''Velvet Goldmine'' is a 1998
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
written and directed by
Todd Haynes
Todd Haynes (; born January 2, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films span four decades with themes examining the personalities of well-known musicians, dysfunctional and dystopian societies, and blurred gender ...
from a story by Haynes and James Lyons. It is set in Britain during the
glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
days of the early 1970s, and tells the story of fictional bisexual pop star Brian Slade, who faked his own death. The film was nominated for the
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
1998 Cannes Film Festival
The 51st Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 1998. American director, producer, screenwriter, and film historian Martin Scorsese was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Greek film '' Mia aioniotita kai mia mera'' by Theo A ...
and won the award for the Best Artistic Contribution.
Sandy Powell received a
BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design
This is a list of winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design, which is presented to costume designers, given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts since 1965.
Winners and nominees
1960s
;Best British Costum ...
and was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Costume Design
The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for achievement in film costume design.
The award was first given in 1949, for films made in 194 ...
. The film utilizes
non-linear storytelling to achieve
exposition
Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to:
*Universal exposition or World's Fair
*Expository writing
**Exposition (narrative)
*Exposition (music)
*Trade fair
* ''Exposition'' (album), the debut album by the band Wax on Radio
*Exposi ...
while interweaving the vignettes of its various characters.
Plot
In 1984, British journalist Arthur Stuart is writing an article about the withdrawal from public life of 1970s
glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
star Brian Slade following a death hoax ten years earlier, and is interviewing those who had a part in the entertainer's career. As each person recalls their thoughts, it becomes the introduction of the vignette for that particular segment in Slade's personal and professional life.
Part of the story involves Stuart's family's reaction to his
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
, and how the gay and bisexual glam rock stars and music scene gave him the strength to come out. Rock shows, fashion, and rock journalism all play a role in showing the youth culture of 1970s Britain, as well as the gay culture of the time. At the beginning of his career, Slade is married to Mandy. But when he comes to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, he seeks out American rock star Curt Wild, and they become involved in each other's lives.
The vignettes show Wild and Slade becoming increasingly difficult to work with as they become more famous. They suffer breakdowns in their personal and professional relationships. Eventually, Slade's career ends following the critical and fan backlash from his on-stage publicity stunt where he faked his own murder.
As he gets closer to the truth of where Slade is now, Stuart is suddenly told by his editor that the story is no longer of public interest and Stuart has been assigned to the Tommy Stone tour, which coincidentally is Brian Slade's new identity. We discover Stuart was also at the concert where Slade faked his own death, and that after seeing Wild perform on another night, Wild and Stuart had a sexual encounter.
Eventually, Stuart confronts Tommy Stone and once again encounters Wild, who casually passes on a piece of jewellry from Oscar Wilde.
Cast
*
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...
as Curt Wild
*
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including ...
as Arthur Stuart
*
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor, model and musician. He is known for his roles in the films ''Michael Collins (film), Michael Collins'' (1996), ''Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus (f ...
as Brian Slade
*
Toni Collette
Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, includ ...
as Mandy Slade
*
Eddie Izzard
Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime.
Izzard's stand- ...
as Jerry Devine
* Micko Westmoreland as Jack Fairy
*
Alastair Cumming
Alistair is a masculine given name. It is an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic ''Alasdair''. The latter is most likely a Scottish Gaelic variant of the Norman French Alexandre or Latin Alexander, which was incorporated into English in the sa ...
as Tommy Stone
*
Emily Woof
Emily Woof is an English actress and author, best known for film and TV roles including Nancy in ''Oliver Twist'', ''The Full Monty'', an ITV adaptation of ''The Woodlanders'', ''Velvet Goldmine'', ''Wondrous Oblivion'', '' Silent Cry'' and ''T ...
as Shannon
*
Joseph Beattie
Joseph Beattie (born 1978) is an English actor, known for portraying Malachi in the second season of '' Hex'' (2004) and Henry Crawford in '' Mansfield Park'' (2007).
Background
Beattie attended King Alfred School in Hampstead and later tra ...
as Cooper
*
Michael Feast
Michael Feast (born 25 November 1946) is an English actor of stage and screen. He was born in Brighton, and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He performed in the original 1968 London production of ''Hair''. He worked several ti ...
as Cecil
*
Lindsay Kemp
Lindsay Keith Kemp (3 May 1938[British Film Institute entry for Lindsa ...](_blank)
as Pantomime Dame
*
as Female Narrator
*
Carlos Miranda
Luis Carlos Miranda Cordal (born Santiago, Chile, 17 July 1945), also known as Carlos Miranda is a Spanish composer, pianist, conductor and actor.
