Blue Velvet is a 1986 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by David Lynch. Blending psychological horror with film noir, the film stars Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, and Laura Dern, and is named after the 1951 song of the same name. The film concerns a young college student who, returning home to visit his ill father, discovers a severed human ear in a field. The ear then leads him to uncover a vast criminal conspiracy, and enter into a romantic relationship with a troubled lounge singer.
"I guess it means there's trouble until the robins come": Throughout the film, a dream Sandy had is alluded to, in which the world was full of darkness and turmoil until a group of robins were set free, unleashing blinding light and love. Lighting is a strong symbolic aspect of the film, illustrated in this second shot which is lit from above before fading out, representing a return to normality.
Rossellini and Lynch at the Cannes Film Festival
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, visual artist, and musician. Lynch has received critical acclaim for his films, which are often distinguished by their surrealist, dreamlike qualities. He has received numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion in 2006 and an Honorary Academy Award in 2019. In 2007, a panel of critics convened by The Guardian announced that "after all the discussion, no one could fault the conclusion that David Lynch is the most important film-maker of the current era."
Lynch in 2017
Lynch's high school senior portrait, 1964
Theatrical release poster for Eraserhead (1977)
Lynch at the 1990 Emmy Awards ceremony
