Blue Velvet (film) - Legacy

Legacy

Although it initially gained a relatively small theatrical audience in North America and was met with controversy over its artistic merit, Blue Velvet soon became the center of a "national firestorm" in 1986, and over time achieved status as an American classic. In the late 1980s, and early 1990s, after its release on videotape, the film became a widely-known cult film, well known for its dark depiction of a suburban America. Followed by a myriad of VHS, Laserdisc and DVD releases, the film became more and more well-known among American audiences. It marked the entrance of David Lynch into the Hollywood mainstream and the comeback of Dennis Hopper after a significant hiatus from work. Hopper's performance and the character of Frank Booth itself has left an imprint on popular culture, with countless tributes, cultural references and parodies. The success of the film alone has helped propel Hollywood mainstream toward more graphic displays of previously censored themes, a similar case to Psycho (1960), to which Blue Velvet has been frequently compared. It has become one of the most significant, well-recognized films of its era, spawning countless imitations and parodies in media. The film's dark, stylish and erotic production design has served as a benchmark for a number of films, parodies and even Lynch's own later work, notably Twin Peaks (1990–91), and Mulholland Drive (2001). Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine cited it as one of the most "influential American films", as did Michael Atkinson, who dedicated a book to the film's themes and motifs.

Blue Velvet now frequently appears in various critical assessments of all-time great films, also ranked as one of the greatest films of the 1980s, one of the best examples of American surrealism and one of the finest examples of David Lynch's work. In a poll of two American critics ranking the "most outstanding films of the decade", Blue Velvet was placed third and fourth, behind Raging Bull (1980), E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982) and the German film Wings of Desire (1987). An Entertainment Weekly book special released in 1999 ranked Blue Velvet at thirty-seventh greatest films of all time. The film was ranked by The Guardian in its list of the 100 Greatest Films. Film Four's ranked it on their list of 100 Greatest Films. In a 2007 poll of the online film community held by Variety, Blue Velvet came in at the ninety-fifth greatest film of all time. Total Film ranked Blue Velvet as one of the all time best films in both a critics list and a public poll, in 2006 and 2007, respectively. In December 2002, a UK film critics poll in Sight & Sound ranked the film #5 on their list of the 10 Best Films of the Last 25 Years. In a special Entertainment Weekly issue, 100 new film classics were chosen from 1983 to 2008: Blue Velvet was ranked at #4.

In addition to Blue Velvet's various "all time greatest films" rankings, the American Film Institute has awarded the film three honors in its lists: #96 on 100 Years... 100 Thrills in 2001, selecting cinema's most thrilling moments and ranked Frank Booth #36 of the 50 greatest villains in 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains in 2003. In June 2008, the AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Blue Velvet was acknowledged as the eighth best film in the mystery genre. Premiere magazine listed Frank Booth, played by Dennis Hopper, as #54 on its list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time, calling him one of "the most monstrously funny creations in cinema history". The film was ranked #84 on Bravo Television's four-hour program 100 Scariest Movie Moments (2004). It is frequently sampled musically and an array of bands and solo artists have taken their names and inspiration from the film. In August 2012, Sight & Sound unveiled their latest list of the 250 greatest films of all time, with Blue Velvet ranking at #69.

Blue Velvet was also nominated for the following AFI lists:

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
  • "In Dreams"
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)

Blue Velvet also became the second David Lynch film to receive a Blu-ray release in the United States when it was released on November 8, 2011 in a special 25th anniversary edition featuring never-before-seen deleted scenes. The film had previously been released on DVD in 1999 and 2002 by MGM Home Entertainment. Inspired by the film, baroque pop singer Lana Del Rey recorded a cover version of Bobby Vinton's classic rendition of the song "Blue Velvet" in 2012. Used to endorse clothing line H&M, a music video accompanied the track and aired as a television commercial. Filmed in Post-war Americana, the video drew influence from Lynch and Blue Velvet. In the video, Del Rey plays the role of Dorothy Vallens, performing a private concert similar to the scene where Ben (Dean Stockwell) pantomimes "Candy-Colored-Clown" for Frank Booth. Del Rey's version, however, has her lip-synching "Blue Velvet" when a midget dressed as Frank Sinatra approaches and unplugs a hidden victrola, revealing Del Rey as a fraud. When Lynch heard of the music video, he praised it, telling Artinfo: "Lana Del Rey, she's got some fantastic charisma and – this is a very interesting thing – it's like she's born out of another time. She's got something that's very appealing to people. And I didn't know she was influenced by me!"