Life and career
He was born in Chile, where he studied at the composition with Gustavo B ...
as Pianist
*
Sarah Cawood
Sarah Louise Cawood (born 7 August 1972 in St Pancras, London) is an English broadcaster, best known for presenting the BBC Children's Saturday flagship morning show ''Live & Kicking''.
Career
Cawood grew up in the Cambridgeshire village of ...
as Angel
*
David Hoyle
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
as Freddi
Production
The film centers on Brian Slade, a
bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
and
androgynous
Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression.
When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics i ...
glam rock icon who was patterned after
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ' ...
,
Jobriath
Bruce Wayne Campbell (December 14, 1946 – August 3, 1983), known by his stage name Jobriath, was an American rock musician and actor. He was the first openly gay rock musician to be signed to a major record label, and one of the first in ...
and
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...
.
The Director, Todd Haynes, requested access to Bowie's song catalogue along with a personal blessing to make the film but Bowie refused, saying that he intended to make a similar film about the time.
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...
co-stars in the role of Curt Wild, a genre-defying performer who doesn't back down from sex, nudity or drugs on or off stage and whose biographical details are based on
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
(who grew up in a trailer park) and
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
(whose parents sent him to
electroshock therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive th ...
to 'cure' his
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
feelings).
[Limping with the Stooges in Washington Heights]
in ''The Brooklyn Rail'' Also featured are
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including ...
as the young glam rock fan and reporter, Arthur Stuart and
Toni Collette
Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, includ ...
as Slade's wife, Mandy, who is based on Bowie's first wife,
Angela.
Eddie Izzard
Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime.
Izzard's stand- ...
stars as Slade's manager, Jerry Devine.
The tale strongly parallels Bowie's relationships with Reed and Pop in the 1970s and 1980s. Brian Slade's gradually overwhelming stage persona of "Maxwell Demon" and his backing band, "Venus in Furs", resemble Bowie's persona and backing band. The album ''
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'') is the fifth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 16June 1972 in the United Kingdom through RCA Records. It was co-pr ...
'' tells a similar story of a rock star gone over the edge and culminates in his assassination. As with Slade and Wild, Bowie produced records for and with, Pop and Reed. The band name "Venus in Furs" is taken from a song by Lou Reed's early band,
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...
, which was taken from
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch (; 27 January 1836 – 9 March 1895) was an Austrian nobleman, writer and journalist, who gained renown for his romantic stories of Galician life. The term ''masochism'' is derived from his name, invented by h ...
's eponymous
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
, which appeared on their first album. Maxwell Demon was the name of an early band of
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
, a long-time Bowie associate, whose music is heard at various points in the film.
Haynes has said that the story is also about the love affair between America and Britain,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, in the way each music scene feeds off and influences each other.
[Moverman, Oren (1998) "Superstardust: Talking Glam with Todd Haynes", an interview in the introduction of ''Velvet Goldmine, A Screenplay by Todd Haynes'', Hyperion: New York] Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...
is shown as an early influence on Brian Slade. Little Richard inspired
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and Bowie, who in turn inspired many other bands. Little Richard has also been cited by Haynes as the inspiration for Jack Fairy.
The film is strongly influenced by the ideas and life of
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
(seen in the film as a progenitor of glam rock), and refers to events in his life and quotes his work on dozens of occasions.
Jean Genet
Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...
(the subject of Haynes' previous film, ''
Poison
Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
'', and the putative inspiration for the title of Bowie's song "
The Jean Genie
"The Jean Genie" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally released in November 1972 as the lead single to his 1973 album '' Aladdin Sane''. Co-produced by Ken Scott, Bowie recorded it with his backing band the Spiders from ...
") is referred to in imagery and also quoted in dialogue.
The film's narrative structure is modelled on that of
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
' ''
Citizen Kane
''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
'', in that the reporter Stuart tries to solve a mystery about Slade, travelling to interview Slade's lovers and colleagues, whose recollections are shown in 1950s, 1960s and 1970s flashbacks.
David Bowie was ambivalent about ''Velvet Goldmine'' upon release.
According to Bowie, “When I saw the film I thought the best thing about it was the gay scenes. They were the only successful part of the film, frankly."
Soundtrack
Although the character of Brian Slade is heavily based on
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, Bowie vetoed the proposal that his songs appear in the film.
