Private Project

Blue Velvet Revisited (2016)

SHORT SYNOPSIS
30 years after the shooting of 'Blue Velvet', the classic film of David Lynch, the German filmmaker Peter Braatz revisits his original Super-8 material and numerous photographies, filmed 30 years ago on the set in Wilmington, USA.

LONG SYNOPSIS
Blue Velvet might be the finest representative of the reach of the Lynchean universe, better than any of its other films, with that irresistible mix of film noir and string auteur mark. Lynchean: Dennis Hopper may be the key to define the term, in one of the interviews of this documentary: "I’m not sure that David Lynch is a film buff or ever has been. I don’t find that necessary… I find that better. [Luis] Buñuel was dealing with Surrealism and Dada, but David is dealing with his own subconscious, his own way of looking at things, and it’s not emulative of anybody or imitative of anybody. It’s his own vision. And it’s wonderfully naive.” With 60 rolls of Super 8 film, one for each shooting day, the young Peter Braatz flew from Germany to a small town of white picket fences and red roses where Lynch shot his dark fable together with Kyle MacLahlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern and Jack Nance. The result is this feature-length film that transcends the mere behind the scenes record, and becomes a meditation on cinema, time, and the essence of art.
(Review by the Mar del Plata Film Festival, Argentina)

  • Peter Braatz
    Director
    Blue Velvet (intern associate) (1986)
  • Peter Braatz
    Writer
    Blue Velvet (intern associate) (1986)
  • Peter Braatz
    Producer
    Blue Velvet (intern associate) (1986)
  • Ida Weiss
    Producer
    Varuh meje (2002), Night Boats (2012)
  • Rossellini, Isabella
    Key Cast
    Blue Velvet (1986)
  • MacLachlan, Kyle
    Key Cast
    Twin Peaks (1990-2017)
  • Dern, Laura
    Key Cast
    Jurasik Park (1993)
  • Dourif, Brad
    Key Cast
    The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
  • Nance, Jack (I)
    Key Cast
    Ereserhead (1977)
  • David Lynch
    Key Cast
    Mulholland Drive (2001), The Elephant Man (1980)
  • Dennis Hopper
    Key Cast
    Easy Rider (1969)
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 26 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 9, 2016
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    35mm, Super 8mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 16th Transilvania International Film Festival
    Cluj-Napoca
    Romania
    June 1, 2017
  • 20th Shanghai International Film Festival
    Shanghai
    China
    June 7, 2017
  • 16th San Francisco Documentary Film Festival
    San Francisco, CA
    United States
    June 1, 2017
  • David Lynch: A Complete Retrospective
    Chicago
    United States
    May 17, 2017
  • Crossing Europe Film Festival Linz 2017

    Austria
    April 12, 2017
  • Cinedelphia Film Festival
    Philadelphia
    United States
    April 12, 2017
  • L’Europe autour de l’Europe – Festival de films de la Grande Europe
    Paris
    France
    March 8, 2017
  • Days Of Slovenian Films
    Belgrade
    Serbia
    June 26, 2016
  • Clique Film Festival
    Almaty
    Kazakhstan
    November 16, 2016
  • 31st Mar Del Plata International Film Festival
    Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires
    Argentina
  • 24th Camerimage – International Film Festival
    Toruń
    Poland
    November 16, 2016
  • 27th LIFFe – Ljubljana International Film Festival
    Ljubljana
    Slovenia
    November 16, 2016
  • 10th Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival
    Lisboa
    Portugal
    November 16, 2016
  • Festival Of Disruption
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    October 5, 2016
  • 60th BFI – London Film Festival
    ENGLAND
    World Premiere
Distribution Information
  • Fuera de la Común (ARG/USA)
    Country: United States
    Rights: Theatrical
    Country: Argentina
    Rights: Theatrical
Director Biography - Peter Braatz

Peter Braatz was born in 1959 in Solingen, Germany. He is an editor and director, known for Blue Velvet Revisited (2016), Glazier Blues (2001) and The Human Fish (2007).

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

As it is “Blue Velvet Revisited”, is a visit to a certain historic time and place,an essay, and a rediscovery. It’s a tale from the subjective view-point of a German filmmaker who found himself by chance in the middle of the production of a landmark in 20th century cinema.
Or was it not by chance at all? Had this film been lying in wait for so many years, so very nearly lost?
There were so many questions to answer, so many thoughts and
feelings revealed. I dug into my four hours of original Super-8 film, two additional hours of 16mm from Munich in 1987, several hours of video-material from the german promotion of “Blue Velvet”, over 1000 photographs, objects, drawings and relics, to find there was so much to discover, to choose from, and combine.

So much to say, to hear, to see and to feel. “Blue Velvet Revisited” is
my excavation of a hidden treasure, which just needed to be touched once more to blossom and sparkle..