Shot by Shot Analysis of the Opening Sequence of David Lynch's Blue Velvet

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Shot By Shot Analysis: Opening Sequence Of Blue Velvet

        

After the opening credits are shown over the backdrop of a blue velvet curtain, the shot dissolves into a downward pan from the nearly cloudless blue sky to a bed of red roses in front of a white picket fence as the first strains of the song "Blue Velvet" start to play. The roses dissolve into shots of typical suburban American life. A friendly fireman driving by, school children crossing the street, the exterior of a classic suburban home with flowers in the yard and a white picket fence. All of these shots are softly lit and seem a bit unfocused, more like memories than actual places and events.

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        This nostalgic montage cuts to a man watering his lawn and to his wife inside who is sitting placidly watching television. Another cut to the man watering and we see his hose start to spray erratically. A series of increasingly quick cuts between the man tugging on the hose to unkink it and the tap where it is attached, where the water pressure is rapidly increasing, builds more and more tension until the man suddenly clutches his neck and begins to have a stroke. We then cut to the man laying in the mud on his yard, twitching and still ...

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