However, as producer of
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
's 1972 ''
Transformer
A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...
'' album, his backing vocals (mainly consisting of "bum-bum-bum"s and "ooh-ooh"s) can be heard on "
Satellite of Love
"Satellite of Love" is a song by Lou Reed. It is the second single from his 1972 album ''Transformer''. At the time of its release, it achieved minor US chart success (#119), though it later became a staple of his concerts and compilation albums. ...
".
The finished soundtrack includes songs by
glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
and glam-influenced bands, past and present.
The English musicians who played under the name The Venus in Furs on the soundtrack were
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
's
Thom Yorke
Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...
and
Jonny Greenwood
Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician and composer. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the alternative rock band Radiohead, and has written numerous film scores.
Along with his elder brother, th ...
,
David Gray Band's
Clune,
Suede
Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was fir ...
's
Bernard Butler
Bernard Joseph Butler (born 1 May 1970) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the first guitarist with Suede, until his departure in 1994. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his ...
, and
Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...
's
Andy Mackay. The American musicians who played as Curt Wild's
Wylde Ratttz
Wylde Ratttz were an American punk rock supergroup. Composed of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley, Ron Asheton (The Stooges), Don Fleming ( Gumball), bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen), Jim Dunbar, and Mark Arm (Mudhoney) the band prov ...
on the soundtrack were
The Stooges
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...
'
Ron Asheton
Ronald Franklin Asheton (July 17, 1948 – c. January 6, 2009) was an American musician , who was best known as the guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter for the rock band the Stooges. He formed the Stooges along with Iggy Pop and his brother, ...
,
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
's
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...
and
Steve Shelley
Steven Jay Shelley (born June 23, 1962) is an American drummer. He is best known as the longtime drummer of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth, for whom he played from 1985 until their 2011 disbandment.
Biography
Shelley was born in Midland, ...
,
Minutemen
Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...
's
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter.
Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...
,
Gumball's
Don Fleming, and
Mark Arm
Mark Arm (born Mark Thomas McLaughlin; February 21, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. His former group, Green River, was one of the first grunge bands, along with Malfunkshun, So ...
of
Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. Orig ...
.
The soundtrack features new songs written for the film by
Pulp
Pulp may refer to:
* Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit
Engineering
* Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture
* Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper
* Molded pulp, a packaging material
...
,
Shudder to Think
Shudder to Think was an American alternative rock band. Formed in 1986, they released three albums on the Washington, D.C.-based label Dischord Records, and two on Epic Records. Their early work was largely influenced by post-hardcore although ...
and
Grant Lee Buffalo
Grant Lee Buffalo was an American rock band based in Los Angeles, California, United States, consisting of Grant-Lee Phillips (vocals and guitar), Paul Kimble ( bass) and Joey Peters (drums). All three were previously members of another Los Ange ...
,
[Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "''Velvet Goldmine'': Review" AllMusic.com.] as well as many early glam rock compositions, both covers and original versions. The Venus in Furs covers several Roxy Music songs with Thom Yorke channeling
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ' ...
on vocals,
Placebo
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general ...
covers
T. Rex's "
20th Century Boy
"20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan, released as a stand-alone single on 2 March 1973.
It entered in the UK Singles Chart at number 3, on 10 March 1973 and peaked three weeks in a row at that position. It stayed a ...
," Wylde Ratttz and Ewan McGregor cover The Stooges' "T.V. Eye" and "Gimme Danger", and
Teenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Bellshill near Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), all of whom shared ...
and
Donna Matthews
Donna Lorraine Matthews (born 2 December 1971) is a Welsh musician who was the lead guitarist of the Britpop band Elastica.
Music career
When she was 20, Matthews answered an advert in ''Melody Maker'' for a guitarist with a new band. She became a ...
cover the
New York Dolls
New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...
' "
Personality Crisis". Lou Reed,
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
, T. Rex, and
Steve Harley
Steve Harley (born Stephen Malcolm Ronald Nice; 27 February 1951) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as frontman of the rock group Cockney Rebel, with whom he still tours, albeit with frequent and significant personnel changes.
Ea ...
songs from the period are also included. The album is rounded out by a piece of
Carter Burwell
Carter Benedict Burwell (born November 18, 1954) is an American film composer. He has consistently collaborated with the Coen brothers, having scored most of their films. Burwell has also scored three of Todd Haynes's films, three of Spike Jonz ...
's score.
