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List Price: $14.99 | | Label: Miramax
Salesrank: 8603
Released: May 18, 1999 |
| Our Price: $5.74 |
| Used Price: $4.86 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Starring Ewan McGregor (MOULIN ROUGE, TRAINSPOTTING) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (THE GOVERNESS, MICHAEL COLLINS) -- executive producer Michael Stipe of R.E.M. presents this electrifying journey through rock 'n' roll's most outrageous era! It's been 10 years since glam-rock superstar Brian Slade (Meyers) faked his own death and vanished from the spotlight. Now, it's the job of an investigative reporter, Arthur Stuart, to locate this living legend and uncover the truth behind his disappearance! Through the course of Stuart's investigation, you're taken for a wild, all-access guided tour back into a vibrant music scene ... for an uncompromising look at the flamboyance and excesses of its larger-than-life stars! Acclaimed by critics, VELVET GOLDMINE also earned an Award of Merit at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival!
Description of Velvet Goldmine:
Todd Haynes, ever unpredictable, follows up his experimental trilogy Poison and his restrained Safe with this flamboyant study in glam rock through the kaleidoscopic lens of Citizen Kane. Christian Bale plays Arthur Stuart, a reporter sent to investigate the legend of rock legend and bisexual pop icon Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as a not-so-thinly veiled David Bowie), who disappeared a decade ago after staging his own mock assassination. But Arthur is flooded with memories of his own adolescence as he interviews Slade's friends and business associates, peeling back the layer of makeup and spangles that was the model of rebellion for a generation of middle-class British kids and discovering a hollow center. Ewan McGregor almost steals the film as the punk pioneer Curt Wild (equal parts Iggy Pop and Kurt Cobain), the genuine article to Slade's calculated, coifed image of glitter stardom. Haynes's film lacks nothing in capturing the flamboyance and spectacle of the era with flashy filmmaking and kitschy costumes, and if the plot seems lost in the preening and visual fireworks, perhaps that's the point: behind the façades and manufactured fronts is nothing but glitter, energy, and a beat. --Sean Axmaker
Velvet Goldmine Reviews:
Beautiful, Vivid, Sensual, ROCK & ROLL!! 
2009-10-31 - I LOVE this movie. I didn't take the time to read all of the other reviews, but the element which ties the plot all together is the green brooch which had supposedly belonged to the great Oscar Wilde. For me, the film asked the question 'What if Oscar Wilde had been around during the era of Glam?' What if he had been allowed to express himself openly rather than hide in the veils of what was acceptable in society during the Victorian era. The answer is he would have been a rock star, of course! Christian Bale's performace is heart felt and so touching during the scenes where he is discovering who he is outside of his parent's expectations. Every performance is spot on, and the overall quality of the film is A+.
Wrong item 
2009-09-22 - I haven't listened to this Cd yet, but the music in the movie is good, so I'll eventually listen to the soundtrack. I thought I was ordering the movie. It's still all good!
Can't Get Enough!!--Of This Freaky Funky Androgynous Glitter Stuff!!
2009-08-31 - I've heard a few people say some bad things about this movie...
But I think they're nuts or either have some deep-seated fear issues
that they need to see a shrink about and leave this film alone!
This is one of the best and original films that I have seen in a long time!
It captures the late 60's/early 70's phenom known as "GLAM" or "GLITTER ROCK"
to the tee, and the spectres of David Bowie, T-Rex, Lou Reed, The Velvet Underground,
Iggy Pop, The New York Dolls, SWEET and others all come to the fore again
for one more big freaky, drug-fueled, sexually ambiguous, rocked-out WANG DANG DOODLE!! (-:
Of course, this is not presented verbatim, as historically accurate, nor in a boring
documentary-style, but based on some real events, yet highly embellished,
as glam-glitter should be, and told in a fantasy/dream docu-drama style which makes
it even more appealing and intriguing.
Christian Bale, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Ewan Macgregor all gave stellar performances
as well as a very good supporting cast, direction, screenwriting and costume design.
I have found myself watching this movie countless times when nothing is on cable TV
and love being transported back to a time when creativity, originality, experimentation,
a radical social climate, and a young audiences willingness to take that journey along
with their rock stars all aligned in a perfectly fun & perverse 4 year period of pop/rock
history called "GLITTER/GLAM", where the men colored their hair, plucked their eyebrows,
donned sequence, feathers, sparkles, platform boots, perfume, lipstick, some good
f-ing drugs, and had all of the women (and men) that they wanted to play with,
without too much backlash from the so-called "moral right"! (HA-HA!!--yeah right!)
If you haven't already checked this movie out, please do so with an open-mind,
preceeded by a nice joint and a swig or two of your favorite wine or spirits...
Turn up your surround sound, lean back in your recliner, and float on, float on, float on children!!
Ground Control To Major Tom, INDEED!! (-:
the Velvet Goldmine 
2009-07-06 - I liked it, but like many British films it was at times a little hard to follow.
Velvet Goldmine
2009-03-22 - I love this movie and, even though I've watched it numerous times, I can't get enough of it!!! If you love '70s glam rock, you'll love this film!!! I also highly recommend the soundtrack, which I also purchased. Enjoy!!!
