Velvet Goldmine Movie Review 1998

Director Haynes takes on the excesses of the '70s British glam-rock era. In 1984, journalist Arthur Stuart (Bale) is assigned to write a "Whatever Happened to" article on the 10-year disappearance of vanished superstar Brian Slade (Rhys Meyers as a cross between T-Rex's Marc Bolan and a Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie). This leads fan Arthur to Slade's viperish ex-wife Mandy (Collette) and his ex-manager Jerry Divine (Izzard). But Arthur discovers the most important relationship in Brian's life was to self-destructive cult idol Curt Wild (MacGregor, channelling Iggy Pop). The flamboyant duo had an equally flamboyant affair that eventual lead to a downward spiral for them both. The story might be average but the visuals are spectacular and MacGregor, especially, is mesmerizing.

Distribution

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-1120, Toll-free: 800-723-4763, URL: http://www.bvhe.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 120 minutes.
Originally from British.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Period Piece: 1970s, Rock Flicks, Gender Bending, Bisexuality, Price of Fame, Front Page, Marriage, Great Britain, Period Piece: 1980s, Flashback

Screenplay

Todd Haynes

Cast

Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Christian Bale, Toni Collette, Eddie Izzard, Emily Woof, Michael Feast

Cinematography

Maryse Alberti

Director

Todd Haynes

Music

Carter Burwell

Producer

Christine Vachon, Scott Meek, Michael Stipe, Zenith Productions, Killer Films

Awards

British Acad. 1998: Costume Des.; Ind. Spirit 1999: Cinematog.