Bowie kept Todd on tndeerhooks for months over music rights. He wanted to use Bowie songs but Bowie wouldn’t so much as give him ONE. So we went ahead with B-sides of glam classics.
As for his ciritcism it’s pretty obvious that Brian Slade turns into the character (played by another actor) we see performing at the end an exhoritng the crowd.
Hello David, first off hello, and huge respect to you and your work.
Re VELVET GMINE this is quite true, Bowie hemmed and hawed about the usage of the music, dragged it out, and in the end said no across the board. His motivation and demeanor in doing so isn’t known to me, I’ve heard he was uncomfortable with the “gay stuff”, I’ve heard he wanted to save it and make his own Ziggy movie, most likely it had to do with a bottom line issue like money, whatever, I just don’t know.
But I would suggest (biased as I am having written some of the music) that the addition of original songs in the tradition of Bowie/ Roxy/ T-Rex lends a added dimension to the film…..in the same sense that we have a fantasy “Bowie” and “Iggy” character in the film so we have a mix of real and fantasy “Bowie/ Iggy” songs. Enhances the texture of this parallel universe. In this respect Bowie did the film a favor, I reckon.
I am however hopelessly compromised on this topic and will now shut my mouth
Personally, VELVET GOLDMINE is my favorite film of Todd Haynes. It isn’t just about the music or a particular era in pop music; it’s about what it MEANS to be a fan of a particular performer, not in a stalker sort of way but in a full-of-possibilities way. I can watch this film over and over again. Yet the DVD of the film is not even anamorphic, so the transfer leaves a LOT to be desired. It looks crappy on my HDTV.
All I ask is that it be given the Criterion treatment on Blu-Ray, and that it have English subtitles for the Deaf and hard of hearing. I would pay full retail ($40) for this particular movie on BD.
Btw, the title of the film comes from a B-side that Bowie had cut during his ZIGGY STARDUST days. Even with the Bowie stuff taken out, I think it’s pretty obvious what the parallels are—Ewan McGregor is Iggy Pop, for one thing.
Still a brilliant film that plays like a feverish dream of being in love in a performer’s music and his persona, and what it means to remember one’s own innocence. VELVET GOLDMINE will continue to be remembered in the decades ahead. That much I’m sure of!
Yeah, who says that Bowie HAS to give any of his songs to anyone? Pfft, boo hoo. IMO, the film benefited rather than suffered because of it, but unfortunately it had other problems.
i just wanted to add to this topic (even though it seems this topic died a while back) – am i the only one who thinks POISON is haynes’ best work?
while it certainly has it’s flaws and some of his other films are a lot more “perfect” (though they all have their issues), i think the ideas being presented in POISON are his most powerful. i understand why most people pick SAFE or FAR FROM HEAVEN, and even VELVET GOLDMINE, as their favourites, but i did want to add this in since i see no one else sticking up for POISON, and it doesn’t even seem to have been part of this discussion.
This film is so layered with cinematic and musical references you could spend weeks, even months peeling it all back. Both Brian Slade and Kurt Wild have many more dimensions that just simple representations of Bowie and Iggy – much of Slade’s dressing style, and especially the cover designs on the albums, are inspired by the forgotten and “could’ve been” glam rocker Jobriath, the shock treatments Wild experiences as a boy to “cure” his bisexuality are biographical of Lou Reed (who was also a collaborator and idol of Bowie’s)… lots more if you do your research on the musical era, Haynes really knows his stuff, and it all provides a really complex and surrealistic nature for the film, it’s a total anti-biopic. And the visual flourishes! Tons of Fassbinderish zoom in’s and out’s, Persona/Performance inspired editing montage of Brian vs. Kurt, Brian vs. Mandy, Kurt vs. Arthur all dissolving into each other, the audacious rehash of the Flaming Creatures orgy, Spirit of the Beehive bloodsmearing lipstick, cute little self-referential Karen Carpenter Story dolls of Slade and Wild, Paul Morrissey’s Trash with Slade turning into an acne-faced low-life dwelling lifelessly in impotence and nihilism after his star has faded, and on and on and on… all so seamlessly edited, this is a remarkable achievement.
I found the narrative a little clumsy, to be honest. I think I was a little too aware of each character as a stand-in for a real person. In some ways, the use of b-sides and original music served it better. Technically, it’s a nice-looking film, but the story felt more than borrowed.
Eh, it was ok. I agree with others above, my favorite is Safe. But I also enjoyed Superstar:The Karen Carpenter story.
You definitely “get it,” Mr. Trager. Todd never operates from one reference point alone. “Velvet Goldmine” is about Bowie but it’s also about the entire “Glam Rock” moment and how it affected people. The most important character in the film is Chirstian Bale’s disillusioned fan. The “Glam Rock” moment was the high point of his youth He ends as a shadow of his former self.
“Velvet Goldmine” samples “Citizen Kane” much as “I’m Not There” samples “8 1/2” It’s all about the look and style of those filsm rather than their explicit content.
How Haynes could make such a dull picture about one the most vibrant eras in pop music is beyond me. But then most, if not all, of his work leaves me cold. Mildred Pierce, which I’ve seen the first three installments, is proving to be yet another waste of good souce material.
I take it you’rean Armond White fan, “Elvis.”
SAFE
That movie stayed with me for a long time.
Great comment, David. Part of this film’s brilliance is that while it pays homage to Citizen Kane’s structure, it also simultaneously refutes it as well, placing the emphasis instead on the interviewer’s character and making him the hero of the film, showing that his search for Brian Slade and to understand him was in fact a search for understanding himself and ends on a much more hopeful note in “inheriting” the universal creative force brought to Earth in the beginning of the film which previously provoked his idolization of Slade, showing that nobody should allow themselves to the self-resignation of being passive onlookers and hanger-ons. This, no doubt, is a problem Haynes saw with Citizen Kane’s inconsideration and neglecting of such a notion and made this film to comment on and resolve.
NATO
Full disclosure: I worked on VELVET GOLDMINE with my old band (and thanks Peter/ Ben/ mr centaur, yes the soundtrack was a serious journey and I wish the making-of had been documented better)…..we were involved with the film from an early stage and I am therefore biased……I think it looks beautiful and has great qualities
“Bowie’s a manipulative bitch.”
Say what now? Ok well people have their own agendas, but I can attest to the fact that the film was made out of a genuine love for pre-glam and glam rock of the ‘70s, and Bowie’s contribution to pop culture…..not only did he give us great music, he helped transform the way sexuality was perceived by the public. People can debate exactly what his contribution was, but that’s off topic.
Fact: no Bowie-hating involved in VELVET GOLDMINE whatsoever, and I don’t see where anyone would have picked that up from the film’s content.
Having said all that about VG : the reason I’m posting at all is that I still consider SAFE to be Todd’s finest film to date, just my opinion, and everybody should see SAFE! One of the best films of the ’90s in my humble estimation.
That seems to be the general vibe on this thread which is great.