Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely ... Awesome.
Review: First time that I saw Velvet Goldmine, I was about 16 years old and going through a much obsessed Placebo stage, which in fact, besides my fascination with glam-rock, was the whole reason I hired the film (the lovely Brian Molko making an appearance toward the end) and to be quite honest, after falling asleep at 2 am watching it, I wasn't totally thrilled out of my skin. I just recently watched it again and after finally understanding it (note, watch it when you're not a zombie) I think it's quite a beautiful film, if you don't expect too much to happen in dramatic plot change. Jonathan Rhys Meyers does a really believable portrayal of the positively beautiful and angelic Brian Slade, a Bowie-esque glam-star trying to be the next Jesus Christ, and Ewan McGregor was pretty much born for the role of punk-rocker Curt Wild, (whom I'm convinced is Kurt Cobain's long lost brother....) and proves he can perfectly fit the role of totally insane rocker, and can belt also out a tune or two. (Note: See Moulin Rouge for further evidence of this.) Christian Bale was also really impressive as journalist and glam-fan Arthur Stuart, but then again, having seen Bale's work in American Psycho, I'm quite sure he's a very talented young dude indeed.
Anyway, back to my point... which I'm not sure what it is.. oh, yeah. Buy Velvet Goldmine and make sure you crank up the volume, because Gary Glitter is too cool for this world. (Plus...drop dead gorgeous boys in eyeliner...what more could 'ya want? )
Rating:
Summary: OK film, but (contrary to popular belief) COMPLETE FICTION!
Review: Oh, the Glam Rock era...a magical time in the early 70s when a bunch of ambitious heterosexual rockers wore make up, feather boas, and women's clothes and made a [load] of money by milking a gimmick and convincing the world that they were gay. The overly nostalgic producers of this film bought into the fantasy and gave us this entertaining little rock n' roll fairy tale... The soundtrack for this movie is incredible (featuring songs by Mott the Hoople, Gary Glitter, Lou Reed, and other classic acts that produced many great tunes OTHER THAN the ones you hear on American FM radio...so you get to hear something besides "All the Young Dudes", "Rock n' Roll Part 2", "Walk on the Wild Side", and "Bang a Gong"). Even the original songs written for the movie are good in a pseudo-Bowie kind of way...that Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) can REALLY sing, as can Kurt Wild (Ewan McGregor). But, you know, some REAL Bowie songs would have been nice! OK, back to the film! The acting is good without exception, with the strongest performances given by McGregor as the Iggy Pop inspired Kurt Wild and comedian Eddie Izzard as Brian "Maxwell Demon" Slade's sleazy manager. However, a sloppy plot involving Slade's faked murder (as a publicity stunt), a love affair between Wild and Slade (based upon unfounded legends surrounding Bowie's flings with Iggy in Germany in the late 70s), and a journalist's (played by Christian Bale) quest to solve the "mystery" of Slade's disappearence ten years after the fact collectively serve to really screw things up! On top of all this, it is revealed that the journalist once had a fling of his own as a glam-crazed male groupy with Wild. The film flashes back and forth from the 70s, 80s, and 60s SO MANY TIMES that you'll be saying to your self "WHAT THE HELL?" Finally, our writer protagonist figures out that straight-laced 80s pop icon Tommy Jones (a fan of the conservative "President Reynolds") is actually Brian Slade in disguise...hey, don't blame me, I didn't write this stuff! I took the whole Tommy Jones thing as a jab at Bowie for "selling out" :) But the subplots don't end there! There's more! The film actually begins in the 1850s when aliens leave Oscar Wilde on his (adoptive?) parents' doorstep with a mysterious emerald brooch that is discovered 100 years later on a school playground by a closet homo named Jack Fairy that has just had the beat out of him by his school mates. Well, Jack grows up to be an underground, cross dressing, avant garde icon and Brian Slade ends up with the "magical" brooch...which he in turn passes on to American shock rocker Kurt Wild, who in turn passes it on to our journalist hero in the 80s right before he discovers that Tommy is indeed Brian...well, I suppose the message here is that you have to be gay in order to be creative and inspired (hey, Michael Stipe was an executive producer, so you KNOW that a lot of wishful thinking is going on!). In short: the music and acting are so good that the stupid story and crummy plot are almost forgiveable! Worth a viewing, but don't expect any kind of historical accuracy.
