For today's post, we're wishing a very Happy Birthday to another living legend and U.S. born film director. Now 70 years young, David Lynch is, like John Carpenter, arguably one of the finest and most unique film-makers America has produced during the past 50 years. But while the former is pretty much universally loved by horror film fans, the latter is, understandably, much more polarising within this crowd and, of course, outside it... no doubt due to his surrealist bent and a taste for absurdist humour that's often in uncomfortably close proximity to the more disturbing and nightmarish content the films also contain. Which is of course a long winded way of saying Lynch isn't going to be everyone's cup of coffee.
For myself though, I've long been a fan, ever since first seeing the likes of Eraserhead (1977) and the underrated Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992) late night on TV as a young 'un. It's hard to articulate the effect these and other films of his had on me upon first seeing them but for one thing, they (along with others by the likes of Dario Argento and John Carpenter) are among a select group of films ultimately responsible, but better or for worse, for igniting my interest in and insatiable hunger for "midnight" movies... i.e. those that seem like broadcasts from another planet and/or dredged up from the depths of the unconscious sleeping mind.
Working in tandem with this tantalising, dreamlike quality his films so potently exude, was Lynch's power to pull me completely into his world... a world which while strange and often unsettling, also feels completely real, living and breathing, down to the smallest tactile details. In fact I struggle to think of many directors who are as adept at conjuring mood and atmosphere and creating such a believable sense of place. A lot of this I'd attribute to Lynch's background as a painter giving him an eye for texture and also, his brilliant use of sound design and music. I mean in this latter capacity alone, Lynch is still probably ahead of most of the cinematic curve.
Anyway, enough hero worship from me for now. I could of course go on but I realise y'all have busy lives to be living and all. So yeah, David Lynch rocks in my book. Aside from the great man himself though, we're also here today to talk about what's perhaps his most well regarded film, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Yup, it's...
Undoubtedly one of the most talked about and analysed movies of the 1980s, there's not a huge amount I can add to what's been discussed and recited over and over about Blue Velvet. Most of the theory and trivia behind the film is, I'm sure, well known enough already. So instead I figured I'd share my own history with/opinions of it with you. And maybe we will get into a little bit of behind the scenes stuff too as we progress...
