quality of 1950's-60s Cinemascope melodrama submerged in the realism of their own time. BLUE VELVET skews more surreal, but both movies are as much dream as story. American dreams and nightmares. Freud, Hitchcock and wholesome Americana. 👓
This is why, like Kubrick, sonnenfeld, Fincher, Cronenberg and a few others, Lynch movies have to be watched over and over! Eraserhead and mullholland drive, still bend the mind! This movie to me, was a melding of 50s innocent sockhop kids, get thrust into the drug partying techno excesses, of the 80s! And Hopper's character, here is another level!
Lynch unapologetically making movies that don't make sense is my favorite thing about him. A true artist never has to explain their work.
Adding Johnathan Demme to the list. Watch and rewatch Blue Velvet, Something Wild, and Dr Strangelove, pay attention to everything , and you just went to film school for a year.
@jfrancism-lr9kc I have to skip Jonathan, the same way the record dorks from the movie, high fidelity, had to skip someone because of their association with the movie, the big chill. Jonathan did an early, perfect man really a robot, girl rom-com love story, which believe it or not starred a young John Malcovich. so I can't include Demme.
@phillipmullineaux9641 .
@@jfrancism-lr9kc sorry but I think Jonathan Demme is way too hit-or-miss. Aside from Kubrick who is almost on a league of his own (maybe only another 3 or 4 directors in history are at that level), I wouldn't put Demme up there with Lynch or even Fincher and Cronenberg.
1 great thing to think about with David Lynch is that every single scene is a short film.
Great tip
Dennis Hopper's first scene is one of the biggest "What am I watching?" scenes in all of cinema
Followed by the "Candy Covered Clown" dancing scene as a close second.
RIP David Lynch, Dennis Hopper, Hope Lange, Frances Bay, Dean Stockwell, George Dickerson, and Jack Nance.
The scene where Hopper says, "DONT LOOK AT ME!" and slaps around Isabella Rossilini's Dorothy was on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
When people saw the poster they thought it was a romantic movie, but it was actually a dark neo noir crime thriller. Lol!
Angelo Badalamenti and Julee Cruise are gone too. RIP.
@@auerstadt06 DL stopped doing his weather reports when Angelo died.
You guys absolutely need to check out Lost Highway!!
Dennis Hopper, as Frank Booth, played one of the most terrifying, ether-huffing, psychopaths ever put on film. He was an iconic actor who made films with James Dean in the 1950s, co-wrote, directed and starred in “Easy Rider,” one of the most influential films of the 1960s, and wrote, directed, and acted in many other famous films.
His career was seriously impacted for many years by a drug and alcohol problem, but he eventually got sober and recovered enough to see a career resurgence.
He was also a respected photographer and painter.
Your channel is a place where quality always comes first. Thank you for your hard work and talent!🏍🥩⌨️
Probably one of the few movies Lynch made that had a narrative that could be followed. Elephant Man, Dune, Wild At Heart and I think his best movie, The Straight Story. Very hard to find this movie on any service in Australia. If you can source it, certainly recommend it.
The beginning of this movie was very much a visual metaphor for what was going on in the scene and what was to come. The hose being twisted and constricting the blood flow was showing the father suffering what I believe was a stroke or heart attack. Also, showing the wholesome scenes of town life with beautiful colours and people waving then having the camera go below the grass line showing that just below the surface is very much a horror show and violent underneath. Probably one of the few instances of symbolism in a Lynch movie that I got straight away.
I'm still very hurt that David Lynch died, but I'm glad we have his great films. I wish there were more. Thank you for reacting to it!
Lynch is not an easy watch, but very rewarding to the attentive viewer. You have to look for the meaning of a Lynch film inside yourself. Just like life itself.
I see him as Paul Atreides in Dune (1984) which is also Lynch.
He IS the Kwizat Haderach!!!
Kyle said "He plucked me out of obscurity."
The Dad had a stroke in the beginning of the movie. Lynch decided to show the twisted hose as a metaphor to how a stroke occurs in our heads.
There's also another meaning. One of David Lynch's favorite themes is the evil secretly lurking underneath the facade of civilized society. The opening scene shows a nice suburban neighborhood, and then the camera zooms into the grass to show a world of bugs savagely eating each other. That's the meaning of the robin at the end: it's eating the bug we saw in the opening scene
@charlize1253 yes, I'm a fan of those two meanings as well.