All three members of the band Placebo also appeared in the film, with
Brian Molko
Brian Molko (born 10 December 1972) is a Belgian-born Scottish-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist of the band Placebo. He is known in particular for his distinctive nasal, high-pitche ...
and
Steve Hewitt
Steven James Hewitt (born 22 March 1971) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the frontman of his own band, Love Amongst Ruin. Hewitt is best known for his tenure as the drummer for Placebo between September 1996 ...
playing members of the Flaming Creatures (Malcolm and Billy respectively) and
Stefan Olsdal playing Polly Small's bassist. Another member of the Flaming Creatures, Pearl, was played by Xavior (Paul Wilkinson), former lead singer of
Romo
Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and nightclubbing movement, of glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred on the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcadia ...
band
DexDexTer and later a keyboard player for Placebo and
Rachel Stamp
Rachel Stamp are an English rock band formed in London in 1994. Their debut album, '' Hymns For Strange Children'', was released in 2000, followed by '' Oceans of Venus'' two years later.
History
Rachel Stamp were formed in 1994 when David ...
.
;Track listing
#
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
: "Needle in the Camel's Eye" (Brian Eno,
Phil Manzanera
Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801, and Quiet Sun. ...
) – 3:09
# Shudder to Think: "Hot One" (
Nathan Larson Nathan Larson may refer to:
*Nathan Larson (musician), American musician
* Nathan Larson (criminal), American white supremacist and convicted felon
See also
*Nate Larson
Nate Larson (born March 16, 1978) is a Baltimore-based artist and photograph ...
, Shudder to Think) (Based on a lot of David Bowie's glam work, mostly "
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
") – 3:04
#
Placebo
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general ...
: "20th Century Boy" (T. Rex cover) (
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...
) – 3:42
# The Venus in Furs (vocals by Thom Yorke): "
2HB" (Roxy Music cover) (Bryan Ferry) – 5:39
# Wylde Ratttz (vocals by Ewan McGregor): "
T.V. Eye" (The Stooges cover) (
Dave Alexander,
Scott Asheton
Scott Randolph Asheton (August 16, 1949 – March 15, 2014) was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band the Stooges.
Asheton was born in Washington, D.C. and moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan with his family at the age of ...
, Ron Asheton,
James Osterberg Jr.) – 5:24
# Shudder to Think: "Ballad of Maxwell Demon" (Based on David Bowie's "
All the Young Dudes
"All the Young Dudes" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally recorded and released as a single by the English rock band Mott the Hoople in 1972 by Columbia Records. Bowie produced the song, which he had given to ...
" and Brian Eno's band Maxwell Demon) (
Craig Wedren
Craig Benjamin Wedren (born August 15, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and composer, who began his career fronting post-hardcore band Shudder to Think. Following the disbandment of Shudder to Think, Wedren pursued a career as a ...
, Shudder to Think) – 4:47
#
Grant Lee Buffalo
Grant Lee Buffalo was an American rock band based in Los Angeles, California, United States, consisting of Grant-Lee Phillips (vocals and guitar), Paul Kimble ( bass) and Joey Peters (drums). All three were previously members of another Los Ange ...
: "The Whole Shebang" (Based on David Bowie's "
Velvet Goldmine
''Velvet Goldmine'' is a 1998 musical drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes from a story by Haynes and James Lyons. It is set in Britain during the glam rock days of the early 1970s, and tells the story of fictional bisexual pop star ...
") (
Grant-Lee Phillips
Grant-Lee Phillips (born Bryan G. Phillips; September 1, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He led the group Grant Lee Buffalo in the 1990s, afterwards launching a solo career. He features as the town troubadour ...
) – 4:11
# The Venus in Furs (vocals by Thom Yorke): "
Ladytron
Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synthesize ...
" (Roxy Music cover) (Ferry) – 4:26
# Pulp: "We Are the Boys" (Cocker, Banks, Doyle, Steve Mackey, Webber) – 3:13
#
Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...
: "
Virginia Plain
"Virginia Plain" is a song by English rock band Roxy Music, released as their debut single in August 1972. Written by Roxy frontman Bryan Ferry, the song was recorded by the band in July 1972 at London's Command Studios. Backed with "The Numberer" ...
" (Ferry) – 3:00
#
Teenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Bellshill near Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), all of whom shared ...
& Donna Matthews: "Personality Crisis" (New York Dolls cover) (
David Johansen
David Roger Johansen (sometimes spelled ''David Jo Hansen''; born January 9, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under ...
