Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Almost a decade has elapsed since glam-rock superstar Brian Slade escaped the spotlight of the London scene. Now, investigative journalist Arthur Stuart is on assignment to uncover the truth behind the enigmatic Slade. Stuart, himself forged by the music of the 1970s, explores the larger-than-life stars who were once his idols and what has become of them since the turn of the new decade.
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I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Truly Dreadful Film
There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
All been said already, only that Slade reminds more of Jobriath than Bowie, when performing.. Love the movie, just watched it again after many many years..
LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT! This is a great film. Todd Haynes is a genius. It's really a sttruggle for me not to watch it every day. Actually all Todd Haynes' movies are great and very unique, but this one...The world would be a little bit darker without Velvet Goldmine.
A glam rocker quits 'the life' in a spectacular way. He then disappears. Years later a journalist is assigned to find out where the rocker is today. Good premise thus far, then come the flashbacks - how he came to be discovered, how he went off the deep end, etc. We learn the journalist has some relationship with some of the principal characters. The musical scenes were well done, but that's the last good thing I can say about the film. Unless you're really into glam rock or have an unusual ability to concentrate on the banal, I warn you that you may not be able to figure out what the incessant flashbacks and portrayal of debauchery is adding to the plot. I suspect I'm not alone is asking why you'd want to try?! By then end I didn't care if Christian Bale figured it out.
I happened to be reading Marc Spitz's fanboy bio of Bowie when I saw Velvet Goldmine, and did so because it was mentioned in the book. This movie feels almost like reading a chapter from that book. Bowie is a creation built from the outside in. If I squint a little and doze off slightly watching this film, the correspondence to the preposterous truth and emphatic construction of a façade in the film is just about right. There are videos on YouTube of Bowie interviews which are as much performances as this portrayal. Many details seem to be directly out of the record including the styles of music managers and their demands on venues. Since the subject matter is Bowie, its about right that this world is all Technicolor and Trickle. It's about right. (The impersonation of Iggy is about as good as it gets.)