The fact that Blue Velvet wasn't even nominated for Best Picture of 1986 at the Oscars is a travesty considering that it was clearly one of the best films of the year. The five nominees that year were Platoon, Children of a Lesser God, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Mission, and A Room with a View, and I can think of at least two of those films that I would replace with Blue Velvet.
I always thought the lack of a nom was a Likeability issue. Hopper was clearly so unlkeable in that film. I only lliked LESSER GOD and HANNAH myself but BLUE is the film that is in my Most Memorable films from that year. LESSER, HANNAH, BLUE... maybe MISSION, but I've only seen that twice in the decades. Doesn't rewatchability count? It does in my mind.
@@Cbcw76That's a good point. Rewatchability should count, but the problem is that you can only gauge a film's rewatchability from the amount of repeat viewings, which can take years on home video and cable TV. Also, many Oscar nominated films have recency bias, having been released during the awards season between October and December, and the Oscars are only a few months later in March of the following year.
1995's FUNNY BONES appears to be a comedy but has a dark mystery and a semi-thriller ending to it - that was so surprised I came back the next morning and rewatched against as the theater opened. VERY interesting. And MEMENTO is another one I knew I needed to see ASAP.
Oscars are just a popularity of the voters thing, not an award for artistic vision. They BARELY gave DL any recognition at all.
Lynch's best film. Very uncomfortable to watch at times, but necessary. LOVE Frank Booth's character. Dennis Hopper's portrayal of how cruel and abusive people are also somehow needy, embarrassing, even infantile is PERFECT.
Oh man, I've been blessed with so many Lynch reactions the past few days! It's a shame it takes the passing of a great artist like him to be recognized and appreciated by new audiences, but I'm certainly glad that you've found him anyway. This is definitely one of his more "accessible" films, and probably his most generally entertaining, even while maintaining the weird and surreal elements he's known for. You guys should definitely watch all of his work, either on or off the channel (Eraserhead, Dune, Wild at Heart, and The Straight Story would be the ones I'd recommend for the channel).
Saw this in the theater when it released….. It was a mind blowing film at that time. Great movie that still makes an impact. Glad you both experienced it.
I hate that he's gone, but I'm glad it means more people are checking out his stuff. It's an odd balance that I think he would have appreciated.
His art and his lamps will go for huge amounts now.
I've been following you guys for two years now and was majorly wishing you'd review Blue Velvet - thanks!!
This was fun, guys! By the way, "quirkiness" is definitely not a terrible term at all when describing David Lynch or his work.I think it's one of the most appropriate and natural descriptors for him. In all the pantheon of filmmakers, he probably deserves that adjective more than any other and that's a good thing. Please do react to "Twin Peaks"! It's one of the most influential TV shows of all time and the number of shows and showrunners who owe it either a direct or indirect debt is crazy. "The Sopranos" creator David Chase is a huge fan and once even said that there would be no "Sopranos" without "Twin Peaks", even though the two shows are extremely different. Also, in addition to "Eraserhead", don't forget the film "Wild at Heart" with Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, and a crazy cameo from Willem Dafoe. There will never be another quite like David Lynch. He was a truly unique and visionary artist with an uncompromising dedication and integrity in his craft.
Great film choice!
I think you guys are starting to really get a sense of Lynch's work. His two biggest themes were Americana & the contrast between the surface & what lies beneath + dream logic.
I think, "Blue Velvet," is one of Lynch's more approachable films because he leads with the Americana (the picket fences, high school romance, bright Technicolor grading, etc.), and uses the surrealist dream logic to create a sense of unease without fully immersing the audience in it.
I think you guys will enjoy, "Wild At Heart," more than, say, "Eraserhead," because it's closer to, "Blue Velvet's," narrative structure. Just be forewarned that Lynch never shied away from showing violence, because he had a keen sense of when & how to shock the conscience of the viewer.
one of my all time fave movies!!
when i see dorothy hug her son at the end... i get emotional....
also, i read david's book "room to dream" ... a few things i remember :::
the robin at the end of the movie was actually a dead robin, being puppeteer'd. it was too hard to find / train a real robin.
the song "mysteries of love" was written because he couldnt get his 1st choice, Roy Orbison's "crying"
the scene where Dorothy walks up naked to the boys all fighting was something that happened to david in real life when he was like around 9
Heineken? Fuck that shit! PABST BLUE RIBBON! Damn i love this movie, damn i love Dennis Hopper, damn Isabella Rossollini is gorgeous, and damn, David Lynch made some fantastic movies
Damn straight
R.I.P. David Lynch.
