Do you want to see ‘Blue Velvet’?

Blue Velvet (1986)

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Top Critics

Average Rating: 8.5/10
Reviews Counted: 37
Fresh: 34 | Rotten: 3

If audiences walk away from this subversive, surreal shocker not fully understanding the story, they might also walk away with a deeper perception of the potential of film storytelling.

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 2

If audiences walk away from this subversive, surreal shocker not fully understanding the story, they might also walk away with a deeper perception of the potential of film storytelling.

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Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 70,089

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Movie Info

Director David Lynch crafted this hallucinogenic mystery-thriller that probes beneath the cheerful surface of suburban America to discover sadomasochistic violence, corruption, drug abuse, crime and perversion. Kyle Maclachlan stars as Jeffrey Beaumont, a square-jawed young man who returns to his picture-perfect small town when his father suffers a stroke. Walking through a field near his home, Jeff discovers a severed human ear, which he immediately brings to the police. Their disinterest

R, 2 hr. 1 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Drama

Directed By: David Lynch

Written By: David Lynch

In Theaters: Sep 19, 1986 Wide

On DVD: Feb 4, 1999

MGM

Blue Velvet Trailer & Photos

Cast

Kyle MacLachlan
Jeffrey Beaumont
Isabella Rossellini
Dorothy Vallens
Dennis Hopper
Frank Booth
Laura Dern
Sandy Williams
Hope Lange
Mrs. Williams
Dean Stockwell
Ben
Brad Dourif
Raymond
Jack Nance
Paul
Frances Bay
Aunt Barbara
George Dickerson
Detective Williams
Jack Harvey
Mr. Beaumont
Priscilla Pointer
Mrs. Beaumont
Ken Stovitz
Mike
Peter Carew
Coroner
Moses Gibson
Double Ed
Dick Green
Don Vallens
J. Michael Hunter
Hunter
Kate Reid
Party Girl
Angelo Badalamenti
Piano Player
A. Michelle Depland
Party Girl
Philip Markert
Dr. Gynde
Donald Moore
Desk Sergeant
Fred Pickler
Yellow Man Detective T....
Michelle Sasser
Party Girl
Selden Smith
Nurse Cindy
Jon Jon Snipes
Little Donny
Jean Pierre Viale
Master of Ceremonies
Leonard Watkins
Double Ed

Critic Reviews for Blue Velvet

All Critics (45) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (3) | DVD (43)

It made me feel pity for the actors who worked in it and anger at the director for taking liberties with them.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comments (45)

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Not quite like any other thriller or erotic mystery you've ever seen.

January 1, 2000 Comment

John Hartl

Film.com

Top Critic

The movie doesn't progress or deepen, it just gets weirder, and to no good end.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comments (4)

Paul Attanasio

Washington Post

Top Critic

One which David Lynch fans will want to watch over and over in HD, and which non-fans ought to see at least once.

December 29, 2011 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

| Comment

James Plath

Movie Metropolis

Works brilliantly as an allegory of American repression and willful illusion of order, Lumberton's forced-smile '50s sensibility unable to keep down the anarchic, raging id that is humanity's primal drive. [Blu-ray]

November 15, 2011 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews

| Comment

Peter Canavese

Groucho Reviews Source: Groucho Reviews

For as diverse as Lynch's filmography is, Blue Velvet is quite possibly his masterwork. There's a strange mix of comfort and beauty with terror and awfulness.

November 13, 2011 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures

| Comment

Kevin Carr

7M Pictures

The Blue-ray 25th anniversary of David Lynch's 1986 small-town mystery drama reaffirms its status as his most fully realized picture--his personal masterpiece and a highlight of the New American Cinema.

November 10, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

shocking, perverse, funny, unsettling, scathing, biting, and twisted, but undeniably original

November 10, 2011 Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk

| Comment

James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

A terrific, finely-tuned presentation of a landmark American movie, complete with flaming nipples, minus cackling audience members.

November 7, 2011 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

| Comment

Jaime N. Christley

Slant Magazine

One of the most subversive films of the 1980s, delving into the corrupt underside of the then-idealized faux innocence of the 1950s with an almost alarming ferocity.

July 1, 2010 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

| Comment

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Surreal, graphic shocker of small-town sin.

June 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Charles Cassady

Common Sense Media

In 1986 David Lynch broke the language of cinema wide open in the same way that Jackson Pollock did with the art world in the early '40s.

May 11, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com

| Comments (5)

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

a beautiful film about sickness, a funny film about degeneracy

June 16, 2006 Full Review Source: Cinemania

| Comment

Dan Jardine

Cinemania

In this impressive work, released after the flop of Dune, David Lynch addresses issues of order and disorder, normal and abnormal sexuality, good and evil, while telling a classic American coming-of-age story.

December 22, 2005 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Blue Velvet

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David Lynch's first fully realized masterpiece starts off seemingly straight forward and innocent but don't let the introduction fool you. You soon plunge into a strange world of sex, drugs and violence. Featuring a horrific and amazing performance from Dennis Hopper as well as stellar performances from the rest of the cast. This is a must see.

March 3, 2012

Graham Jones

Super Reviewer

Summed up perfectly by the late Gene Siskel, this film plays you like a piano. Lynch's arousing yet unsettling portrait of the underbelly of the American dream is something you won't soon forget. He successfully immerses you into a pleasantville-esque world replete with the musical stylings of Bobby Vinton. From there,

November 13, 2011

Reid Volk

Super Reviewer

Blue Velvet Quotes

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1. Frank Booth: Don't be a good neighbor to her.
– Submitted by Pete H (2 days ago)
1. Frank Booth: Let's hit the fuckin' road!
– Submitted by Jeff Y (2 months ago)
1. Frank Booth: Let's fuck! I'll fuck anything that moves!
– Submitted by Manos M (3 months ago)
1. Frank Booth: Heineken? Fuck that shit!
– Submitted by Vera P (8 months ago)
1. Sandy Williams: Where is my dream?
– Submitted by Matheus C (13 months ago)

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