The Super Network

I had the privilege of attending the first screening of Cinema Nova’s Cult Cravings program (that will run until September), the film that I got to experience was Blue Velvet. Those who knows me, you are well aware that David Lynch is my favourite director and that Blue Velvet places 3rd on the list of my all time favourite films.

For a chance to see this on the big screen, I was not going to let that slip by. I have to send out a huge thank you to Cinema Nova for showing the film, and Vanessa for all her time and help.

This was actually my first ever Lynch film that I got to experience at the theater, I had missed opportunities before and I didn’t start to become a huge fan until just after Mulholland Dr. My anticipation for this film was right up there, I think it was by some small miracle that I didn’t cry as they curtains pulled back and the film appeared on the screen.

The Film
Blue Velvet is a strange piece of cinema, and in narrative this is probably one of the very few films of Lynch’s that is straight forward. It begins with the haunting song Blue Velvet as well as a piece of blue velvet as we see the credits. We are quickly introduced to this small idyllic suburban town in anywhere USA, and our main character Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) has come back here from school to help care for his hospitalised father. Upon leaving from a visit he finds a human ear in the fields and takes this to the police station and speaks to a Detective that lives close by. Before long Jeffrey begins to investigate the ear, along with the help of the Detective’s daughter Sandy (Laura Dern). They are lead to a woman who lives in a building near by Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), who sings at a local club. Jeffrey manages to get himself involved with Dorothy, and he slowly finds out about this crazy underworld within the town and the man who could quite possibly be evil itself Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper).

The Experience
Revealing too much about Blue Velvet is a crime, and for the sake of any readers who have not yet experienced the film I will leave the synopsis there. I have seen this film many times, I own the DVD (it sits in my Lynch collection) and I have spoken about it so many times. But nothing can quite equal the experience of seeing this at the theater, I even managed to pick up on a few other things that have slipped by me.

The Nova is a fantastic arthouse cinema, it has that genuine feel to it that I used to love experiencing back in the day. I am glad that a place like this still exists, and I can go and see the films that I love. The screening room that the film was shown in had a nice and intimate setting, it was relaxed. There were not a huge number of people, but sometimes you really don’t need it.

As the film began, I sat in my seat with pure excitement running through my veins. But as soon as the first images began to appear I was lost in the film, maybe it was the big screen, maybe it was the atmosphere but I just became so entranced by it that I had forgotten I had even seen this film before. It really was almost like seeing it for the first time, it felt so much more vibrant on the screen and watching it all unfold felt that much more mysterious.

“A candy colored clown they call the Sandman ..“

A major part of this film, despite being in a supporting role is Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth. I knew he was coming, as I watched the film even with all those feelings and getting lost in the experience, I knew he was coming. So did the audience I was there with, from the first moment he charged into the scene I could hear everyone’s anticipation for what was to come. Frank Booth is one of the greatest and craziest cinematic creations, placing Hopper at this point in his life with David Lynch was a stroke of pure genius. The performance is something he really disappeared into, he conveys Booth in every which way, from the look in his eyes to every word that comes out of his mouth. Isabella Rossellini and Kyle MacLachlan play off him with pure terror and fear, everyone time Booth is around there is a huge sense of dread.

I absolutely love everything about this film, and the experience I had is going to be something I’ll hold dear to me. It does rank right up there with the best cinematic experiences and there is just something about the setting that just makes it perfect. There is so much going on within the film, the story, the characters, and it is all shot so beautifully. Even some of the more horrific scenes have a sense of beauty about them which is something that Lynch has always managed to do. The score and the music is placed perfectly, it repeats itself yet it is never unwelcome.

This was a screening of a film that I will never forget, I couldn’t have asked for anything better in my very first David Lynch at the theater experience.

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