Films like this and 'The Elephant Man' prove just what a singular visionary he was... I lament that Universal and Dino De Laurentiis didn't let Lynch make 'Dune' the way he wanted... he wanted a three-hour dreamscape, they wanted a more conventional two-hour film... they won, but tacitly acknowledged their mistake when 'Dune' became an unexpected bestseller on home video. They went to Lynch in 1987 and offered him the opportunity to restore the film to his original vision... Lynch point-blank refused as that whole experience had been so traumatic for him.
Enticingly, in 2022, Lynch talked about possibly going back to 'Dune'... "if I could go back in I’ve thought, well, maybe I would on that one go back in. [...] I would like to see what is there. I can’t remember, that’s the weird thing [laughs]. I can’t remember. And so it might be interesting-there could be something there. But I don’t think it’s a silk purse. I know it’s a sow’s ear."
Sadly, and as far as we know, he never got that chance, alas...
Your videos are a shining example of how to make quality and interesting content. Thank you for your talent and effort!💫😃🐸
It's implied Jeffrey's father had a stroke, and that's why he ends up in the hospital. Lost Highway is pretty good if you haven't watched that one already. RIP to David
One of the best psychotic crazy movies I can't even describe it from the dictionary I make it bad for even saying the word but the word is yeah thank you very much for playing this video😊
David Lynch and Dennis Hopper are always a treat to watch, I hope Wild at Heart is on your list
I saw this in a film class in college when I was 19. My first experience with David Lynch. I didn't know movies could be this weird while also having classic movie tropes like heroic music when Laura Dern first appears. The guy at the end standing up while being half dead was at the time definitely the strangest thing I had ever seen.
OMG finally Blue Velvet amazing classic thank you TBR Schmitt and Samantha great choice guys👍👍👍👍👍
I saw this in the theater when I was 19. I have never been more on edge during any film and it changed the way I saw movies. RIP David. Please go a step further and do Wild At Heart.
Lmao can't wait to see your faces.
"ANYTHING THAT MOVES"😂😂😂😂
Shame you cut the "LET'S F*CK" moment out though. One of the most iconic parts of the film haha
This film serves as something of a comeback for Dennis Hopper after more than a decade in career wilderness 🎩
What’s up, TBR Schmitt. I have been watching your videos, a lot. I am a huge fan.
I am a huge fan, Mr. TBR Schmitt. I should watch Disney’s Zombies 2.
Only Dennis Hopper can play roles like this. RIP. He will always be sorely missed!
Also, singer songwriter Chris Isaak (Wicked Game) wrote some of the music. Isaak played the swat captain in Silence of the lambs.
And he was in 🔥Fire Walk With Me🔥
Once you experience Blue Velvet you never forget it; an assault on the senses while being oddly comforting, and by the end you realize you have seen the intimate details of the dark underbelly that's always been there.
It is not an overstatement to say that when I first saw this movie in the theatre in 1986, my mind was blown and I’d never seen anything like this. To this day my sisters and I do the slo-mo parade wave in homage to this movie.
We got bold and watched Eraserhead several years later. I could see some connections from a film style perspective but it was also like no other film I’d ever seen. It was so visual and weird!
Thanks. One of my favorite movies. Yes, Blue Valentines is a song on the Tom Waits album Blue Valentine. Highly recommend.
Also a movie with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.
Glad to see more people discovering and reacting to Lynch, obviously the circumstances are sad but but like all great artists he lives on in his work
Samantha's face on the thumbnail... Yep, that's someone who has just watched Blue Velvet!
Dearie me... It's one of a kind
Definitely add the whole Twin Peaks saga to your watchlist: the OG series, Fire Walk with Me, and The Return.
Thank you for reacting to more Lynch! I really enjoyed your Mulholland Drive reaction and I'm glad we're getting more Lynch on the channel. Great reaction! 👍🏻
YOU GUYS SHOULD WATCH TWIN PEAKSSSS. It's my second favorite show (Better Cal Saul is 1)
This is director David Lynch's masterpiece, and part of a surreal neo-noir trio that continues with Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive. Blue Velvet was also the precursor to David Lynch's groundbreaking television series, Twin Peaks.
frankly, id watch every lynch film at some point. Lost Highway is a masterclass in lighting and subverting expectations. plus its creepy as f in some spots. Straight Story is g-rated wonderful storytelling. Twin Peaks seasons 1 and 2, Fire Walk With Me, then Twin Peaks the return. Inland Empire and Eraserhead are fantastic midnight movies when your brain is a little loopy , kind of like watching late night Adult Swim. And of course, Wild At Heart for Nicholas Cage energy
Wonderful tribute to David Lynch, cool reaction as always Schmitt & Samantha, you both have a good night
I still need to watch whole thing. This was my parents most hated movie. They brought up the ear thing for years, and took me awhile to find the title since they forgot it.
