Customer Reviews

Blue Velvet: A Bloomsbury Movie Guide (Bloomsbury Movie Guides)

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This pathetic book is organized as though it's geared for morons - "from A to Z", with absurd topics like 'people like Frank' and 'chipped tooth'. There's even a chapter called 'Pabst Blue Ribbon' in which the author merely tells about how he couldn't find this brand of beer in his local store. Why put this in a book? Also, the chapter concerning Laura Dern, who had a major role in this movie, is only 2 pages and makes the amazing declaration that her mother is Cheryl Ladd! (it's Diane Ladd.) That shows you how much research was put into this book - none. The author is just a guy who is a fan of the movie, did very little research and interviewed no one about it, and spews his pedestrian opinions willy-nilly. For instance, Frank Booth was meant to represent a purely evil, subhuman, subterranean insect in this movie, yet the author goes on about his "pathos" and endearing qualities. And maybe you want to buy this book because there'll be some interviews with the stars, director, or ANYONE? Forget it - all you get are the author's takes on the film, period. He does quote Hopper and Lynch, but only one-liners. Don't waste your time on this mess, or the other book in this series about Goldfinger, either. They're not serious analyzations of the movies - only the uninformed opinions of British fans who got lucky enough to have their books published. The book is intended only for those maniacal fans who'll buy ANYTHING related to the movie. The few pictures are merely stock stills from the movie...no behind the scenes stuff. I wasted my money on this, so please heed my advice and forget this book exists. For a MUCH better, far more intelligent analysis of "Blue Velvet", get Danny Peary's book "Cult Movies" (it's in either vol. 2 or 3).

Drazin's book is an excellent guide to one of David Lynch's greatest films. It contains a breakdown of every aspect of the film and more. It is an excellent way for people to delve deeper into the film and find out Lynch's subtle meanings of style. The only thing lacking from this book is the screenplay. If that is what you are looking for then you'll have to look elsewhere.

If you value a literate and intelligent appreciation of a complex film, then this book is for you. It has helped me to understand and enjoy (if this word can be used of such a profoundly disturbing film) 'Blue Velvet' without dispelling any of its poetry. It recognizes that there are no final answers to all the mysteries of this extraordinary film. It avoids jargon, and is accessible to the general reader as well as the movie buff. It doesn't cover `every aspect of the movie' as the book description claims, but this seems to me to be a strength. It avoids a lot of the frankly tedious behind-the-scenes production details in favour of a more personal response. So if you really want to know what the budget was or what sort of lenses Frederick Elmes used in Dorothy's bedroom, then this book probably isn't for you. Indeed, if it has a weakness, it's when it does attempt to give the sort of `all you need to know' movie trivia that the AZ format calls for. But this is a small quibble.