BLUE VELVET Mysteries, Part 2:
Gregor Meyer's Photo File.
A stroll through the scripted, filmed, disincluded scenes of
Blue Velvet.
First, although Gregor Meyer's shooting script of Velvet (Revised 3rd Draft,
dated August 24,1984) provided the basis for describing these scenes, a far richer
description and interpretation of the 'unknown Blue Velvet" can be found in
the fourth issue of Video Watchdog.
Written by Bret Wood, it is still the
best rundown on the subject. Wood stresses that the scenes described
should not be construed as footage to be found and restored, and Gregor and I agree
wholeheartedly. Forgetting for a second the very low likelihood of Lynch ever allowing the
presentation of this material, even as a DVD supplement, it should be underlined that the
released film represents an artist's vision and that, to David Lynch, these fascinating
scenes probably amount to leftover clay in a sculptor's shop. Gregor put the question directly
to Lynch once, who responded by saying that every movie has bad ideas that get filmed but
need to be tossed aside in the editing process.
Bret Wood's article talks about the ten script pages that depict Jeffrey (Kyle
MacLachlan) recalled from college when his father suffers a brain hemorrhage. Summoned from
a school dance (where he watches a date rape in progress - !) Jeffrey gets the bad news on a
dorm phone.
Jeffrey at college, learning of his father's illness.
Sandy Williams (Laura Dern) is introduced stepping out of the darkness to ask Jeffrey if he came to
talk to her Detective father about 'the ear.' In the script (scenes 47-52) Jeffrey first sees her
while eating cake with her mother (Hope Lange). He also meets Sandy's boyfriend
Mike at this time; another later scene at the Williams house shows Jeffrey making football player
Mike jealous by hanging out with the couple, the 'new man' waiting for Mike to get the message.
Jeffrey meets Mrs. Williams and Sandy's boyfriend Mike (Ken Stovitz).
A disturbing event at Dorothy's apartment (are there any non-disturbing events at her
apartment?): Jeffrey catches Dorothy flushing an ear down her bathroom toilet.
Presuambly, the ear is her husband's, and a mate to the one Jeffrey found in a vacant lot. The
message on the bathroom mirror is from the incredibly villainous Frank Booth.
Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini) and Jeffrey at the sink.
At one point, Dorothy leads Jeffrey to the apartment roof, where he tries to learn more
about her anguished situation. Dorothy's intimation of a death wish is made more immediate
when it seems she might throw herself from the roof in despair.
Dorothy hints at suicide, followed by ...
And the roof becomes one more site for their strange and delirious lovemaking.
... lovemaking on the roof.
The following scene is actually in the foreign release version of the film, according to Gregor Meyer,
whose Italian poster features the image of a woman's spreadeagled legs tied to a pool table
and cross-braced with a poolcue. In the script (scenes 153-154), Frank Booth threatens to send
a character named Willard 'a love letter' for tearing his coat earlier. The script places
Willard cowering from Frank on a bed with a drunken whore; here the encounter is moved to the
pool room, in the midst of various lowlifes and their topless molls.
Frank (Dennis Hopper) threatens Willard (actor?) at "The Barbary Coast."
This is a shot from scene 124, the conference scene where Detective Williams (George
Dickerson) has Jeffrey put on the police record what he knows about the violent events of the
story. Bret Wood refers to this as the 'Psycho wrapup,' and it certainly seems a likely
candidate for disinclusion. Note the 'Lumberton' log on the
conference room table ... which makes Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks seem even
more interrelated.
Aftermath debriefing.
Oh, a final note for Mr. Bret Wood and Tim Lucas: we actually found the workprint for
the car headlight shot, the one where the laserdisc transfer of Blue Velvet laterally crops
off half of each headlight ... and on the workprint ... both headlights are fully shown, with
empty screen to spare on each side. Let's hope MGM/UA, which is trying to put together a DVD
release, finds the wherewithal to retransfer
Blue Velvet at its full W-I-D-E Panavision girth.
Addendum 4/18/00 : They did!
See Savant's Blue Velvet DVD Review!
Back to Part One of this Article.
Text © Copyright 1999, 2000 Glenn Erickson
DVD Savant Text © Copyright 2007 Glenn Erickson
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