,
Johnny Thunders
John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played with ...
) – 3:49
#
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
: "Satellite of Love" (Lou Reed) – 3:41
#
T. Rex: "
Diamond Meadows" (Bolan) – 2:00
# Paul Kimble &
Andy Mackay: "
Bitters End" (Ferry) – 2:13
# The Venus in Furs (vocals by
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor, model and musician. He is known for his roles in the films ''Michael Collins (film), Michael Collins'' (1996), ''Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus (f ...
): "
Baby's on Fire
"Baby's on Fire" is the third track on English musician Brian Eno's 1974 debut solo album '' Here Come the Warm Jets''.
Writing and recording
Eno recorded "Baby's on Fire" during the ''Here Come the Warm Jets'' sessions in September 1973 at Majes ...
" (Brian Eno cover) (Eno) – 3:19
# The Venus in Furs (vocals by Thom Yorke): "Bitter-Sweet" (Roxy Music cover) (Andy Mackay, Ferry) – 4:55
#
Carter Burwell
Carter Benedict Burwell (born November 18, 1954) is an American film composer. He has consistently collaborated with the Coen brothers, having scored most of their films. Burwell has also scored three of Todd Haynes's films, three of Spike Jonz ...
: "Velvet Spacetime" (Carter Burwell) – 4:10
# The Venus in Furs (vocals by Jonathan Rhys Meyers): "
Tumbling Down Tumbling Down may refer to:
* "Tumbling Down" (Cockney Rebel song), 1974
* "Tumbling Down" (Tessanne Chin song), 2013
* "Tumblin' Down" (Blind Melon song), 2008
* "Tumblin' Down" (Ziggy Marley song), 1988
* " Komm, süsser Tod", a song from the sou ...
" (Cockney Rebel cover) (
Steve Harley
Steve Harley (born Stephen Malcolm Ronald Nice; 27 February 1951) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as frontman of the rock group Cockney Rebel, with whom he still tours, albeit with frequent and significant personnel changes.
Ea ...
) – 3:28
#
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel are a British glam rock band from the early 1970s from London. Their music covers a range of styles from pop to progressive rock. Over the years they have had five albums in the UK Albums Chart and twelve singles in ...
: "
Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)
"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released in 1975 by EMI as the lead single from the band's third studio album ''The Best Years of Our Lives''. The song was written b ...
" (Harley) – 3:59
A more extensive selection of music was used for the movie soundtrack.
;Film soundtrack listing
#"
Needle in the Camel's Eye" (Eno, Manzanera) – performed by Brian Eno
#"Hot One" (Larson, Shudder to Think) – performed by Shudder to Think
#"People Rockin' People" (Larson) – performed by Nathan Larson
#"Avenging Annie" (Andy Pratt) – performed by Andy Pratt
#"Coz I Love You" (Noddy Holder, Jim Lea) – performed by Slade
#"The Fat Lady of Limbourg" (Eno) – performed by Brian Eno
#"
A Little of What You Fancy Does You Good
"A Little of What You Fancy Does You Good" is an English music hall song first published in 1915 (originally as "A Little Bit of What You Fancy Does You Good"), and popularised by Marie Lloyd. It was composed by George Arthurs with lyrics by Fr ...
" (Fred W. Leigh, George Arthurs) – performed by Lindsay Kemp
#"
Tutti Frutti
Tutti frutti (from Italian ''tutti i frutti'', "all fruits"; also hyphenated tutti-frutti) is a colorful confectionery containing various chopped and usually candied fruits, or an artificial or natural flavouring simulating the combined flavou ...
" (
Richard Penniman
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...
,
Dorothy LaBostrie
Dorothy LaBostrie (May 28, 1928 – November 4, 2007), later Dorothy LaBostrie Black, was an American songwriter, best known for co-writing Little Richard's 1955 hit "Tutti Frutti".
Early life and songwriting career
She was born in Rayland, ...
) – performed by The Venus in Furs, vocals by Callum Hamilton
#"Do You Wanna Touch Me? (Oh Yeah!)" (
Gary Glitter
Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...
,
Mike Leander
Michael George Farr (30 June 1941 – 18 April 1996), known professionally as Mike Leander, was a British arranger, songwriter and record producer.
He worked variously with The Beatles, David McWilliams ("Days of Pearly Spencer"), Gary Gli ...
