Possibly the most influential American film of the 1980s, Lynch´s bizarre, erotic mystery spawned a whole raft of imitations with its portrayal of the dark underside of American small-town life. A young man discovers a severed human ear in a field. Not satisfied with the local police´s investigation, he and the detective´s daughter make their own enquiries. Critics and audiences responded to Lynch´s original and startling images of sex and violence and made the film a box-office smash. ´Blue Velvet´ is renowned for creating Dennis Hopper´s ´Frank´, one of the great screen villains of all time.