Editorial Review:Description:Starring Ewan McGregor (MOULIN ROUGE, TRAINSPOTTING) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (THE GOVERNESS, MICHAEL COLLINS) -- executive producer Michael Stipe of R.E.M. presents this electrifying journey through rock 'n' roll's most outrageous era! It's been 10 years since glam-rock superstar Brian Slade (Meyers) faked his own death and vanished from the spotlight. Now, it's the job of an investigative reporter, Arthur Stuart, to locate this living legend and uncover the truth behind his disappearance! Through the course of Stuart's investigation, you're taken for a wild, all-access guided tour back into a vibrant music scene ... for an uncompromising look at the flamboyance and excesses of its larger-than-life stars! Acclaimed by critics, VELVET GOLDMINE also earned an Award of Merit at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival!
Amazon.com:Todd Haynes, ever unpredictable, follows up his experimental trilogy
Poison and his restrained
Safe with this flamboyant study in glam rock through the kaleidoscopic lens of
Citizen Kane. Christian Bale plays Arthur Stuart, a reporter sent to investigate the legend of rock legend and bisexual pop icon Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as a not-so-thinly veiled David Bowie), who disappeared a decade ago after staging his own mock assassination. But Arthur is flooded with memories of his own adolescence as he interviews Slade's friends and business associates, peeling back the layer of makeup and spangles that was the model of rebellion for a generation of middle-class British kids and discovering a hollow center. Ewan McGregor almost steals the film as the punk pioneer Curt Wild (equal parts Iggy Pop and Kurt Cobain), the genuine article to Slade's calculated, coifed image of glitter stardom. Haynes's film lacks nothing in capturing the flamboyance and spectacle of the era with flashy filmmaking and kitschy costumes, and if the plot seems lost in the preening and visual fireworks, perhaps that's the point: behind the façades and manufactured fronts is nothing but glitter, energy, and a beat.
--Sean Axmaker
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Beautiful and Entertaining
I was surprised because I don't usually like these types of flashy films but I enjoyed Velvet Goldmine. It's an intense yet relaxing film that you can watch without having to actually think. It's hard to explain but this film actually takes you in so far that you'll question if your sober or high. The set is amazing, the custumes are shocking, the actors are dazzling and the stage performances are wonderful. VG does have some problems though. The plot is loose and there are some slow parts put in for filler. This is not a film for everyone and certainly not for kids or teens. If you are offended by drug use, homosexuality, drag queens, men who challenge society's idea of sexuality, obscenity and male frontal nudity then do not watch this film. Anyone else should enjoy.
Rating: 
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excellent movie and retrospective on a time, scene and place..
I didnt know about this movie(or it missed me somehow), I acutally saw it a day ago on the IFC channel on cable, I was blown away. Admittedly not of that generation or movement (actually born just as it probably got started).
I do recall as a young boy growing up in London during the late 70's "this stuff" being on the radio, like many things it took my growing into adulthood and perhaps being nostalgic for a time period I sailed through in complete oblivion to have a appreciative look back. As a guy whos musical genre leanings dont tend to lean in this direction there are a number of true musical gems that this movie brought to my attention.
Again, being older, more open-minded and mature, I felt like I truly was able to look at this with fresh and open eyes...and loved it. The hype, the theatricality, the indulgences, the lows, the highs, the abandonment. An almost filling journey, I probably need to watch it again (which is why I'm gonna buy it from Amazon).
As a kid I remember the joy I felt when the 70's transitioned to the 80's and when my mother could no longer find 'flares' (what we in the UK called bell bottoms) and the trend moved over to the 'pencil leg' trouser. I hated the polyester, paisley, mini-fro, big-collared shirts, platform shoes...I mean I was a kid 9 or 10 yrs old but distinctly remember hating what I was forced to wear so my personal lamenting of the passing of the 70's is not so much.
I look back and years later learn that there was a scene and movement associated with all this 'gaudiness' that I didnt understand. Youth, pop and a sort of bastard child of the London crew morphing the US Hippy movement, dying Mod(ernists) and the highly commercialized pop scene. (or thats the way I see it, I always thought the hippies looked and felt distinctly out of place in London as opposed to the newer, wider more expansive spaces and aggreable weather of California...not that I fully understand the hippy scene either..again too young for that thing).
I cant help but look at this and think on Gary Glitter (still trying to live the dream alas..), Bay City Rollers, TRex. Watching 'top of the pops' and being totally confused by the theatre, costume and androgeny and lip-synced performances...Watching this movie I felt like I understood it. As a younger guy why a 'boy' would want to look like a 'girl' utterly escaped me, androgeny or it's appeal was a multisyllabled word that had little meaning or understanding to me. Boys looking like girls, wearing tight outfits, crazy platformed shoes and makeup just was so alien to me. Theatre, fantasy, alter-ego, alternative ways of living, gender-bending was just over the head of a kid my age.
This great movie had me revisit some pretty frikken decent music and offered an entre into a time and scene that I didnt understand and it performed superbly in that. Besides that it is simply a great movie with a stellar cast and certainly worth owning.