) – performed by Gary Glitter
#"Band of Gold" (Ronald Dunbar, Edythe Wayne) – performed by Freda Payne
#"2HB" (Ferry) – performed by The Venus in Furs, vocals by Thom Yorke
#"
Sebastian" (Harley) – performed by The Venus in Furs, vocals by Jonathan Rhys Meyers
#"T.V. Eye" (Alexander, S. Asheton, R. Asheton, Osterberg Jr.) – performed by Wylde Ratttz, vocals by Ewan McGregor
#"Ballad of Maxwell Demon" (Wedren, Shudder to Think) – performed by Shudder to Think
#"The Whole Shebang" (Phillips) – performed by Grant Lee Buffalo
#"Symphony No. 6 in A Minor" (Gustav Mahler) – performed by Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
#"Get in the Groove" (James Timothy Shaw) – performed by The Mighty Hannibal
#"Ladytron" (Ferry) – performed by The Venus In Furs, vocals by Thom Yorke
#"We Are the Boys" (Cocker, Banks, Doyle, Mackey, Webber) – performed by Pulp
#"Cosmic Dancer" (Bolan) – performed by T. Rex
#"Virginia Plain" (Ferry) – performed by Roxy Music
#"Personality Crisis" (Johansen, Thunders) – performed by Teenage Fanclub & Donna Matthews
#"Satellite of Love" (Reed) – performed by Lou Reed
#"Diamond Meadows" (Bolan) – performed by T. Rex
#"Bitters End" (Ferry) – performed by Paul Kimble
#"Baby's on Fire" (Eno) – performed by The Venus in Furs, vocals by Jonathan Rhys Meyers
#"My Unclean" (R. Asheton, Mark Arm) – performed by Wylde Ratz, vocals by Ewan McGregor
#"Bitter-Sweet" (Mackay, Ferry) – performed by The Venus in Furs, vocals by Thom Yorke
#"20th Century Boy" (Bolan) – performed by Placebo
#"Dead Finks Don't Talk" (Eno) -performed by Brian Eno
#"Gimme Danger" (Iggy Pop,
James Williamson) – performed by The Venus in Furs, vocals by Ewan McGregor
#"Tumbling Down" (Harley) – performed by The Venus in Furs, vocals by Jonathan Rhys Meyers
#"2HB" (Ferry) – performed by The Venus in Furs, vocals by Paul Kimble
#"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" (Harley) – performed by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
Reception
Box office
The film opened in the United Kingdom on 23 October 1998 and grossed over $700,000. It was released in the United States on 6 November 1998 in 85 venues, grossing $301,787 in its opening weekend and ranking sixteenth at the box office, and fifth among the week's new releases. It would ultimately gross $1,053,788 in the United States and Canada and $4,313,644 worldwide.
Critical response
''Velvet Goldmine'' received mixed to positive reviews from critics. On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 60% rating based on 47 reviews, with an average of 6.5/10. The critical consensus reads: "''Velvet Goldmine'' takes a visual and narrative approach befitting its larger-than-life subject, although it's still disappointingly less than the sum of its parts". Metacritic reports a 65 out of 100 score based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Janet Maslin
Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...
, having seen the film at the
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, it is ...
, made it a "NYT Critics' Pick," calling it a "dazzlingly surreal" rock version of "''Citizen Kane'' with an extraterrestrial
Rosebud
Rosebud may refer to:
* Rose bud, the bud of a rose flower
Arts
* The name of Jerry Garcia's guitar from 1990 until his death in 1995.
* In the 1941 film ''Citizen Kane'', the last words of Charles Foster Kane and an overall plot device.
* "Ros ...
" and saying it "brilliantly reimagines the glam rock ‘70s as a brave new world of electrifying theatricality and sexual possibility, to the point where identifying precise figures in this neo-psychedelic landscape is almost beside the point. ''Velvet Goldmine'' tells a story the way
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s do: blazing with exquisite yet abstract passions, and with quite a lot to look at on the side." According to
Peter Travers
Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
, "Haynes creates ''Velvet Goldmine''...with a masturbatory fervor that demands dead-on details" and "fashions a structure out of ''Citizen Kane''"; it's a film that "works best as a feast of sight and sound,...re-creating an era as a gorgeous carnal dream,...celebrat
ngthe art of the possible." In a less enthusiastic review,
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' gave the film two out of four stars and found its plot too discursive and confusingly assorted because of how it "bogs down in the apparatus of the search for Slade" by clumsily using scenes from ''Citizen Kane''. David Sterritt from ''
The Christian Science Monitor
''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'' wrote "The music and camera work are dazzling, and the story has solid sociological insights into a fascinating pop-culture period."
