Reviewed by Rachel Stoll
William Shawcross brings a journalistic writing style and an “on the ground” approach to Deliver Us from Evil: Peacekeepers, Warlords and a World of Endless Conflict, which offers an account of humanitarian interventions in a Post Cold-War world. Filled with informal interviews and insight from former Secretary Generals and world leaders, Shawcross provides a unique insight into the politics and atrocities of the UN peacekeeping operations through the 1990s in nations such as Cambodia, East Timor, Kosovo, and Yugoslavia.
Most of political insight comes straight from United Nations staff members and specifically Secretary General Annan, who was handling political treaties and operations through the decade. They witnessed the brutal living conditions and executions that took place throughout the world and the political games happening in the background, most of which involved Security Council power plays and creating new terms for “genocide” in resolutions.
Shawcross’s approach and writing style is what makes the book stand out in a growing field of literature on humanitarian interventions. The anecdotes about conversations and power holding among representatives sheds considerable light on how decisions are made and treaties between nations occur. After stories about human rights issues and state representatives unwilling to do what is necessary, Deliver Us from Evil comes to an appropriate and semi-neutral conclusion.
This book is recommended for people interested in politics, human rights, and genocide. Shawcross’s Deliver us from Evil is accessible and definitely a stand-out in humanitarian intervention literature.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
A Brief History of Russia, by Michael Kort
Reviewed by Rachel Stoll
In doing some research for my thesis and a potential trip to Russia, I decided to pick up Michael Kort’s A Brief History of Russia. I chose this series because I had liked their edition on Egypt and found the text to have enough information without being overwhelming with facts and dates.
A Brief History of Russia was broken into chapters based on the main periods of Russian and European History with lots of maps and insets to further explain events or other significant cultural things. Much like A Brief History of Egypt, this book focused on historical and political events as well as public figures. One of the most useful aspects of the book was hidden in the appendix: a timeline of the major events covered in the narrative.
A Brief History of Russia provides a nice middle ground between a travel guide and a history book. More informative than the history sections found in most travel guides, the book allows for a quick read of a period without getting muddled in further historical details or facts. This series does tend to cover people and events more than places, so if you are trying to plan where to go, get a regular travel guide and this to fill in the history. In a country as politically and historically complicated as Russia, this book does a great job in covering the highlights that make Russia what it is today.
I recommend A Brief History of Russia for those looking for a refresher in Russian history and as a supplement to the history provided in most travel guides. Those who want a deeper understanding of twentieth century Russian history should read The Gulag Archipelago or Imperium.
In doing some research for my thesis and a potential trip to Russia, I decided to pick up Michael Kort’s A Brief History of Russia. I chose this series because I had liked their edition on Egypt and found the text to have enough information without being overwhelming with facts and dates.
A Brief History of Russia was broken into chapters based on the main periods of Russian and European History with lots of maps and insets to further explain events or other significant cultural things. Much like A Brief History of Egypt, this book focused on historical and political events as well as public figures. One of the most useful aspects of the book was hidden in the appendix: a timeline of the major events covered in the narrative.
A Brief History of Russia provides a nice middle ground between a travel guide and a history book. More informative than the history sections found in most travel guides, the book allows for a quick read of a period without getting muddled in further historical details or facts. This series does tend to cover people and events more than places, so if you are trying to plan where to go, get a regular travel guide and this to fill in the history. In a country as politically and historically complicated as Russia, this book does a great job in covering the highlights that make Russia what it is today.
I recommend A Brief History of Russia for those looking for a refresher in Russian history and as a supplement to the history provided in most travel guides. Those who want a deeper understanding of twentieth century Russian history should read The Gulag Archipelago or Imperium.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
Reviewed by Rachel Stoll
I picked up Life of Pi by Yann Martel for an international flight home from Hong Kong in the summer of 2005. It looked entertaining and long enough to help pass time, but I purchased it not knowing that this book would be widely read stateside the following year. Life if Pi is a story about a religiously curious boy, Pi Patel, from India, whose family decides to move to Canada. After he boards the ship with his family and all their belongings, a shipwreck happens and Pi is stuck in a lifeboat with a wounded zebra, hyena, a motion-sick orangutan, and Richard Parker, a large Bengal tiger. Events happen so that Richard and Pi are the only two left on the raft for 227 days, requiring Pi to be resourceful in order to survive.
