Velvet Goldmine (1998)

Director:

Todd Haynes

Writers:

James Lyons (story) and
Todd Haynes (story) ...

Release Date:

6 November 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

Leave your exceptions at the door

Plot:

In 1984, British newspaper reporter Arthur Stuart is investigating the career of 1970s glam rock star Brian Slade...

Plot Keywords:

1970s | Glam Rock | Reporter | Male Full Frontal Nudity | Journalism

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Ewan McGregor	...	Curt Wild
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	Brian Slade
Christian Bale	...	Arthur Stuart
Toni Collette	...	Mandy Slade
Eddie Izzard	...	Jerry Devine
Emily Woof	...	Shannon
Michael Feast	...	Cecil
Janet McTeer	...	Female Narrator (voice)
Mairead McKinley	...	Wilde Housemaid (as Maraid McKinley)
Luke Morgan Oliver	...	Oscar Wilde, 8
Osheen Jones	...	Jack Fairy, 7
Micko Westmoreland	...	Jack Fairy
Damian Suchet	...	BBC Reporter
Danny Nutt	...	Kissing Sailor
Wash Westmoreland	...	Young Man

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and drug use.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | UK:18 (original rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 (video rating) (1999) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Croydon, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

Much of the dialog comes from Oscar Wilde's writings.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the "Death of Glitter" concert, an acoustic rhythm guitar can be heard playing throughout the song. There is however no one on stage playing an acoustic guitar.

Quotes:

Brian Slade: I should think that if people were to get the wrong impression of me, the one to which you so eloquently refer, it wouldn't be the wrong impression in the slightest.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Hole (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Ladytron

Let's talk about the sexual aspects

Okay, I'm not here to talk about the Bowie/Pop parallels, I'm here to talk about this film as an exploration of the effect glam had on the world's consciousness of homosexuality. I judge from the amount of "I'm not homophobic at all..." comments that this issue is striking a nerve.

This film had two moments of very vivid evocation of emerging homosexuality. In the first our modern narrator is sitting watching television with his parents when Brian Slade comes on the news and announces his homosexuality. The narrator has a brief fantasy in which he stands, points at the TV and says to his parents "That's me! That's me!" I know I had my moments of wishing there were some way to articulate to my parents what was up with me.

The second is when the same narrator buys his first Brian Slade album and a magazine with an article about him, and masturbates to a relatively tame picture of Slade. "That was totally me and the Diamond Dogs cover," said my (male!) date at that moment, and actually that was me and bad Heavy Metal magazines of the early '80s, too.

I think how TAME those images are now, and how shocking and (to some) exciting they were at the time is what this movie is about... that, in part, is the legacy of Brian Slade, or Bowie, if you choose to see it that way. Near the end of the movie the Curt Wild character says "We wanted to change the world, but we ended up only changing ourselves." I think this movie is saying that in some ways, these people DID change the world. They brought a number of images previously unthinkable into the popular mind, and said "What is the big deal about this? Is this really so shocking?" And they made life easier for every single gay man that lived after them. Remember I talked about wishing there was some LANGUAGE to explain to my parents what was going on with me as I was growing up gay? I think this film credits Bowie and Pop with, to some extent, advancing the creation of that language.

I don't think the music and Bowie stuff in this film CAN be separated from the homosexual aspects of it, and those who are "Not homophobic at all" but bristle at the girly campiness of some of these scenes might do well to examine what about the homo content they feel CHEAPENS the music.

And as for Bowie, should he sue? No, he should be honored, and he should have contributed to the film. I feel that Bowie is a real villain for denying this aspect of his life. But, I have the fact that his denial of it will prevent him from ever doing anything artistically interesting again as consolation. Come back to the five and dime, David Bowie, David Bowie.

And Todd Haynes, you ARE the man.

--- Check out website devoted to bad, cheesy and gay movies: www.cinemademerde.com