Velvet Goldmine (DVD)

Velvet Goldmine was originally intended to be a biopic of David Bowie's early career. However, director Todd Haynes couldn't get permission to use the music, and without that a biopic would have been near impossible. (By this point he was already being sued over his use of The Carpenters' music in Superstar). Instead, it was reconceived and rewritten to show the feel of the era. The key players are all represented here - Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Brian Slade stands in for David Bowie, becoming Maxwell Demon in an impersonation of Ziggy Stardust. It's an outstanding role for a 19 year old to pull off and he manages well, holding his own against the older actors ...  Read the complete review

Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot What a wasted opportunity - a more visually exciting and entertaining subject couldn't be hoped for - but Velvet Goldmine fails to either capture the spirit of '74 or reveal anything new or inventive. The characters were only briefly shown to the audience like glove puppets, before disappearing into the next dismal 'fantasy' sequence. So we never learnt anything about what anyone felt or thought until about 2 hours in to this messy, over arty nonsense. What a shame that Ewan McGregor's entertaining Iggy Pop-o-like didn't get much more than 2 minutes trashing ...  Read the complete review

Do not waste your time with this DVD. This film is crud. This was painful to watch. - Advantages: None, There is a stop button, Make it stop - Disadvantages: A waste of time, You'll think the 70's were rubbish, Is that Obi Wan?