Although Pi’s story of survival is endearing and embellished through his own telling, the meat of the book rests in the more philosophical meanings of life and the other conversations that happen outside the shipwreck narrative. Although the comments on religion and god are somewhat interesting, the 227 days on the ocean became dreary and repetitive. Overall I found this book pretty bland, and it lost my interest about 100 pages in. The twist ending is cute, but reading through the other few hundred pages takes away from even this well-done moment.
The real failure is the attempt to mix philosophy into something that would have worked better as just an adventure story. Knowing how Pi caught and killed fish for 227 days to feed Richard is just uninteresting and doesn’t really speak to any larger meaning. Martel claims early on that this story will make you believe in god, unfortunately Life of Pi is just uninteresting and sitting in a religious ceremony would probably have more effect on personal spirituality. If you want to read a story with some philosophy behind it, try Sophie’s Choice by William Styron instead. It’s much deeper and more interesting.
I picked up Life of Pi by Yann Martel for an international flight home from Hong Kong in the summer of 2005. It looked entertaining and long enough to help pass time, but I purchased it not knowing that this book would be widely read stateside the following year. Life if Pi is a story about a religiously curious boy, Pi Patel, from India, whose family decides to move to Canada. After he boards the ship with his family and all their belongings, a shipwreck happens and Pi is stuck in a lifeboat with a wounded zebra, hyena, a motion-sick orangutan, and Richard Parker, a large Bengal tiger. Events happen so that Richard and Pi are the only two left on the raft for 227 days, requiring Pi to be resourceful in order to survive.
Although Pi’s story of survival is endearing and embellished through his own telling, the meat of the book rests in the more philosophical meanings of life and the other conversations that happen outside the shipwreck narrative. Although the comments on religion and god are somewhat interesting, the 227 days on the ocean became dreary and repetitive. Overall I found this book pretty bland, and it lost my interest about 100 pages in. The twist ending is cute, but reading through the other few hundred pages takes away from even this well-done moment.
The real failure is the attempt to mix philosophy into something that would have worked better as just an adventure story. Knowing how Pi caught and killed fish for 227 days to feed Richard is just uninteresting and doesn’t really speak to any larger meaning. Martel claims early on that this story will make you believe in god, unfortunately Life of Pi is just uninteresting and sitting in a religious ceremony would probably have more effect on personal spirituality. If you want to read a story with some philosophy behind it, try Sophie’s Choice by William Styron instead. It’s much deeper and more interesting.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Into Thin Air, by John Krakauer
Reviewed by Rachel Stoll
John Krakauer was relatively well-known in the mountaineering community as a climber and journalist when he was hired by Outside magazine in 1996 to accompany a team attempting to summit Mt. Everest. The leader of the expedition was Rob Hall, a mountaineer who had the most non-sherpa summits of Mt. Everest and who was one of the most qualified leaders on the mountain at the time. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster documents the fatal climbing season of 1996 on Mt. Everest, which ultimately took the life of Rob Hall and many others.
Krakauer’s account is compelling. The book begins with an explanation of how he came into the fold of the mountaineering community, inevitably leading him to attempt the world's greatest peak. Upon arriving in Katmandu and joining up with the expedition, Krakauer was both hopeful and concerned about his teammates. Having Rob Hall as a guide almost assured a summit, but Krakauer questioned the experience of some of his other teammates.
They spent weeks acclimating and made it to the icefalls and into camp 3 on May 11, 1996. Hall’s team, and several other teams who were waiting for the perfect day, started out for the summit well before sunrise. The weather slowly got worse as the day progressed, and poor decisions were made by members of Hall’s team and other guides on the mountain. This culminated in all hell breaking lose on the mountain, resulting in a significant loss of life. It is clear from the writing that this day still haunts Krakauer.
Into Thin Air is a thrilling tale containing a lot of tragedy. For anyone interested in mountaineering, it is a compelling read. This book is highly recommended to those interested in adventure travel, dramas, and thrillers.
John Krakauer was relatively well-known in the mountaineering community as a climber and journalist when he was hired by Outside magazine in 1996 to accompany a team attempting to summit Mt. Everest. The leader of the expedition was Rob Hall, a mountaineer who had the most non-sherpa summits of Mt. Everest and who was one of the most qualified leaders on the mountain at the time. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster documents the fatal climbing season of 1996 on Mt. Everest, which ultimately took the life of Rob Hall and many others.
