Velvet Goldmine
R4
Director: Todd Haynes
The central story of Velvet Goldmine is about Arthur Stuart
(Christian Bale), a journalist who grew up during the glam rock era of the 1970s
and who now works at a newspaper feigning conservatism and living a very
different way of life. We see the world through Arthur’s eyes as he reflects on
his past, his own difficult teen years, his sexuality
and on the events which changed the face of rock and roll, or at least, glam
rock.
Arthur was a big fan of Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers),
the rock megastar of the period, who faked his own death when his life got too
much. However it didn’t go as planned and his reputation was destroyed, his record
sales plummeted and he seemingly vanished from view. On a
anniversary of his death Arthur gets the job of trying to track down what
happened to Slade and write an article on the whole episode from the safe view
of many years down the line, he seems very unsure about revisiting his past as
well as that of Slade and more importantly, Curt Wild.
One of the major figures in the film, indeed one that seems
to be more significant that Slade himself, is Curt
Wild (Ewan McGregor). While the film is fiction,
there is certainly more than a passing similarity between Curt Wild and Iggy Pop and it is rumoured that
the similarities between David Bowie and Slade were enough for
The
story unfolds as Arthur explores the phenomenon of a new rock megastar who seems remarkably similar to Slade and comes to terms
with his own past within the glam era. Part of this seems to be a coming to
terms with his own sexuality and indeed Todd Haynes the director is known for
his emphasis on Gay subplots and recently directed Far from Heaven which
explores which explores family and sexuality in the 1950’s (among other
things). This exploration of sexuality, emotion and self is central to Velvet
Goldmine and in many ways is as significant as the music and cross dressing.
The
acting in Velvet Goldmine is uniformly impressive with Ewan
McGregor as Curt Wild, the self hating rock and roll star as the real gem of
this film. At the same time Christian Bale also gives a stellar performance and
at times brings a reflective feel to a film that is sometimes a little self
indulgent. Toni Collette as the estranged wife of Brian Slade is also worth
noting.
In Region 4 the quality of the transfer is questionable.
While I have seen worse, the reds are particularly unimpressive and pixilation
occurs at many different times throughout the film. There are some scenes where
the pixilation is combined with such general noise that it is hard to see what
is going on. This is especially noticeable in some of the darker bar scenes.
The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and is not 16x9
Enhanced, this certainly makes a difference and it becomes even more obvious
when you compare it with the R2 UK edition, which while still having some
problems, is 16x9 Enhanced and has a better all round picture quality.
The sound is adequate, but you would expect more from a film
which features music so prominently. It is English only and in a very subtle
DD5.1. The surround sounds are there, but minimal and have little effect on the
mood and the sub is hardly used at all.
While this may not be a film that appeals to everyone, it
has a strong cult audience and it is a shame that in R4 it doesn’t seem to have
rated highly in the production or extras department. There are no extras and we
miss out on a range of added bonuses that are included in the R2 UK release
including a photo gallery, booklet and the featurette
- Behind The Glam.
Velvet Goldmine is an enjoyable romp. It explores sexuality,
music, self image and the vanity of rock and roll. It has some amazing moments,
so especially witty dialogue and leaves you reflecting on the great changes our
culture has been through.
9 out of 10 for the film, 4 out
of 10 for the R4 edition.