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| Plot Synopsis At the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, American independent director Todd Haynes (Safe) received the "Artistic Achievement" award for this re-creation of the UK glam rock scene of the early '70s. Glam rock star Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who does a character named Maxwell Demon, predicts his own death onstage. As per his prediction, this happens, but when the killing is exposed as a hoax, it marks the end of Slade's stardom. A decade later, in 1984, Brit reporter and former Slade fan Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale), who witnesses the hoax murder, gets the assignment to do a "Whatever Happened To..?" article, and the film's plot suddenly goes into a prismatic Citizen Kane mode, reflecting various angles on Slade's life and career. Arthur visits the wheelchair-bound Cecil (Michael Feast), who discovered Slade, and then tracks Slade through his early life and his initial encounter with outrageous, maniacal American singer Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor). Slade's rise begins as manager Jerry Divine (Brit comedian Eddie Izzard) moves in to take over the performer's career. Ex-wife Mandy Slade (Toni Collette), interviewed by Arthur in a dimly lit nightclub, has memories going back to their initial 1969 Sombrero Club encounter. Their marriage paralleled his Bowie-like ascent to fame as an innovative, bisexual rock star pushing the limits. Idolized by teens, Slade teamed up for a while with the drug-addicted Wild. Eventually, the marriage of Mandy and Slade comes to an end, and she hasn't seen him in seven years when she's interviewed by Arthur. The soundtrack features vintage music by Bryan Ferry, Lou Reed and Brian Eno, plus new tunes. Some background on the making of Velvet Goldmine is documented in producer Christine Vachon's book Shooting to Kill: How an Independent Producer Blasts Through the Barriers to Make Movies That Matter (Avon, 1998) by Vachon with Slate film critic David Edelstein. - Bhob Stewart Reviews JASON CLARK AMG A richly detailed, vibrant examination of the 1970s glam rock scene, Todd Haynes' colorful follow-up to his acclaimed 1995 film Safe is slightly more accommodating to mainstream audiences, but retains his trademark allegorical singularity and almost-Kubrickian chilliness. The film is cast to perfection, with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Ewan McGregor completely convincing as sullen, wayward rock stars, and Christian Bale's reporter character a most sympathetic figure. Interestingly, Bale's subplot plays as an homage to Orson Welles' landmark 1941 masterwork Citizen Kane, its overlapping narrative combining the past with the present in an attempt to investigate the film's central mystery. An unfortunate misfire in theaters, where it never connected with its core audience, Haynes' film is a terrific example of uncompromised independent filmmaking, recalling the days of Ken Russell and Richard Lester more than anyone. The film was also a surprise Oscar nominee for its exceptional costume design by Sandy Powell, who ended up winning the prize that year for the more audience-friendly Shakespeare in Love. TIM DIGRAVINA AMG DVD Reciew Velvet Goldmine was either a rash misstep or a grand, glam world unto itself, or maybe a little bit of both, from controversial director Todd Haynes. This excellent DVD presentation of the movie serves up Haynes' vision in a technically superior fashion; the only missing elements are in the supplemental department. The 1.85:1 widescreen transfer is full of dramatic colors and bold visuals, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio is a similar treat for the ears. Many critics of the film suggested the soundtrack was the movie's greatest feat, and the songs of Brian Eno, T-Rex, and an all-star cover band (featuring Radiohead's Thom Yorke) sound spectacular here. A theatrical trailer is the only bonus feature to be found, and it's not even widescreen. The "Chapter Selection" menu allows instant access to the DVD's 30 chapters. It would have been nice if some sort of supplemental feature covered the music of the soundtrack, even if it was in the basic form of "Production Notes," but there's nothing like that in this DVD edition. All the same, Velvet Goldmine is a flashy, baroque little movie that makes for an entertaining, musically superior ride. ROB BLACKWELDER Splicedwire