What was Frank Booth Huffing?

[Xixax]

I finally saw Blue Velvet last night (brilliant). And, since this was only my second experience with David Lynch, I was very very pleasantly surprised to see a story so well-tied-together. My first experience with Lynch was the strung-out Mulholland Drive (which was excellent). It was nice to see that Lynch can actually finish a story!

I was left wondering one thing.

What the hell was Frank breathing that made him so insane?

[Xixax]

I think it is helium, but I'm not sure.

No, that would have pitched up his voice.

[Pedro]

I think it's nitrous.

[Xixax]

I think it's nitrous.

That's probably the best guess, I would think.

In doing a google search a bit ago, I saw a reviewer say it was Ether, and I strongly disagree with that. If you watch the movie, you clearly see a tube and a small tank. Clearly not Ether.

The concensus from Google reviews just call it "an unidentified substance".

[MacGuffin]

According to the DVD documentary, Lynch did conceive it as and have helium on the set, but Dennis Hopper didn't like how it made his voice sound. So Hopper suggested to Lynch that he always thought of it as amyl nitrate or nitric oxide.

Perfect for when you wanna "fuck anything that moves!"

[Fernando]

According to the DVD documentary, Lynch did conceive it as and have helium on the set, but Dennis Hopper didn't like how it made his voice sound. So Hopper suggested to Lynch that he always thought of it as amyl nitrate or nitric oxide.

Perfect for when you wanna "fuck anything that moves!"

Did you or anybody ever catch the SNL parody of Blue Velvet?

It was a TV show called Frank Booth's: What's that Smell?

Absulutely hilarious, Dennis was (obviously) the host, and the three contestants were suposed to guess the smell of something, Hopper had the mask, his tank and the black leather jacket, he was always yelling at everybody, when he aproached the contestants right by the end to shake hands or something he yelled at them Don't you look at me!!! Don't you frigging look at me!!! even when the anouncer said 'see you next week' he stared at the camera and again yelled Don't you look at me!!!

[Lucinda Bryte]

According to the DVD documentary, Lynch did conceive it as and have helium on the set, but Dennis Hopper didn't like how it made his voice sound. So Hopper suggested to Lynch that he always thought of it as amyl nitrate or nitric oxide.

Perfect for when you wanna "fuck anything that moves!"

Did you or anybody ever catch the SNL parody of Blue Velvet?

It was a TV show called Frank Booth's: What's that Smell?

Absulutely hilarious, Dennis was (obviously) the host, and the three contestants were suposed to guess the smell of something, Hopper had the mask, his tank and the black leather jacket, he was always yelling at everybody, when he aproached the contestants right by the end to shake hands or something he yelled at them Don't you look at me!!! Don't you frigging look at me!!! even when the anouncer said 'see you next week' he stared at the camera and again yelled Don't you look at me!!!

  I think I'm going to have to search for that video somewhere. Sounds silley!

[mr_boz]

nitrous oxide - i think that's the same thing as laughing gas........

ccb

[AlguienEstolamiPantalones]

nitrus, and why, well in the original script he just had a root canel that day so that adeded to his bad mood

[freakerdude]

According to the DVD documentary, Lynch did conceive it as and have helium on the set, but Dennis Hopper didn't like how it made his voice sound. So Hopper suggested to Lynch that he always thought of it as amyl nitrate or nitric oxide.

Perfect for when you wanna "fuck anything that moves!"

Funny thing was Lynch had no clue as to what nitrous or amyl nitrate did. Hopper suggested his vision was a europhoric inducing drug of the like. Hopper also went on to say in the doc. that he thought he made a great contribution when in fact it was David's original idea of changing the voice that was really weird.

Also in the doc on the new BV DVD...stuff like Dean Stockwell's (so fucking suave Ben) addition of the light under his face while singing "in Dreams". Lynch saw him holding it during a lighting session and said to give it a try....and it worked oh so well.

[Cecil]

i think he was sniffing the jewels from reservoir dogs

[LostEraser]

Funny thing was Lynch had no clue as to what nitrous or amyl nitrate did. Hopper suggested his vision was a europhoric inducing drug of the like. Hopper also went on to say in the doc. that he thought he made a great contribution when in fact it was David's original idea of changing the voice that was really weird.

yea, if they had kept it as helium it would have given Hopper a high voice and that would have given the line "baby wants to fuck" a whole new feeling! lol! i think they should have kept it as helium. it would have made the scene so much more surreal. i think Hopper was a little too literal minded when he demanded Lynch to change it. The film, like all of Lynch's, is very surreal and dream like and not everything has to make literal sense. In some scenes he is going for more of a mood or a feeling rather than have everything make literal sense in the story telling.

[flamethrower4]

Frank Booth was definitely huffing amyl nitrate (which comes in either liquid or gaseous form, and is commonly called "poppers" on the street). I do wholeheartedly agree it was strange the film never quite made this clear. I have also heard David Lynch originally envisioned helium as the addictive element. That would have been a very different film. Kudos to the ever-realistic and quite-scary Dennis Hopper. Cool (and, yes, suave) beyond belief. 

[MacGuffin]

Did you or anybody ever catch the SNL parody of Blue Velvet?

It was a TV show called Frank Booth's: What's that Smell?

Absulutely hilarious, Dennis was (obviously) the host, and the three contestants were suposed to guess the smell of something, Hopper had the mask, his tank and the black leather jacket, he was always yelling at everybody, when he aproached the contestants right by the end to shake hands or something he yelled at them Don't you look at me!!! Don't you frigging look at me!!! even when the anouncer said 'see you next week' he stared at the camera and again yelled Don't you look at me!!!

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/frank-booth-in-whats-that-smell

[weedeedledee]

I've done laughing gas before and it makes your voice sound funny too. Really low. I'm going with the earlier poster's guess that it was amyl nitrite or "poppers". They cause heightened sexual arousal and reduced inhibitions.