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:

When Christian Bale and Ewan McGregor were filming their sex scene, the director cut without letting them know, so the two continued to simulate the act until they realized the trick that had been played on them.

Goofs:

Continuity: Throughout the Death of Glitter concert scene, Curt's fingernails are painted, but when he cups Mandy's cheek after coming off stage, his nails are unpainted.

Quotes:

Brian Slade: [lying in bed in a coke haze] Woman defend themselves by attacking, just as they attack by sudden and strange surrenders.
Mandy Slade: [standing at the end of bed with head down] I lost my girlhood, true
[lift's head with tears in eyes]
Mandy Slade: but it was for you.

Movie Connections:

References El espíritu de la colmena (1973)

Soundtrack:

Bitter Sweet

Velvet Goldmine and Dorian Gray

Even if I didn't think this movie was fantastic (which I do), I would have to be impressed with the incorporation of Oscar Wilde, his fascination with the decadence of pop culture, and his brilliant philosophies concerning art.

At the end of the film, when Arthur Stuart sits to have a drink with Curt Wylde (Oh look! A play on Oscar!, Wylde looks up and tells him that, "The true artist creates beautiful things, and puts none of his own life into them". This is one of the several scenes in which Oscar Wilde is referenced subtly, seamlessly and beautifully.

Curt is not simply Iggy Pop. He is Oscar Wilde. He is the true artist of the crowd, because he creates music without using the art as a form of autobiography.

Brian Slade is Dorian Gray. He invests all of his persona into the public, and into his songs, trapping himself in an expectation. The alter-ego Maxwell Demon is eternal youth. It is the embodiment of Slade in a single moment. Unfortunately, he traps himself, and leaves no room for growth. The shooting accomplishes two things. Slade arranging this pseudo-murder is Dorian gray destroying his portrait. At first Dorian was intrigued, even excited by the changes he saw in the painting. Then it began to wear on him. So with Slade/ Demon. The hoax liberates Slade the way death does Gray. Also, This secures Maxwell Demon a place in history. Brian Slade was a pop-star who was too controversial and too personally naked in his work to have any real longevity. The hype would have faded, and if he changed or grew as a person, that would have meant changing everything about his art (as they were so interlocked) and would have led to cries of "sell out". Either way, he would have faded out and been likely forgotten (the way Britney Spears will hopefully do one day). By enacting this faux death, Slade guarantees Maxwell Demon some form of eternal youth, trading in his career to do so (selling his soul).

There's more, as well. Jerry Devine, for instance, is Lord Henry. Mandy is Sybil Vane. They aren't exact, of course, and there are other veins running through them that make them unique, but one can see the influence.

Beautifully done, and a well paid tribute to the genius of Oscar Wilde!