Blue Velvet
Arguably the pinnacle of the David Lynch body of work , Blue Velvetis one of the most haunting , surrealistic , beautiful movies ever made . Such Lynchian regular as Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern mavin alongside Isabella Rossellini , who ease up a head - turn , career - best performance as Dorothy Vallens , and Dennis Hopper , breathing life into one of cinema ’s most terrifying baddie , Frank Booth .
Lynch captivate the dismal side of American suburbia and explored the most disturbing corners of the human head by juxtaposing the quaint and the familiar with the gruesome and the unsettling . Here are 10 captivating item from the making ofBlue Velvet .
Blue Velvet Never Would’ve Gotten Made If David Lynch Directed Return Of The Jedi
When George Lucas was in pre - production onReturn of the Jedi , he offered the director ’s president to a fistful of filmmakers , David Lynch among them . Lynch turned down the offer and madeDuneinstead .
The financial and critical nonstarter ofDuneis what led Lynch to conceiveBlue Velvetas a life history comeback . He has since suggested that if he ’d taken the task of directingReturn of the Jedi , which was guarantee to be a huge smasher , Blue Velvetmight have never been made .
The Movie Could Have Starred Val Kilmer And Molly Ringwald
Val Kilmer was initially offered the part of Jeffrey , but he turned it down . He ’s since said that he was institutionalize an former bill of exchange that was fundamentally a hardcore porno . Kilmer would later say that if he was generate the hand that cease up being shot as the final movie , he would ’ve take the role .
Molly Ringwald was David Lynch ’s top choice to play Sandy , but she turned it down , revere that the film would tarnish her family - friendly look-alike .
Roy Orbison Didn’t Want “In Dreams” To Appear In The Movie
On top of the track that this motion-picture show puzzle its title from , Blue Velvetprominently features Roy Orbison ’s “ In Dreams . ” Orbison initially refused to let the film maker apply his Song dynasty , so David Lynch found a way to legally apply it without Orbison ’s permission .
Orbison did n’t find out that his birdcall was used in the film until he caught it at a motion-picture show theater in California after its waiver . Ironically , the movie ended up reviving Orbison ’s career , and he finally shot a video for “ In dream ” with Lynch that utilized footage from the motion picture .
The Prosthetic Ear From The Movie Still Belongs To The Makeup Artist Who Created It
One of the most striking images inBlue Velvet — and the image that initially sparked Lynch ’s interest in the idea — is the severed auricle lie on a lawn in the nerve of American suburbia , found by Jeffrey .
Although there are plenty of myth to the contrary , the prosthetic ear belong to Jeff Goodwin , the composition artist who create it . Goodwin ab initio pose it after his own ear , but Lynch thought it looked too much like a child ’s , so it was altered to depend like Fred C. Caruso ’s ear instead .
David Lynch Laughed While He Was Filming The Movie’s Most Disturbing Scene
Isabella Rossellini was confused during the filming ofBlue Velvet ’s most disturbing view — the ritualistic sexual assault scene — because David Lynch was express joy hysterically off - photographic camera . He found the weirdness of the scene to be humorous , but Rossellini did n’t see it that way .
However , in the years since the movie came out , Rossellini has said that she ca n’t catch this scene without laughing .
Willem Dafoe Was Considered For The Role Of Frank Booth
Many actors were considered for the role of Frank Booth , including Willem Dafoe , Harry Dean Stanton , Robert Loggia , and Steven Berkoff . For the most part , the actors ’ reasoning for become down the part was that Frank was too intense and horrible .
Dennis Hopper , on the other hand , emerge as the perfect cast when he told David Lynch , “ You have to get me play Frank , because I am Frank ! ”
Frank’s Tank Was Originally Going To Be Filled With Helium
in the first place , Frank ’s tank was go to be filled with helium . However , experienced drug substance abuser Dennis Hopper had a clearer approximation of what Frank would habituate to get high : amyl nitrite , an angina medication used recreationally on the disco music scene .
Hopper came to repent suggest this modification , intend that it would be scarier for Frank to breathe from a tank with no account , but David Lynch liked the change because he came to realize that Frank using He would have an unintended comedic gist .
According To Dennis Hopper, David Lynch Never Used The F-Word On The Set — Even When Referring To Dialogue
On the curing ofBlue Velvet , Dennis Hopper got a kick out of the fact that David Lynch would never use the F - word . He ’d gladly filled his script with F - bombs , but if he cite to a swear - laden line of dialogue , he ’d just point to the pageboy and refer to it as “ that tidings . ”
Helen Mirren Was The Second Choice To Play Dorothy
David Lynch write the part of Dorothy with Debbie Harry in nous . However , Harry had grow tired of being offered weirdo office after being typecast by the success ofVideodrome , so she turned it down .
Helen Mirren was Lynch ’s second option for the part . Before Isabella Rossellini was cast , Jodie Foster , Helen Hunt , Anjelica Huston , Sissy Spacek , Meryl Streep , and Sigourney Weaver were all considered .
The First Cut Of The Movie Was Almost Twice As Long As The Final Cut
The final deletion ofBlue Velvethas a run time of close to two hour , but the fierce cut come in at exactly threefold that : four hours long . David Lynch chop up a total of two hours and one minute of footage from that initial cut .
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