Krakauer’s account is compelling. The book begins with an explanation of how he came into the fold of the mountaineering community, inevitably leading him to attempt the world's greatest peak. Upon arriving in Katmandu and joining up with the expedition, Krakauer was both hopeful and concerned about his teammates. Having Rob Hall as a guide almost assured a summit, but Krakauer questioned the experience of some of his other teammates.
They spent weeks acclimating and made it to the icefalls and into camp 3 on May 11, 1996. Hall’s team, and several other teams who were waiting for the perfect day, started out for the summit well before sunrise. The weather slowly got worse as the day progressed, and poor decisions were made by members of Hall’s team and other guides on the mountain. This culminated in all hell breaking lose on the mountain, resulting in a significant loss of life. It is clear from the writing that this day still haunts Krakauer.
Into Thin Air is a thrilling tale containing a lot of tragedy. For anyone interested in mountaineering, it is a compelling read. This book is highly recommended to those interested in adventure travel, dramas, and thrillers.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Rhymed Reviews on Twitter
If you prefer your reviews in verse, and 140 characters or less, check out my Rhymed Reviews on Twitter!
Here's a sample:
Here's a sample:
GWTW: Nobles of another era, Butler, Wilkes, and Miss O'Hara come to life onscreen to share a story of the war on Tara.Rhymed Reviews
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future, by George B.N. Ayittey
Reviewed by Rachel Stoll
Although diverse in history and government, the countries that make up the African continent have struggled with development since independence. Foreign aid and hesitant direct investment have been major challenges for many of these war-torn nations. Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future by George B.N. Ayittey discusses the common issues plaguing the 43 nations and offers up hope and suggestions for building a better continent.
Ayittey discusses the failed attempts at socialism as part of the rejection of the colonial experience of capitalism. Disagreeing with former socialist leaders, Ayittey argues the natural economy that was developed in most African countries was one of capitalism and mercantilism which made the promotion of Afro-Marxism a political tool of the nationalist movements. This discussion, coupled with his argument that state corruption and false governments are the real problem, has upset many scholars and leaders on the African continent who now consider Ayittey a sellout.
Sellout or not, Ayittey seems very accurate in what he perceives to be the prevailing issues, and he makes a concise argument against the socialist and nationalist movements which so quickly demonized capitalism and Western political and economic institutions. As a solution, Ayittey suggests that more financial aid be given to these countries and claims that foreign direct investment is required in order to jumpstart development. This can only work if corruption is lessened so that money goes to where it is intended and government agencies enforce the rules equally and according to the laws. Ayittey explains that a true non-political bureaucracy is needed, something which has not existed in many African nations since independence.
Whether or not this will come to fruition is yet to be seen, but Ayittey makes some keen observations and offers a solution to this decades-old problem. Although Ayittey uses history to make some arguments, this book is light on history and focuses more on policy and government issues. Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future is highly recommended for those interested in African development and international economies.
Although diverse in history and government, the countries that make up the African continent have struggled with development since independence. Foreign aid and hesitant direct investment have been major challenges for many of these war-torn nations. Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future by George B.N. Ayittey discusses the common issues plaguing the 43 nations and offers up hope and suggestions for building a better continent.
Ayittey discusses the failed attempts at socialism as part of the rejection of the colonial experience of capitalism. Disagreeing with former socialist leaders, Ayittey argues the natural economy that was developed in most African countries was one of capitalism and mercantilism which made the promotion of Afro-Marxism a political tool of the nationalist movements. This discussion, coupled with his argument that state corruption and false governments are the real problem, has upset many scholars and leaders on the African continent who now consider Ayittey a sellout.
Sellout or not, Ayittey seems very accurate in what he perceives to be the prevailing issues, and he makes a concise argument against the socialist and nationalist movements which so quickly demonized capitalism and Western political and economic institutions. As a solution, Ayittey suggests that more financial aid be given to these countries and claims that foreign direct investment is required in order to jumpstart development. This can only work if corruption is lessened so that money goes to where it is intended and government agencies enforce the rules equally and according to the laws. Ayittey explains that a true non-political bureaucracy is needed, something which has not existed in many African nations since independence.
