Blue Velvet (1986)

Few filmmakers have left as significant a mark on culture as David Lynch, with his singular vision, lucid dreamscapes and liminal darkness. Before Twin Peaks and Wild at Heart brought him mainstream success, in 1986 he stunned the world with what many still consider to be his masterpiece: Blue Velvet.One day in the all-American town of Lumberton, college student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) finds a severed ear. Compelled to dig further with the help of Sandy (Laura Dern), Jeffrey embarks on a journey into the dark side of Lumberton, where he is exposed to the sadistic, the psychotic and the strange that exists behind closed doors. His investigation first brings him to nightclub singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) and on a collision course with Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), the frightening epicentre of small-town evil.Whether it’s Hopper’s ferocious performance, Lynch’s uncompromising direction or the film’s unforgettable portrait of corruption beneath idyllic Americana, Blue Velvet remains as startling and controversial today as it was upon release, and returns in a definitive, director-approved 4K restoration.