Verified Document

Mise-En-Scene And Cinematography Term Paper

¶ … Blue Velvet, directed by David Lynch [...] mise-en-scene and cinematography in the film. David Lynch is a master of the film noir, dark and brooding types of films that disturb, disquiet, and titillate all at the same time, and "Blue Velvet" is no exception. The film is part blue porn flick, part girl-next-door love story, and part sadistic kidnapping, and yet the elements all blend together to form a cohesive whole because of Lynch's masterful use of mise-en-scene staging and cinematography. "Blue Velvet," even with its' happy ending, leaves the viewer wanting more somehow, and that too, seems to be just what Lynch intended. Blue Velvet

Mise-en-scene is a French term describing the "director's text" or staging of a film, and in "Blue Velvet," David Lynch's intricate and often surreal staging is an integral part of the film. He arranges space and time in the film with such dark and dreamlike qualities that the film can be nothing more than memorable and yet quite disturbing at the same time - a true mark of Lynch's film and a tribute to his mise-en-scene. The most compelling visual motif in the film is of course the color blue. Lynch stages action around the color to keep it always in the memory of the viewers. The film opens with a sensuous scene of blue velvet fabric undulating on the screen, the theme continues from the background music to the clearly blue cigarette smoke issuing from the cigarettes of the characters, and in fact, Dorothy, the nightclub singer...

This continual motif of blue throughout the film not only carries through the title, but also creates an enduring element that grows and develops through the entire plot. It reveals information about the characters, and even signifies Dorothy and her highly "blue" relationship with the evil and depraved Frank, who loves to suck on her blue robe when he is not making her black and blue. Even the music Dorothy sings, such as "Blue Moon" and "Blue Velvet" help to carry this blue theme through the film, and Lynch's dreamy and often highly blue-hued staging only add to the theme and visual motif of blue surrounding this disturbing film. In fact, a close viewing of the film brings up small and important details of how Lynch blended the color blue into many aspects of the film, and some that are not always seen the first time through. For example, when "The Blue Lady" steps onstage to begin her act, a blue spotlight hits her just as she sings the word "blue." This is just another little mise-en-scene element for Lynch, and these little elements pop up all through the film, right to the very end, when that mysterious flap of blue velvet from Dorothy's robe ends the film to the tune of "Blue Velvet." It is not the theme of blue that permeates the film nearly so much as how Lynch stages each blue scene that creates the mood, tension, and highly charged sexual feeling that permeates the film, and carries away the characters. These scenes are sometimes dreamlike, sometimes eerie, but always help to move the film along; even they are disturbing and even have an undertone of evil,…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Blue Velvet. Dir. David Lynch. Perf. Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, and Laura Dern. De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, 1986.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Inglorious Bastards Film 2009
Words: 2644 Length: 8 Document Type: Dissertation or Thesis complete

Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds An analysis of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds Inglourious Basterds, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and released in 2009, is a continuation of Tarantino's postmodern approach to cinema and may be considered to be of greater cultural significance due to its subject matter and how it is developed through the narrative. Inglourious Basterds features an all-star cast that includes Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Christoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent,

Film Citizen Kane 1941 Has
Words: 1659 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

"I'm not sorry." The close-up of Susan that closes the scene demonstrates that she has had an epiphany and will likely no longer maintain the shadow of her lonely life. The crooner is all the while singing the blues classic, "It Can't Be Love" while Susan reiterates the message of the work in a step-by-step angry rant, associated with dire unhappiness, reflective of the ignorance and unfeeling nature of

El Espiritu De La Colmena
Words: 988 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

It is after Ana views the film, that she becomes more active at night, running away in order to try and find the mysterious spirit or ghost that Isabel has told her about. As Ana becomes more entranced with the darkness around her, she begins to explore her surroundings by herself. She is later shown to be playing by herself near an abandoned sheepfold, whereupon she later encounters a

Film Analysis of Movie Juliet of the
Words: 3052 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

film analysis of movie Juliet of the Spirits released in 1965. The film is a great work of mid-1900's and the lovers of film history enjoy not only its story but also the picturing and the sounds. The movie is about memories, and spirituality of a woman who is in her middle age. The landscape and light effects of the movie are such to support the vision of dreams.

Blade Runner Reimagines the Future and Seamlessly
Words: 1601 Length: 5 Document Type: Research Paper

Blade Runner reimagines the future and seamlessly marries film noir and science fiction. In the film, humanoid robots have become self-aware and decide that it is unjust for their short, four-year lifespans to be calculated by those that created them and have to find a way to override their self-destructing programming. In Blade Runner, a small group of humanoids, referred to as replicants, escape from their off-world and flee to

Film Analysis From a Design Perspective: Reading
Words: 1820 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Film Analysis from a Design Perspective: Reading Raging Bull Elements of Design The focus of this paper is a pivotal scene from the film Raging Bull, starring Robert DeNiro as real life middleweight boxer, Jake La Motta. Jake's emotional status is reflected in multiple aspects of the film production, such as his physique and costuming, the cinematography, the editing, and the direction. Film communicates the narrative's physical reality and psychological reality with

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now