Tag Archive: Blue Velvet


Movies for perverts

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March 3, 2019

THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO CINEMA written and presented by Slavok Žižek (Directed by Sophie Fiennes, 2006)
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The title of this enlightening three-part documentary is eye-catching but likely to be misleading.

A pervert is someone whose sexual behaviour is considered abnormal or unacceptable but this film is not a guide for those seeking gratification from soft or hardcore porn in modern movies.

The unconventional Slovenian philosopher & psychoanalyst examines how the function of cinema is to mediate between our ‘illicit’ drives and our socially conditioned actions.

In Freudian terms, this is the internal struggle between the id and the super-ego. Žižek states provocatively  that “we need the truth of a fiction to express what we really are” or, more ambiguously, “desire is a wound of reality”.

Watching movies, he argues, is not merely an escapist pastime but an essential means by which to show how reality is constructed. Continue reading →

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A bio-friendly David Lynch

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October 28, 2018

ROOM TO DREAM by David Lynch & Kristine McKenna (Canongate Books, 2018)
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This is book for those who love David Lynch and his unique art life. If this part memoir-part biography is to be believed, this includes approximately 99% of the population.

In all the interviews with friends, family, ex-wives and actors practically no-one has a bad word to say about him and the level of critical analysis is about as deep as an article in Hello magazine. I’m a huge admirer of Lynch’s work but even I wearied the constant fawning tone adopted by journalist Kristine McKenna.

The book’s structure provides that a chapter of biographical details by McKenna is followed by one by Lynch who corrects any errors and adds his own memories. The introduction states: “What you’re reading here is basically a person having a conversation with his own biography”.

In principle this seems like a good plan. What we know of Lynch  is that he plays his cards very close to his chest. He gives relatively few interviews and never explains his strange visions. The most you’ll get out of him is that his ideas come from dreams, chance encounters or overheard snippets of conversation. Continue reading →

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BLUE VELVET’S DARK REALITY

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February 2, 2014

BLUE VELVET directed by David Lynch (USA, 1986)

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“Now it’s dark”

Call me a pervert but I never tire of this movie which I rate as David Lynch’s masterpiece and one of the greatest films ever made.

At the same time, I can see why many, women especially, hate it.

Aspects of the film look a little dated now but the portrayal of sexuality remains both controversial and disturbing.

Not only does Lynch  revel in depicting men’s capacity for voyeurism and violence but he also shows a woman who is turned on by abuse.

Plenty of films hint at sadomasochistic relationships but in this one  we are left with no room for doubt. Continue reading →

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HITCHCOCK PRESENTS : NIGHTMARES IN SUBURBIA

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June 2, 2013

SHADOW OF A DOUBT directed by Alfred Hitchcock (USA, 1943)

After recently re-watching The Third Man, I was reminded of another of my favourite movies starring Joseph Cotten.

Shadow Of A Doubt  is one of Hitchcock’s most underrated thrillers and, by all accounts his own personal favourite.

Watching it now shows how it has a number of parallels with David Lynch’s Blue Velvet.

In both films a safe, boring, suburban routine is disrupted by sinister forces from outside. In each, the law-abiding ‘ordinary’ citizens cannot comprehend why there should be such evil in the world. Continue reading →

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CRAZY CLOWN TIME

Filed under: Movies, Music — 3 Comments
October 20, 2011

My Mom always said to me that I should ‘play nicely’ but such advice would, I suspect, be anathema to David Lynch.

Pouring beer over a woman and ripping her shirt off, screaming so loud you spit and running around crazily in the backyard are some of the antics described in title track of his forthcoming debut album Crazy Clown Time (released the first week of November on  Sunday Best recordings).

If you are prepared to entrust Lynch with your e-mail address you can download this track for free (for a limited period) from his website.

Lynch recorded  the 14 track album at his own Asymmetrical Studio with engineer Dean Hurley, who contributes guitar and drums to several songs.

If this track is anything to go by, the album as a whole promises to explore the same surreal, backwoods territory of his movies. Continue reading →

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