In a retrospective review, ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
s Jeremiah Kipp gave ''Velvet Goldmine'' four out of four stars and said that, although unsupportive critics may be "terrified of a movie with so many ideas", the film successfully shows a "melancholic ode to freedom, and those who fight for it through art", because of Haynes' detailed imagery and the cast's "expressive, soulful performances". Scott Tobias of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' felt that Haynes' appropriation of structural elements from ''Citizen Kane'' is the film's "masterstroke", as it helps "evoke the glam rock movement without destroying the all-important mystique that sustains it." Tobias argued that, like Haynes'
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
-inspired 2007 film ''
I'm Not There
''I'm Not There'' is a 2007 musical drama film directed by Todd Haynes, and co-written by Haynes and Oren Moverman. It is an unconventional biographical film inspired by the life and music of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Six actors de ...
'', ''Velvet Goldmine'' deals with a famously enigmatic figure indirectly through allusion and imagery, and consequently succeeds more than a simpler biopic could.
Home media
Since its 1999
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
release, the film has become a
cult classic
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
and has been described as having "an obsessive following among younger audiences."
Haynes said in a 2007 interview, "A film that had the hardest time, at least initially, was ''Velvet Goldmine'', and it's the film that seems to mean the most to a lot of teenagers and young people, who are just obsessed with that movie. They're exactly who I was thinking about when I made ''Velvet Goldmine'', but it just didn't get to them the first time around."
A
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
was released in
Region A on 13 December 2011, and includes a newly recorded commentary track by Haynes and Vachon. In it, Haynes thanks the fansites for helping him compile the notes for the commentary.
The soundtrack to Velvet Goldmine was released on
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
in 2019.
Awards and nominations
*
1998 Cannes Film Festival
The 51st Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 1998. American director, producer, screenwriter, and film historian Martin Scorsese was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Greek film '' Mia aioniotita kai mia mera'' by Theo A ...
– Best Artistic Contribution – Todd Haynes; also nominated for
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
*
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
– nominated for
Best Costume Design (
Sandy Powell)
*
BAFTA Award
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
– Best Costume Design – Best Costume Design – Sandy Powell; nominated for Best Make Up/Hair (Peter King)
*
1999 Independent Spirit Awards – Best Cinematography – Maryse Alberti; nominated for Best Director (Todd Haynes) and Best Feature
* 1998
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
– Channel 4 Director's Award – Todd Haynes
*
GLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their live ...
– Outstanding Film (Limited Release)
Connections to other works
* The film's title takes its name from David Bowie's song "
Velvet Goldmine
''Velvet Goldmine'' is a 1998 musical drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes from a story by Haynes and James Lyons. It is set in Britain during the glam rock days of the early 1970s, and tells the story of fictional bisexual pop star ...
".
* The film's disclaimer reads "Although what you are about to see is a work of fiction, it should nevertheless be played at maximum volume," an allusion to Bowie's ''Ziggy Stardust'' album, which contains the legend: "To be played at maximum volume."
* The name of the lead character, Brian Slade, is an allusion to the 1970s glam band,
Slade
Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...
. Slade's persona "Maxwell Demon" was named after
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
's first band, which itself was influenced by
James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and ligh ...
's thought experiment character, "
Maxwell's demon
Maxwell's demon is a thought experiment that would hypothetically violate the second law of thermodynamics. It was proposed by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell in 1867. In his first letter Maxwell called the demon a "finite being", while the ' ...
".
* Wild's backing band, The Rats, shares its name with one of
Mick Ronson
Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...
's earliest groups.
It also alludes to Iggy Pop's band,
The Stooges
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...
in that both words share a similar meaning ("rat" and "stooge" both being terms for someone who is an informer).
* The scene where couples are shown walking into the Sombrero Club on New Year's Eve 1969 is similar to a shot of people entering a party from Welles' film ''
The Magnificent Ambersons
''The Magnificent Ambersons'' is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington, the second in his ''Growth'' trilogy after ''The Turmoil'' (1915) and before ''The Midlander'' (1923, retitled ''National Avenue'' in 1927). It won the Pulitzer Prize for fict ...
''.
* Maxwell Demon's guitarist shares his name, Trevor, with Bowie's
The Spiders from Mars
The Spiders from Mars were rock singer David Bowie's backing band in the early 1970s, and initially consisted of Mick Ronson on guitars, Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, and Mick Woodmansey on drums.