This movie was everything when it came out.
Ha ha!! One of my absolute favorite films. So many layers beneath the surface narrative to explore and think about!!! Dean Stockwell's scene is one of the all-time great scenes!!!
Lynch got some amazing performances out of Dean.
"I don't know if you're a detective or a pervert"
"Well, that's for me to know, and you to find out"
Always makes me laugh
It is very interesting to me how much David Lynch was able to tap into the spirit and adventerous natures of the young characters so well and at the same time deliver the natures of the older and oldest characters so well. To be able to bring us characters across the age spectrum like that in such a believable way really displays an acute obsevation of all of us and an innate wisdom.
God damn i love this movie. This is what cinema looks like.
her facial expression throughout the movie! 😂😅
If you had a harder time with Mulholland Drive, you're normal. You're supposed to have to figure out more, and that's a good thing. Repeated viewings reward. This was the role that brought Dennis Hopper back from career death. He was in Apocalypse Now, but he was so messed up (as he had been for years) that nobody wanted to work with him. Lynch gave him this role and rescued his career.
He had gotten sober before taking this role.
The way you guys are sitting in disbelief 🤣
The appearance of Laura Dern might be one of the best character introductions in the history of film. It's certainly my favorite, right before Ray Liotta in Goodfellas
If neither of you have seen Twin Peaks, you MUST do the whole series.
The greatest thing ever put on TV. I mean EVER.
Thank you so much. Twin Peaks series next and Lost Highway 🙌😊🙏
Jefferey was a good guy, but he started turning deviant once his dad was in the hospital. frank is i think who he would become if he kept going down this path. so he ends up killing frank, killing that side of himself, everyone is reunited with family at the end, and the bird is like what sandy said about the robbins like that they would come back once everything is right again.. and then the bird is eating the bug, like the dark underworld of suberbia. something like that i think?
SO glad you guys watched this!!
One of David Lynch's favorite themes is the evil secretly lurking underneath the facade of civilized society. The opening scene is a metaphor: a nice suburban neighborhood, and then the camera zooms into the grass to show a world of bugs savagely eating each other. That's the meaning of the robin at the end: it's eating the bug we saw in the opening scene.
And fun fact: the soundtrack to this film is based on Shostakovich’s 15th Symphony, a marvelous work of art in itself!!
It would be so cool if you guys watched Twin Peaks! The order is the first two seasons from the 90's, then the movie "Fire Walk With Me" and then Season 3 also know as Twin Peaks: The Return from 2017.
"Jeffrey, do you see creamed corn on this plate?"
BTW DL never referred to it as season 3.
About time!! R. I. P. David Lynch.
For Twin Peaks, the one to watch first is the iconic TV series. The movie appeared later and it is a kind of prequel to the TV series. The movie is ok, but it is the TV series, that is really legendary.
Blue Velvet was one of the corner stones of the Neo-noir style that became popular in 1980s. The other legendary film of that genre is Body Heat, which is also something You should absolutely watch. It is one of my all time favorites. Of course, I also heartily recommend watching the great films of the original film noir genre from 1940s and 50s.
That red curtain is almost everywhere in Lynch’s work
YES! And PLEASE take a trip down to Twin Peaks soon...it's only 48 episodes total (plus a movie in the middle) and it's the first prestige show ever (not to mention the wildest!)
The only thing that I am sure about when it comes to Blue Velvet is that the opening scene shows the contrast between the seemingly perfect idyllic world and the ugliness lurking just beneath the surface. That's driven home by what suddenly happens to Jeffrey's dad as he waters the garden. The reactions of the cop when Jeffrey brings him the ear seem very matter-of-fact and unreal. That feeling continues throughout with Frank, Ben, and just about every interaction between any of the characters. My reading of it is that Jeffrey is asleep in the garden and it's all a dream until we emerge from the ear and we see a typical gathering of people. Jeffrey's mind has simply made a dream story of the people around him. Eraserhead and Lost Highway are similar in that they are confusing and open to interpretation. I love them both. Twin Peaks is arguably the best TV show of the last century. If you ever go through that, I'm sure it will finally push me to join your Patreon and watch full reactions. It's not easy to put yourself out there for films that don't have a clear meaning, but I think your discussions are always intelligent and I like hearing your perspectives.
I love that Roy Orbison song so much. In Dreams.