Whether or not this will come to fruition is yet to be seen, but Ayittey makes some keen observations and offers a solution to this decades-old problem. Although Ayittey uses history to make some arguments, this book is light on history and focuses more on policy and government issues. Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future is highly recommended for those interested in African development and international economies.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Blue Velvet (1986)
Blue Velvet
Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, and Laura Dern
Written and Directed by David Lynch
Reviewed by David Wisehart
Blue Velvet is framed, beginning and end, with idyllic scenes of Lumberton, a dreamy small town too good to be ture: flowerbeds radiate color, a crossing guard guides happy school children across a street, a fireman waves and smiles from a shiny red truck. But writer-director David Lynch wastes no time shattering this illusion. He's far more interested in the deeper, darker illusions underneath.
The transformation begins with Mr. Beaumont (Jack Harvey) watering the lawn in front of his peaceful Lumberton home. Inside, a television gunman is poised to shoot; outside the garden hose kinks; seconds later, Mr. Beaumont suffers a stroke (Lynch is fond of foreshadowing and symbolism). A neighborhood dog plays in the cascading flow of water as Lynch takes us closer to the fallen form — tighter and tighter until the man is lost and we are drawn into the lawn itself. Blades of grass turn to towering sequoias as we enter a world unknown to us before. An army of beetles works furiously, and the soundtrack fills with their cacophony. Lynch relishes such bizarre subterranean worlds, and sets his mysterious thriler in just such a hypnotizing, hidden world.
The mystery begins when college student Jeffrey Beaumont visits his recovering father. Returning from the hospital, alone through the backwoods of Lumberton, he discovers an ear. A human ear. Jeffrey takes it to Police Detective Williams (George Dickerson), but that puts paid to nothing. Frank and Joe Hardy wouldn't let a good mystery pass them by, and Jeffrey's read far too many Hardy Boys mysteries to let this one escape him.
Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), the detective's daughter, is Nancy Drew incarnate. Together, Jeffrey and Sandy are drawn deeper and deeper into the terrifying and fascinating world hidden just beneath the surface of pleasant little Lumberton.
When the mystery leads them to the residence of club singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), Jeffrey conspires to hide out in her apartment at night to see what he can learn. What he learns will forever change his perception of life, love, and the inherent brutality of mankind.
Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper, in the most powerful performance of his distinguished career) is brutality personified. He is all seething rage, malevolent passion, and frustrated lust. He is a man who has long since stepped over the edge, entering a bizarre accelerated hyper-reality where compassion is a stranger and sanity a sin. He is a man caught up in his own self-styled ritual of psychosexual dominance — desiring no escape because only in this prison of his mind is he truly at home. He is the darkest side of us all.
And he is terrifying. Lynch thrusts a splinter into our collective psyche and dares us to gnaw it free. Blue Velvet is almost an inhumane experience that somehow humanizes. It is an emotional workout, both repulsive and addictive. It is as exhausting as it is cathartic.
This would all border dangerously on voyeurism if it weren't for Kyle MacLachlan's superb performance. It is MacLachlan, as Jeffrey, who brings a much-needed sense of balance to Blue Velvet; it is MacLachlan who gives us someone to empathize with at times when we desperately need someone to share our horror and outrage.
This is nowhere more evident than in a brief scene following Jeffrey's clandestined sojourn in Dorothy's apartment. After witnessing Frank's psychosexual assault on Miss Vallens, Jeffrey sits slumped in the passenger seat of his car opposite Sandy, trying to find the words to explain what he has just seen.
But words fail, and the only explanation he can offer is the film's frequent refrain: "It's a strange world, Sandy." The pain in his expression is palpable. It is the perfect moment, and it is at this moment that MacLachlan wins our confidence.
In his only previous film — Dune, which David Lynch also directed — MacLachlan was burdened with the pivotal role of Paul Atriedes, the young messiah. It seemed a rather lackluster performance in a film that was either disappointing or downright confusing, depending on whether or not you'd read Frank Herbert's original novel. But on the far more intimate scale of Blue Velvet, MachLachlan shines.
Hopper and MacLachlan are not, however, the only exemplary performers in this most remarkable film.