The group had its origins in Bowie's earlier ba ...
bassist
Trevor Bolder
Trevor Bolder (9 June 1950 – 21 May 2013) was an English rock musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with the Spiders from Mars, the backing band for David Bowie, a ...
, and his last name is Finn, as
T. Rex percussionist
Mickey Finn.
* "Venus in Furs" is a reference to a Velvet Underground
song of the same name, whose title and lyrics in turn reference a
novel of that name by
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch (; 27 January 1836 – 9 March 1895) was an Austrian nobleman, writer and journalist, who gained renown for his romantic stories of Galician life. The term ''masochism'' is derived from his name, invented by h ...
.
* ''
Flaming Creatures
''Flaming Creatures'' is a 1963 American experimental film directed by Jack Smith. The film shows performers dressed in elaborate drag for several disconnected scenes, including a lipstick commercial, an orgy, and an earthquake. It premiered Apr ...
'' is also the name of
Jack Smith's seminal piece of gay cinema.
* Much of the script consists of quotations from various works of
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
, and several of the scenes involving the character Jack Fairy reference the novels of
Jean Genet
Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...
.
* The bleak,
dystopian
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
feel of the action taking place in 1984 alludes to the novel ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four
''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
'' by
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
, to Bowie's own dystopian
song of the same name, and to Bowie's reinvention of himself as a mainstream entertainer during the
Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
and
Thatcher era.
* The "pantomime dame" from the vaudeville troupe is played by influential dancer
Lindsay Kemp
Lindsay Keith Kemp (3 May 1938[British Film Institute entry for Lindsa ...](_blank)
, a former teacher of Bowie's who collaborated with him on several music videos, including "
John, I'm Only Dancing".
* The little girl on the train is reading "
Antigonish
, settlement_type = Town
, image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg
, image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral
, image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...
" (a poem by
William Hughes Mearns
William Hughes Mearns (1875–1965), better known as Hughes Mearns, was an American educator and poet. A graduate of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, Mearns was a professor at the Philadelphia School of Pedagogy from 1 ...
), which was inspiration for
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
's "
The Man Who Sold The World".
* Arthur Stuart's boss has
mydriasis
Mydriasis is the dilation of the pupil, usually having a non-physiological cause, or sometimes a physiological pupillary response. Non-physiological causes of mydriasis include disease, trauma, or the use of certain types of drugs.
Normally, as ...
in his left eye, much like Bowie's.
* "The Ballad of Maxwell Demon" contains the lyrics: "The boys from Quadrant 44 with their vicious metal hounds never come 'round here no more," referencing
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...
's
dystopian novel
Utopian and dystopian fiction are genres of speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to ...
, ''
Fahrenheit 451
''Fahrenheit 451'' is a 1953 dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. Often regarded as one of his best works, ''Fahrenheit 451'' presents an American society where books have been personified and outlawed and "firemen" burn any that ar ...
''. This is likely an allusion to Bowie basing an entire album (''
Diamond Dogs
''Diamond Dogs'' is the eighth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 24 May 1974 through RCA Records. Bowie produced the album and recorded it in early 1974 at Olympic and Island Studios in London and Ludolph Studios i ...
'') on the dystopian novel ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four
''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
''.
*The scene near the middle of the film that portrays Slade and Wild about to make love as
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.
...
Dolls, pays homage to Haynes' earlier work in ''
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story'', which was acted out primarily with the dolls.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
*
*
*
Review of ''Velvet Goldmine'' Original Soundtrack
A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indi ...
() from
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velvet Goldmine
1998 films
1990s French-language films
1990s musical drama films
1998 LGBT-related films
British musical drama films
British independent films
British LGBT-related films
British nonlinear narrative films
American musical drama films
American independent films
American LGBT-related films
American nonlinear narrative films
American rock music films
British rock music films
Bisexuality-related films
Films about music and musicians
Films about singers
Films scored by Carter Burwell
Films directed by Todd Haynes
Films produced by Christine Vachon
Films set in the 1970s
Films set in 1974
Films set in 1984
Films set in Berlin
Films set in London
Films set in New York City
Incest in film
Punk films
Killer Films films
Film4 Productions films
Newmarket Capital Group films
1998 independent films
Cultural depictions of David Bowie
Films à clef
BAFTA winners (films)
Glam rock
Male bisexuality in film
1998 drama films
Films shot in Greater Manchester
1990s English-language films
1990s American films
1990s British films