Doc Films (University of Chicago) - Wednesday, 7 and 9:30pm
This is where the legend really began.
It's curious to think how Lynch's career would have developed if DUNE
(1984) had not been a box office failure, but cinema history can thank
him for not playing it safe with this rebound project. Though Lynch
had already made three features, VELVET was the first full articulation
of his core theme of the evil that lurks in small towns everywhere.
Not the outright surrealist endeavor that was ERASERHEAD, it is also
not the most accessible of narratives. Dark, violent, sexual, and reeking
of 1963 suburbia, the film is at times a noir mystery and at others
a violent thriller. Many of the visual symbols that would populate TWIN
PEAKS are introduced here, such as red curtains appearing when danger
is present, and Lynch's continued growth as a complete cinematic artist
is evident. Despite having a cast that didn't feature a legitimate star
(Dennis Hopper may be the exception, but his career was in the dumps
when he was cast...as the third choice), the film earned Lynch his second
Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, as well as praise from critics
throughout the world. It's also notable that Kyle MacLachlan (essentially
playing Dale Cooper) might never have worked again if not for his excellent
performance. Still dangerous twenty years later, the film is as gorgeous
as it is classic.
(1986, 120 min, 35mm) JH - Cine-File.info
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