Marrying the narrative structure of what is arguably film's greatest achievement with the life of rock'n'roll's most consummate showman, "Velvet Goldmine" is an ingenious combination of legendary 20th Century pop culture. Literally a glam rock version of "Citizen Kane," with the fictionalized spotlight turned on David Bowie instead of William Randolph Hearst, writer-director Todd Haynes ("Safe") has created a remarkable fabricated history of a moment in rock music that looks, feels and tastes like the real thing. "Goldmine" follows the structure Orson Welles' used for "Citizen Kane," documenting the rise and fall of a glam rock superstar -- Brian Slade (Jonathan Rys Meyers), a very thinly disguised Bowie-esque pop idol -- through flashback vignettes told by his contemporaries as they are interviewed by a reporter on the 10th anniversary of his disappearance after a publicity stunt that ruined his career. Among others, the reporter (Christian Bale) interviews Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor), Slade's hard-living collaborator, rival and sometime lover -- the Iggy Pop character -- and his bitter, lounge-singer ex-wife (Toni Collette), a parallel of both Angela Bowie and the Charles Foster Kane's talentless, drunk ex. The film documents Slade's early days as an aimless post-hippie singer who hadn't found his voice then follows him through the invention of his glam persona (think Ziggy Stardust) that launches him into super-stardom, capturing precisely the period's pandemonium of androgyny, bisexuality, drugs and rock'n'roll. The story is familiar enough that none of the circumstances feel particularly original, but Haynes execution is nothing short of inspired. The film is shot in a 1970s cinematic style, and the director taps prehistoric music video visuals for fantasy sequences, creates you-are-there concert footage and chooses the best music of the day to create a relentless soundtrack that gives "Goldmine" the energetic effervescence of a cocaine-induced euphoria. Meanwhile, Meyers and McGregor manifest the glam rock attitudes (fey, petulant pouts, sexual stage antics) and concealed insecurities of their largely dazed characters so fully that it lends them an almost tragic depth. Toni Collette stands out as something of an escapee from Slade's destructive world, who a decade later is clearly worse for the wear. And Christian Bale gets to flesh out his reporter quite a bit, struggling with his own memories of his volatile post-pubescence during the era he's revisiting. Packed to the rafters with metaphors, "Velvet Goldmine" seems to run out of creative fuel somewhere in the final 20 minutes, falling back on cheap prop symbolism in an unnecessary attempt to stick strictly with the "Citizen Kane" thing. I'm sorry, but a hand-me-down brooch just doesn't cut it as this movie's Rosebud. But by the time it peters out, this creative, smart and stylish film has made such an impression that the unfortunately pedestrian epilogue is a trifle. "Goldmine" should garner a few Oscar nods for production design and costumes, but its real legacy may be as a midnight movie. This picture has definite cult potential. Awards Best Costume Design (nom) -Sandy Powell -1998 -Academy Prize for Best Artistic Contribution (win) -Todd Haynes -1998 -Cannes International Film Festival |
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| VELVET GOLDMINE 1998 - USA / UK - 123 min. - Feature, Color Director -Todd Haynes |
| Genre/Type -Drama, Rock Musical, Period Film Flags -Strong Sexual Content, Nudity, Substance Abuse, Not For Children MPAA Rating -R Keywords -career, prediction, reporter, retrospective, rock-star, death-fake, hoax, manager Themes -Gender-Bending, Musician's Life, Bohemian Life Set In -London, England, UK, UK, New York City, NY, 1970s Color type -Rank Color Sound by -Dolby Digital Produced by -Channel 4/Goldwyn Films/Killer Films/Newmarket/Single Cell Pictures/Zenith Release -Nov 6, 1998 (USA) Released by -Miramax DVD Street Date -May 18, 1999 Languages -English Subtitles -English Screen Formats -Letterbox for 16x9 TVs Sound -PCM Stereo Aspect Ratio -1.85:1 (DVD) Studio -Miramax Home Entertainment DVD Sides -1 Cast Ewan McGregor -- Curt Wild Jonathan Rhys-Meyers -- Brian Slade Toni Collette -- Mandy Slade Christian Bale -- Arthur Stuart Eddie Izzard -- Jerry Divine Emily Woof -- Shannon Michael Feast -- Cecil Ganiat Kasumu -- Mary Janet McTeer - Narrator |
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