Blue Velvet

1. Media Presentation
Blue Velvet
David Lynch
By Joel Monk

2. Clip

3. Analysis
 I find the opening sequence of David Lynch’s ‘Blue
Velvet’ to be one of my all time favourite scenes from
a film.
 It is extremely visually stimulating and as you dig
deeper into the symbolism it becomes more and
more interesting.

4. Shot by Shot Analysis
1 -
The title is shown over a blue velvet curtain backdrop as the song ‘Blue
Velvet’ plays over the top.
The shot then dissolves into a downward pan from the near cloudless sky
down to some red roses. The roses then dissolve and a collection of shots
of typical American Suburb life. E.g a friendly fireman drives past, a
crossing guard helping children cross the road…
All these shots are slightly unfocused and blurry and lit in a very soft way.
Making them seem more like memories than actual places and events.

5. Shot by Shot Analysis
2 –
The nostalgic montage then cuts to a man watering his front lawn. Then
cuts to his wife watching a crime show on television (irony?). It then cuts
back to the man where we see his hose begin to spray erratically. There is
then a series of quick cuts between the man trying to untangle his hose,
the knot in the hose and the water valve where the pressure is increasing.
These quick cuts effectively raise the tension levels until the man begins to
start clutching his neck and is having a stroke. It then cuts to him on the
floor in the mud.

6. Shot by Shot Analysis
3-
We see a slow motion shot of the water from the man’s hose spraying in
the air then back to a wide shot of the man on the ground. A dog is trying
to bite the stream of water and a small child wanders down from next
door to see what is happening.

7. Shot by Shot Analysis
4-
The film then cuts to a close up of the grass where the water is being
splashed. This then cuts to an extreme close up of the blades of grass
whilst the ‘Blue Velvet’ soundtrack in the background fades away. The
blades of grass are separated as the camera moves through them. The
music changes into a disturbing rustling and a high pitched drone. This
builds to a crescendo when the camera reaches the source of the noise
which is a group of beetles fighting under the grass. There are then several
more extreme close ups of the beetles which are unnerving and disturbing.
The shots are starkly lit and are full of erratic movement which unsettles
watchers and gives them a feeling of disgust.

8. Analysis
 This sequence really sets the mood for the rest of the film.
 I think that the message behind the sequence of events is that no
matter what the surface shows there is always a darker, more sinister
side to perfect things.
 The man having the stroke is very unsettling to the audience after
having seen all the idyllic suburban life clips.
 Right under the perfect, green grass of the lawn, there is a nasty,
bundle of beetles fighting.
 The contrast in lighting between the underworld of the grass and
suburbia. Soft and sunny for above, dark and shadowed for the insect
scene. One is innocent and happy, the other is filthy and violent. Both
co-exist but are completely unaware of each other.