Blue Velvet

Blue Velvet (1986)

  • 92% of critics liked it
    (38 reviews)

  • 87% of users liked it
    (72,364 ratings)

Director David Lynch crafted this hallucinogenic mystery-thriller that probes beneath the cheerful surface of suburban America to discover sadomasochistic violence, corruption, drug abuse, crime and perversion. Kyle Maclachlan stars as Jeffrey Beaumont, a square-jawed young man who returns to his… More

Play Trailer

R,
Directed By
Written By
David Lynch
Genres
Mystery & Suspense, Drama
In Theaters
Sep 19, 1986 Wide
MGM

Critic Reviews

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    It made me feel pity for the actors who worked in it and anger at the director for taking liberties with them.

  • John Hartl, Film.com

    Not quite like any other thriller or erotic mystery you've ever seen.

  • Paul Attanasio, Washington Post

    The movie doesn't progress or deepen, it just gets weirder, and to no good end.

  • James Plath, Movie Metropolis

    One which David Lynch fans will want to watch over and over in HD, and which non-fans ought to see at least once.

  • Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

    Works brilliantly as an allegory of American repression and willful illusion of order, Lumberton's forced-smile '50s sensibility unable to keep down the anarchic, raging id that is humanity's primal drive. [Blu-ray]

Read all 14 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Spencer S


    Lynchian thrill at its best, this is just one of director David Lynch's heralded magnum opuses. The film has the same overall tone of creepiness, insidious intent, and villainy, on an under your skin level, as many of his other films. Described as a film about the deep recesses… More

  • Emil K


    Blue Velvet is highly overrated film from David Lynch which ultimately still stands as one of his best known and most appreciated work to date. In my opinion it is far from his best and lacks the playful and experimental greatness of his best works like Mulholland Drive and Inland… More

  • Graham J


    David Lynch's first fully realized masterpiece starts off seemingly straight forward and innocent but don't let the introduction fool you. You soon plunge into a strange world of sex, drugs and violence. Featuring a horrific and amazing performance from Dennis Hopper as well… More

  • Reid V


    Summed up perfectly by the late Gene Siskel, this film plays you like a piano. Lynch's arousing yet unsettling portrait of the underbelly of the American dream is something you won't soon forget. He successfully immerses you into a pleasantville-esque world replete with the… More

  • Melvin W


    Frank Booth: In dreams, I walk with you. In dreams, I talk to you. In dreams, you're mine, all the time. Forever.  "It's a strange world." Holy Shit! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually liked this movie. This is shocking because I might have… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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