This week on the HomeVideodrome podcast, Hunter reviews Lars Von Trier’s “Melancholia” and “Atlas Shrugged Part I,” Jim offers up his love for William Wyler’s “The Collector” and we both talk about our love of “The Cannonball Run,” all while running down this week’s releases. Go listen and enjoy!
“Blue Velvet” is one of those movies that spurred on my curiosity when it comes to exploring movies. The storytelling sensibilities were mainstream enough to hook me in, but director David Lynch injected enough of his weirdo personality into it to make me want to explore his body of work more thoroughly, and thus made me more adventurous when seeking out movies as a result.
Not only is “Blue Velvet” the film that revitalized Lynch’s career after the “Dune” debacle, it also contains many of the key ingredients for which Lynch would become known. Lynch’s trademark films have the plot elements of a noir and are typically either set against the bizarre cityscape of Los Angeles or small town America, the latter being the case here.
Kyle MacLachlan stars as Lynch’s cypher, Jeffrey Beaumont, a boy scout with a craving for mystery and dangerous voyeurism. After he returns to his idyllic home from college, Jeffrey finds a severed human ear while taking a walk in a field. Despite warnings by the local sheriff, Jeffrey follows the trail of clues and becomes embroiled in a mystery surrounding a mysterious nightclub singer (Isabella Rosselini), as well as a vicious criminal named Frank (Dennis Hopper) with a taste for amyl nitrate, creative cursing and Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Lynch’s movies do a great job of capturing dream logic, as they can go from coherent and normal, to mildly off-putting, before getting outright horrifying. One of said moments from “Blue Velvet” is the surreal scene in which a dolled-up Dean Stockwell lip-syncs Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams,” one of many strange moments in a wild evening for Jeffrey. Hopper’s performance is one of the most interesting villains to appear in movies, as he is both amusing and menacing at the same time. Whenever he shows up, the dreams Lynch delivers turn to nightmares.
As a director, Lynch brings a level of unpredictability that feels dangerous and exciting, something he would only take further as his career progressed.
In previous “Blue Velvet” DVD releases, there was much talk about the 50 minutes of lost footage. Stills were shown from said scenes in various making-of documentaries, giving fans an idea of what these snippets might contain. What makes this Blu-ray release a treat for Lynch die-hards is that that all 50 minutes have surfaced and are included here as a bonus feature. On this week’s HomeVideodrome podcast, I erroneously remarked that this release probably won’t have them, and I wouldn’t upgrade my DVD until it did. Well, thankfully I was wrong, and I’ll definitely be trading up, as this seems to be the definitive “Blue Velvet” release fans have been waiting for.
Available on Blu-ray
Other Noteworthy Releases
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2: Well, here it is, Pottermaniacs. Now you can have every single Potter film on your shelf, from Harry’s fresh-faced first year, all the way to the harrowing finale. Speaking of Harry Potter completionism…
Available on Blu-ray/DVD combo, Blu-ray, and DVD
Harry Potter – The Complete Collection Years 1-7: If you’re a Harry Potter holdout on home video, every single film in the series is available in this slick box set. Both the box set and “Deathly Hallows Part 2” hit shelves Nov. 11th.
Atlas Shrugged – Part I: If you want to hear my thoughts on this movie, go listen to this week’s HomeVideodrome podcast over at The Film Thugs.
The Change-Up: A body switching comedy with Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman where the switcheroo happens while peeing in a magic fountain. I avoid comedies directed by David Dobkin (“Fred Claus”), but even when Bateman shows up in the crappiest of movies, his presence elevates them to the status of “watchable.”
Fanny and Alexander: Criterion updates their release of Ingmar Bergman’s reflective masterpiece with a Blu-ray edition. This release contains both the theatrical cut, as well as the extended television cut.
Available on Blu-ray
The Cannonball Run: One of Hal Needham’s best, no one makes ’em like he did in his heyday anymore. This Blu-ray release includes a commentary with Needham, as well as the film’s producer, Albert S. Ruddy.
Available on Blu-ray
The Collector: William Wyler’s thriller starring Terence Stamp comes to Blu-ray. Highly recommended.
Available on Blu-ray
Frankenhooker: This cult offering from “Basket Case” director Frank Henenlotter is a gory good time. A man with limited medical knowledge tries to bring his dead fiancee back to life using body parts from prostitutes. Naturally, things get crazy once she’s brought back.
Available on Blu-ray
A Better Tomorrow: Not the John Woo original, but the recent Korean remake which works from Woo’s original screenplay.
One-Eyed Jacks: This western was originally going to be directed by Stanley Kubrick, but the film’s star, Marlon Brando, took over the director’s chair after both Kubrick was booted from the project. Sam Peckinpah did some uncredited work on the script, and a rejected early draft was penned by the great Rod Serling. It’s the only movie Brando ever directed.
Available on Blu-ray
The Fisher King: One of Terry Gilliam’s better, less self-indulgent films. It stars Jeff Bridges as a Howard Stern-style radio shock jock whose career is ruined in the wake of a terrible tragedy he inadvertently sparked. He soon befriends an eccentric homeless man played by Robin Williams, who believes that he’s on a quest to find the holy grail. Its place in Gilliam’s body of work is fitting, given his involvement with “Monty Python and The Holy Grail.”
Available on Blu-ray
To Die For: Gus Van Sant directed Nicole Kidman in one of her more acclaimed performances in this black comedy.
Available on Blu-ray
Executive Decision: Otherwise known as “that movie where Steven Seagal’s character gets unexpectedly killed.”
Available on Blu-ray
More Disney Movies in 3D: Disney continues their onslaught of retro-fitting their films for 3D at home, just in case they weren’t good the first time. This week their firing off “Chicken Little,” “Bolt,” “Meet the Robinsons” and “G-Force.”
This post originally appeared over at Parcbench