Blue Velvet (1986)

Country: USA
Director: David Lynch
Screenwriter: David Lynch
Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Hope Lange, Dean Stockwell

The film industry is full of weird dudes. But none translate their eccentricities to their filmographies as successfully—or as often—as David Lynch.

Using the same quirky formula that would make Twin Peaks such a hit in the '90s, Lynch tells the story of a sexy chanteuse (Isabella Rossellini) pinned under the thumb of an amyl nitrate-huffing psychopath (Dennis Hopper) who's holding her family hostage. And then there are the two youngsters (Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern) playing teen detectives, tying to unravel the mystery.

Following the box office failure of Dune, Blue Velvet was Lynch’s attempt to make something personal. In Lynch on Lynch, the director notes, “After Dune I was down so far that anything was up! So it was just a euphoria. And when you work with that kind of feeling, you can take chances. You can experiment.”

And experiment he did. Using style to soften its brutal acts, the cult classic paints a surreal portrait of the juxtaposition between Anytown, USA and the perversity that lurks beneath its perfectly-manicured lawns. —JW