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Essential Event Info

W H A T :

  • BLUE VELVET
  • Director David Lynch, 1986.
  • TRT: 122 minutes.
  • Genre: Drama, film noir, suspense.
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating:
       T-Meter 90% Fresh;
  • This film is Rated "R", for language, sex, violence.
  • Post-film discussion with Jessica Flores.



  • W H E N :

  • Tuesday, August 12
  • Wednesday, August 13

  • All screenings at 7:00 pm,
    doors open at 6:30 pm.

    W H E R E :

  • Cincinnati Art Museum,
    953 Eden Park Dr, Eden Park/Mt. Adams.
  • Easy Access, Free Parking
    click for Directions & Map


  • T I C K E T S :

  • Cincinnati Art Museum,
  • Tickets are $9 for adults and $7 for Art Museum members, ETA/Start members, military families and students with valid ID.

    $7 tickets are ONLY available online, by phone, at the Museum, and at the door subject to availability.

    ADVANCE TICKETS:

  • ON-LINE
  • tollfree 1-877-548-3237
  • at the Art Museum or by calling 513 721 ARTS

  • ...and at these locations
    ($9 tix only, cash only),
    click each location below for a map:

  • Clifton-Ludlow Ave. -
    Sitwell's Coffee House
    513 281 7487

  • Mt. Lookout Square -
    Lookout Joe Coffee Roasters

    513 871 8626

  • College Hill - North Central Cincinnati -
    The College Hill Coffee Co.
    513 542 2739

  • Northside-Hamilton Ave -
    Shake It Music & Video
    513 591 0123

  • Downtown Cincinnati -
    Coffee Emporium
    513 651 5483


  • Tickets will also be available at the door, subject to availability.


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    Click here for the trailer >>>    Back to Top of Page


    About the Film

    DAVID LYNCH'S OSCAR-NOMINATED 1986 classic has withstood the test of time -- its raw emotional energy and depiction of appearance versus reality remain as stark and meaningful now as when created. A genuine masterpiece of storytelling and filmmaking, Lynch's noir approach artfully blurs the lines between good and evil, darkness and light. Almost every scene is ripe with hidden meanings and his characterizations range from superficial naiveté to inscrutable intensity.

    KYLE MacLACHLEN, ISABELLA ROSSELLINI, DENNIS HOPPER, Laura Dern, Dean Stockwell, Hope Lange, Brad Dourif and Jack Nance bring the film to life via nuanced performances depicting the purity of youthful innocence (MacLachlen, Dern) to sexual malleability (Rossellini) to the erotic impulses of a jaded sadist (Hopper).

    USING HITCHCOCKIAN THEMES AND DEVICES - voyeurism from a louvered closet door, the recurring flickering flame in the dark, and more, BLUE VELVET takes a 'coming of age in suburbia' story and transforms it into a dense, noirish battle between good and evil -- both within and between its principal characters.

    MANY OF THE SEXUAL SCENES were considered cutting-edge and shocking in 1986, but are more commonplace now in the context of contemporary movie, cable TV and Internet fare. Yet BLUE VELVET's parody of placid small town life, and its depiction of sub-surface evil and horror, are dense and dreamily hallucinatory while remaining starkly real.

    IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN this film, now is your opportunity. If you saw it twenty years ago, or since then on a small screen, you should see it again now on the big screen. BLUE VELVET's indelible images and precarious shift from the subconscious to the conscious will grab you now more than ever.

    Click here for >>>    David Lynch filmography, other works, bibliography




    Lynch's BLUE VELVET inspires
    photographs by Gregory Crewdson

    The Cincinnati Art Museum asked us to screen BLUE VELVET because it relates to the Museum's current exhibit of photographs by Gregory Crewdson in a way that will enhance the value of the film, and contemporary photography, for most viewers. Inspired by David Lynch, as well as by Hitchcock's Vertigo and Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Crewdson's Twilight Series and other photographic works offer interesting parallels to BLUE VELVET.

    As Lynch does with film, Crewdson creates surreal, sometimes sinister pictures of small-town neighborhoods and ordinary people, depicting fantasies and obsessions that lie below the surface of everyday life. His approach is cinematic as he directs a crew of several dozen, creating elaborately prepared sets complete with theatrical lighting and meticulously posed actors and actresses. Using 8x10 plates, his output is large scale as well, characterized by the absence of grain or blur of motion - a cinematic still photo, painstakingly refined.

    Contemporary Art Curator Jéssica Flores will share similarities and differences between Lynch and Crewdson during our post film discussion. In addition, film patrons are invited to explore Crewdson's photographs, currently on display in the gallery across from the Terrace Garden Café.

    See selected Crewdson photos here, including works that relate to BLUE VELVET.

    Notes on the Cincinnati Art Museum's Crewdson exhibit are here.

    Aperture Magazine offers an excellent slideshow, including production set-up and sketches, plus an interview with Crewdson, here.

    Roughly a dozen Crewdson works displayed at the Luhring Augustine Gallery are here.

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    Dinner-and-a-Movie

    Dinner-and-a-Movie

    To complete your night out, we've arranged dinner discounts with two restaurants offering ambiance and great food at reasonable prices:


    Andy's Mediterranean Grill is conveniently located just a few blocks from the Art Museum at 906 Nassau Street near Gilbert Avenue.

    Ask your server for the CWC Discount on these nights and receive receive a 10% food-and- beverage discount (excluding alcohol) for dinners before or after the film.

    Andy's features great Lebanese meat, chicken, fish and vegetarian specialities, including Kabobs, Shwarma, Lebanese Pizza, Baba Ghannouj, Labneh, Falafel, Hummus with Tahini, etc. Reservations suggested, call 513.281.9791. Click here for directions, menu and general info and click here for a map.



    The Terrace Café at the Cincinnati Art Museum offers the convenience of a single destination for your meal and your movie; and outdoor dining in the Courtyard is available during warm weather.

    CWC ticket holders attending on Wednesday film nights will receive a 10% discount (excluding alcohol); just ask your server for the CWC Discount. The restaurant fills up quickly on film nights, so reservations are recommended, call 513.639.2986. View menu here.

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    Post-Film Discussion

    Understanding Lynch's BLUE VELVET through the photographs of Gregory Crewdson.
  •   Jéssica Flores, Cincinnati Art Museum


  • Lynch's Use of Symbolism and Visual Imagery: beautiful surfaces and the evil things that lurk below.
  •   Tim Swallow, Director, CWC



  • Jessica Flores

    In a few weeks, Jéssica Flores will become the new Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Currently, she serves as the Director's Project Assistant, working on contemporary acquisitions and on architectural selection elements related to the Museum's expansion plan.

    In addition, she has worked closely with the Curatorial division to organize exhibitions featuring the work of Anthony Luensman, Charley & Edie Harper, Pousette-Dart, Lewitt and others. Prior to joining the Art Museum, Jéssica was the Gallery Manager at the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning, where she supervised exhibitions at four separate locations.

    Ms. Flores received her bachelor's degree in painting and art history from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia in 1998. In 2003 she earned her master's degree in art history from the School of Art, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning at the University of Cincinnati. She also received her graduate certificate in museum studies at the University of Cincinnati.




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