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The Blue Velvet Project
Blue Velvet, 47 seconds at a time by Nicholas Rombes
The Blue Velvet Project, #103
Second #4841, 80:41
1. The spell is broken. Frank has shut off the song. Ben seems insulted, and punishes Frank with silence. Dorothy refuses to smile. A joy ride is suggested. Paul’s (Jack Nance’s) shadow offers evidence of a hidden light. There is also a folded newspaper or magazine in his jacket pocket.
2. In October 1986, the month after Blue Velvet’s release, Ronald Regan delivered a speech at the Republican Governors Association Dinner. He used the word revolution numerous times, and spoke of permanently altering the balance of power:
But if I could, tonight, I’d like to take a moment or two to consider the theme taken up by this year’s RGA idea book: the second stage of the revolution. Of course, first we need to be as clear as we can about just what it is that’s taken place in the first stage of the revolution. There are the many changes we’ve been able to effect in policy — themselves tremendously important — changes like the lower tax rates and the more limited role of the Federal Government that have led to some 46 months now of economic growth and to the creation of more than 11 1/2 million new jobs, and changes like the rebuilding of our national defenses and the firm reassertion of America’s world role on behalf of human freedom. . . .
Even though this change is already underway, most of stage one of our revolution has taken place here in Washington, as we’ve continued to limit the scope of the Federal Government. Now it’s time for resources, initiatives, and public attention to shift back to the States still more definitely, still more dramatically — in other words, to alter the balance of power permanently in favor of levels of government that are closer to the people. This is stage two of our revolution. . . .
Now, this year we have an historic chance to win back a majority of statehouses for the first time since 1968, to carry the revolution more decisively out of Washington and into the country.
3. In a 1985 interview, David Lynch said:
If Dune becomes a success, I’ll shoot the sequel. I’ve also written two screenplays, and I’d love to film one of them in the near future. The first one is a thriller called Blue Velvet, the other one is a strange comedy entitled Ronnie Rocket.
4. Ben has not yet switched off his lamp microphone. At least four of the characters are looking at Dorothy. Frank holds the audio cassette with “In Dreams” in his right hand. The woman in the painting on the wall in the space between Dorothy and Ben constitutes the seventh character in the frame. Everyone is standing still. Frank is about to say the words that will empty him from the screen in a radical cut, that will alter the balance of power, that will shift the Blue Velvet into magic realism for a split second, throwing into turmoil the realism of the film.
Over the period of one full year — three days per week — The Blue Velvet Project will seize a frame every 47 seconds of David Lynch’s classic to explore. These posts will run until second 7,200 in August 2012. For a complete archive of the project, click here. And here is the introduction to the project.