Rating: -
A film that truly glitters...
`Velvet Goldmine' is one of those films that has everything. It is pure entertainment. It's a solid mixture of `Almost Famous', `Cabaret' and yes, `Citizen Kane'. The film is brilliantly constructed; bringing the audience into the center of the story and never lets them go, holding their interest until the final frame is through.
The film is told through the eyes of reporter Arthur Stuart who is asked to investigate the life of Brian Slade years after his disappearance. Brian Slade was a famous glam-rocker who staged his own murder to gain publicity. Arthur attempts to contact those who were closest to Slade, namely his wife Mandy and countless other acquaintances, including the fearless fellow rocker Curt Wild. Through these interviews Arthur learns more about the man he had once idolized and had desired to be so much like.
Todd Haynes is a fantastic director, always able to bring the audience into the air or mood of his films. Much like he did with the fantastic `Far From Heaven', Haynes works to create a world of 80's glam-rock, with all its glitter and energy and in effect draws us into this world hook-line-and-sinker. Every part of the film, from the depiction of the rockers lifestyle to their on-stage antics is portrayed with reckless abandon, which further cements to way in which these men lived their lives.
The performances are flawless, from Jonathan Rhys-Meyers to Christian Bale, and everyone in between. Bale plays Arthur with wonderful restraint, showing the man's emotional journey and connection to this piece. As he uncovers his idols dark secrets his revelations are coupled with flashbacks from his youth to help show his growth. Rhys-Meyers is brilliant as Slade. He fully dives into this role and fleshes out the man's inner demons tragically. The film belongs to two other actors though, Ewan McGregor and Toni Collette, mostly Collette. As Wild, McGregor is utterly fearless, displaying the man's reckless actions with devotion and passion. Collette slips into the `tortured wife' role with a fresh sense of chemistry, adding layers to this woman that, if left aside, would have kept her character nothing more than arm-candy. Collette is one of my favorite working actresses, and this is my favorite performance she's given.
In the end I must say that `Velvet Goldmine' is much more that one may expect. It is a very smart piece of filmmaking, and one that I was not expecting to love as much as I did. It's an accurate portrayal of the rock world, kind of like the more popular `Almost Famous', just a different breed of rock and thus a different breed of accuracy. I highly recommend this film to any fan of the genre, the actors or the director since on all fronts this proves to be the best of its breed.
Rating: -
Glitterati
I admit it: I'm a little OCD-like concerning Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I've been backtracking to many of his older films, and the more I see, the more I've come to respect his obvious talent, charisma and overall joie de'vivre with every role he tackles.
That being said, the first time I viewed VELVET GOLDMINE I felt as though I smoked peyote and dropped acid at the same time. It was just an acid washed trip down memory land (a memory lane that I wasn't familiar with, seeing as though I was a product of the 80s-90s Michael Jackson/Prince/Madonna phenomena). I really had to take several deep, cleansing breaths after finishing and question my sanity in purchasing the movie.
I decided to give it another shot a few days later (once the peyote/acid remnants *imagined* had worn off). 2nd time around, I fared much better, and really started to peel back the layers that Todd Haynes was trying to convey. Some quick observations:
Ewan M./Curt Wild-As much as I admire Ewan's boldness in going the "full Monty" route (again *sigh*), his best parts in this film are when he's at his most quiet; I love the look in the restaurant (looks like the Russian Tea Room in NYC) when he tells Brian "You could be my main man." One issue (and this isn't Ewan's fault) is his "look." Why is he a clean-cut Curt Cobain clone? If the production team were trying to *loosely* base Curt Wild on Iggy Pop, then the look should've been grungier and wilder (no pun intended) looking.
JRM/Brian Slade-Such an absolutely exquisite, gorgeous creature. His characterization of the virile, feline, effeminate glam-rockers is very, very eerie (one standout to me, is in the "Perfect and poisonous" montage when he's skipping/dancing in the street, and smooches the sailor-after they've kissed, he does a small twirl/hop that's so girlie, but believable). His vocals (which have gotten stronger over the years-check him out on the AUGUST RUSH soundtrack) are more than adequate, a pleasant surprise for someone unfamiliar with his work (his heartbreaking rendition of "Sebastian" gets me every time).
Toni Collette/Mandy Slade-I've really appreciated Toni's work since MURIEL'S WEDDING (she did a good job with a mess of a script in IN HER SHOES as well). She's so effervescent in the beginning of this rockin' time, but is so downtrodden and bitter by 1984. She does the role such justice.
Eddie Izzard/Jerry Devine-Playing a "suit" is a new one, but it really worked. Izzard's totally over-the-top (in a good way) as an ambitious (yet caring-sort of) manager. He goes for the gusto every time he steps in a scene.
I've watched the movie about 5 times since purchasing, and am planning on getting the soundtrack (to be played at maximum volume of course!) also. It's grown on me for sure. Give it a whirl. If you don't understand after the first time, let it marinate for a few days, then try again. 4-star effort.
Rating: -
thanks!
ordered this one with another and they both arrived very quickly- excellent condition- great service Thanks! :)