Isabella Rossellini — Gregory Hines love interest in White Nights and the daughter of Ingrid Bergman — gives a standout performance as the tortured Dorothy Vallens, a lady dragged against her will into Frank's sadomasochistic sphere of influence. When Dorothy turns to Jeffrey for comfort, her cry for help is an eerie mimicry of Frank's abusive ritual: "Do you like the way I feel?" she asks seductively. "Feel me...hit me." For her, love and abuse are now synonymous; the line of departure between sex and violence is irrevocably blurred. Sex has become her persecutor and her savior, her illness and her cure. "He put his disease in me," Dorothy declares happily after she and Jeffrey consummate their desire.
Laura Dern's Sandy is the unlikely addition to this carnal triptych. She's the embodiment of everything Lumberton represents: beauty, purity, and innocent naivete. She dreams of robins conquering an oppressive darkness — just as love, she is certain, must triumph over hatred.
Lynch, of course, is not so optimistic. When Sandy — in the film's denouement — finally sees her robin, it crushes a beetle in its beak. Not only does Lynch's symbolism offer closure to the film's opening sequence, it reiterates a recurring theme in Blue Velvet: that love can be both very beautiful and very cruel.
Sandy is very much a '50s persona, as the brighter side of Lumberton is a '50s milieu. Indeed, this era is Blue Velvet's leitmotif. Bobby Vinton's classic song, "Blue Velvet," recurs throughout the film, as its theme song and as the mainstay of Dorothy's cabaret act. (Frank forces her to sing the song for him, and uses blue velvet cloth as an anchor for his psychosis.)
Blue Velvet is influenced by the films Hitchcock made in the 1950s. One can't help think of Vertigo as Jeffrey ascends, again and again, the seven flights of stairs leading to Dorothy's apartment — stairs which become his passageway into an intensely seductive sort of hell. And Blue Velvet's voyeurism evokes Rear Window in an admittedly distorted fashion. One gets the feeling that Blue Velvet is exactly the kind of film Hitchcock would have made after a nervous breakdown.
But there's no mistaking the fact that this is, above all else, a David Lynch film. Those who've seen Lynch's first film, Eraserhead, are in for a strange reawakening. Lynch has again spliced potent horror with absurd comedy to come up with a powerful vision that is uniquely his own. In a sense, Blue Velvet is a comedy of the blackest ilk, for it Lynch's warped sense of humor that makes this film both watchable and enjoyable.
Blue Velvet will haunt you moments of quiet reflection and follow you in dreams. It is, in brief, a masterpiece.
Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, and Laura Dern
Written and Directed by David Lynch
Reviewed by David Wisehart
Blue Velvet is framed, beginning and end, with idyllic scenes of Lumberton, a dreamy small town too good to be ture: flowerbeds radiate color, a crossing guard guides happy school children across a street, a fireman waves and smiles from a shiny red truck. But writer-director David Lynch wastes no time shattering this illusion. He's far more interested in the deeper, darker illusions underneath.
The transformation begins with Mr. Beaumont (Jack Harvey) watering the lawn in front of his peaceful Lumberton home. Inside, a television gunman is poised to shoot; outside the garden hose kinks; seconds later, Mr. Beaumont suffers a stroke (Lynch is fond of foreshadowing and symbolism). A neighborhood dog plays in the cascading flow of water as Lynch takes us closer to the fallen form — tighter and tighter until the man is lost and we are drawn into the lawn itself. Blades of grass turn to towering sequoias as we enter a world unknown to us before. An army of beetles works furiously, and the soundtrack fills with their cacophony. Lynch relishes such bizarre subterranean worlds, and sets his mysterious thriler in just such a hypnotizing, hidden world.
The mystery begins when college student Jeffrey Beaumont visits his recovering father. Returning from the hospital, alone through the backwoods of Lumberton, he discovers an ear. A human ear. Jeffrey takes it to Police Detective Williams (George Dickerson), but that puts paid to nothing. Frank and Joe Hardy wouldn't let a good mystery pass them by, and Jeffrey's read far too many Hardy Boys mysteries to let this one escape him.
Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), the detective's daughter, is Nancy Drew incarnate. Together, Jeffrey and Sandy are drawn deeper and deeper into the terrifying and fascinating world hidden just beneath the surface of pleasant little Lumberton.
When the mystery leads them to the residence of club singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), Jeffrey conspires to hide out in her apartment at night to see what he can learn. What he learns will forever change his perception of life, love, and the inherent brutality of mankind.
Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper, in the most powerful performance of his distinguished career) is brutality personified. He is all seething rage, malevolent passion, and frustrated lust. He is a man who has long since stepped over the edge, entering a bizarre accelerated hyper-reality where compassion is a stranger and sanity a sin. He is a man caught up in his own self-styled ritual of psychosexual dominance — desiring no escape because only in this prison of his mind is he truly at home. He is the darkest side of us all.
And he is terrifying. Lynch thrusts a splinter into our collective psyche and dares us to gnaw it free. Blue Velvet is almost an inhumane experience that somehow humanizes. It is an emotional workout, both repulsive and addictive. It is as exhausting as it is cathartic.
This would all border dangerously on voyeurism if it weren't for Kyle MacLachlan's superb performance. It is MacLachlan, as Jeffrey, who brings a much-needed sense of balance to Blue Velvet; it is MacLachlan who gives us someone to empathize with at times when we desperately need someone to share our horror and outrage.
This is nowhere more evident than in a brief scene following Jeffrey's clandestined sojourn in Dorothy's apartment. After witnessing Frank's psychosexual assault on Miss Vallens, Jeffrey sits slumped in the passenger seat of his car opposite Sandy, trying to find the words to explain what he has just seen.
But words fail, and the only explanation he can offer is the film's frequent refrain: "It's a strange world, Sandy." The pain in his expression is palpable. It is the perfect moment, and it is at this moment that MacLachlan wins our confidence.
In his only previous film — Dune, which David Lynch also directed — MacLachlan was burdened with the pivotal role of Paul Atriedes, the young messiah. It seemed a rather lackluster performance in a film that was either disappointing or downright confusing, depending on whether or not you'd read Frank Herbert's original novel. But on the far more intimate scale of Blue Velvet, MachLachlan shines.
Hopper and MacLachlan are not, however, the only exemplary performers in this most remarkable film.
Isabella Rossellini — Gregory Hines love interest in White Nights and the daughter of Ingrid Bergman — gives a standout performance as the tortured Dorothy Vallens, a lady dragged against her will into Frank's sadomasochistic sphere of influence. When Dorothy turns to Jeffrey for comfort, her cry for help is an eerie mimicry of Frank's abusive ritual: "Do you like the way I feel?" she asks seductively. "Feel me...hit me." For her, love and abuse are now synonymous; the line of departure between sex and violence is irrevocably blurred. Sex has become her persecutor and her savior, her illness and her cure. "He put his disease in me," Dorothy declares happily after she and Jeffrey consummate their desire.
Laura Dern's Sandy is the unlikely addition to this carnal triptych. She's the embodiment of everything Lumberton represents: beauty, purity, and innocent naivete. She dreams of robins conquering an oppressive darkness — just as love, she is certain, must triumph over hatred.
Lynch, of course, is not so optimistic. When Sandy — in the film's denouement — finally sees her robin, it crushes a beetle in its beak. Not only does Lynch's symbolism offer closure to the film's opening sequence, it reiterates a recurring theme in Blue Velvet: that love can be both very beautiful and very cruel.
Sandy is very much a '50s persona, as the brighter side of Lumberton is a '50s milieu. Indeed, this era is Blue Velvet's leitmotif. Bobby Vinton's classic song, "Blue Velvet," recurs throughout the film, as its theme song and as the mainstay of Dorothy's cabaret act. (Frank forces her to sing the song for him, and uses blue velvet cloth as an anchor for his psychosis.)
Blue Velvet is influenced by the films Hitchcock made in the 1950s. One can't help think of Vertigo as Jeffrey ascends, again and again, the seven flights of stairs leading to Dorothy's apartment — stairs which become his passageway into an intensely seductive sort of hell. And Blue Velvet's voyeurism evokes Rear Window in an admittedly distorted fashion. One gets the feeling that Blue Velvet is exactly the kind of film Hitchcock would have made after a nervous breakdown.
But there's no mistaking the fact that this is, above all else, a David Lynch film. Those who've seen Lynch's first film, Eraserhead, are in for a strange reawakening. Lynch has again spliced potent horror with absurd comedy to come up with a powerful vision that is uniquely his own. In a sense, Blue Velvet is a comedy of the blackest ilk, for it Lynch's warped sense of humor that makes this film both watchable and enjoyable.
Blue Velvet will haunt you moments of quiet reflection and follow you in dreams. It is, in brief, a masterpiece.
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