Rating:
Summary: Forget Bowie and Iggy, Just Enjoy the Show!
Review: I remember two years ago talking to a classmate about this film. She recommended that I rent it to see the beautiful boys in make-up. Well, this weekend I finally decided that I would rent it after much thought about whether I would like it or not. I have to say I loved it. I watched four times in two days! It's the music, the plot, the actors, the cinematography, it's got it all! Although, I was not born when Glam Rock was alive (unfortunaly) watching this movie reminded me of today's fashion and rock scene. The hippie coats, platforms, and glitter. Great film, but how could Haynes go wrong with a story about hot, bi-sexual boys wearing make-up! I love it!
Rating: 
Summary: Cheese-on-Glam
Review: Let me tell you, I was excited to see this movie. I'm a longtime fan of Bowie, Eno, Roxy Music and T. Rex. I feel fairly ambivalent about Ewan McGregor, but I liked him in the Pillow Book and Shallow Grave. My problem with this movie is that it just uses all this great music as a mere backdrop to a really hokey story about one man's infatuation with another man.
Now, I have no problem with gay culture and films with gay characters (I loved "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert" and "Hedwig & the Angry Inch"), and I realize that was a part of the "Glam Rock movement" but that was not ALL that it was about! It was about the amazing and defiant music, which this movie trivializes.
Here's a tell-tale scene: the "Bowie character" is discovered performing in a small club, doing a horrible, acoustic interpretation of a classic Roxy Music song, looking just like Bowie did on the (original) cover of "the Man Who Sold the World." I'm not a stickler for historical accuracy and I wasn't expecting any; I already knew that they didn't get the legal rights to use any Bowie tunes. It's just that's it's a terribly unimaginative composite of these different elements, and indicative of the main problem with "Velvet Goldmine"-- the whole is LESS than the sum of it's parts.
Rating: 
Summary: FABULOUS (glitter...)
Review: This is one of the best movies I have seen in a while (and yes, I admit I am saying this because I wasn't expecting to like this film at all.) This film came as a VERY pleasant surprise to me. A lot of really good people were in this. The music was really wonderful too (if you like the film you will probably want the soundtrack - I know I do.) As for the review that states "badly written David Bowie/Citzen Kane hybreed" - this comment makes absolutely no sense at all (I have seen "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" and "Citizen K(C?)ane" - I just don't see the comparison here.)
Rating:
Summary: Great film, but mediocre DVD
Review: For such a great movie, I was disappointed in the lack of extras on the DVD. While I understand that the purpose of buying a DVD is to watch the movie, extras, such as commentary, deleted scenes, and featurettes, help the viewer understand where the film came from and what it was trying to do. It is nice to hear what the director was really trying to do-was he using Bowie as a model or as a point of reference to the times.
My other disappointment is that the DVD does nothing to reflect the fact that the movie was full of stunning music. In a movie where actors actually sing and where the lead singer of Radiohead overdubbed Rhys-Meyers' songs (allegedly), nothing special is done. This is quiet a shame since even VHS tapes have music videos at the end of the movie (Trainspotting has Iggy Popp's "Lust for Life"), and the new Pulp Fiction DVD has the music chapter selection feature which allows one to go directly to a specific song.
In the end though, I hope that this movie has a similar life to the Pulp Fiction DVD--where a new edition of "Velvet Goldmine" appears in the next few years chock full of extras that help highlight what an enchanting movie it was. In the meantime, paying [price] for this edition is a waste-like paying [price] for the Pulp Fiction DVD that contained none of the extras instead of waiting two years and paying the same amount for the two disc special edition.
My advice is to just rent the DVD and wait for a more thorough "Velvet Goldmine" DVD. However, if you plan on renting "Velvet Goldmine" every weekend, shop around and see if you can find a better deal.
Rating:
Summary: incredible!
Review: i saw it on tv in 2000,ive never seen it since, but its such an amazing film i dont need to!if you watch it , youll be humming tumbling down4 days like i did!
Rating: 
Summary: messed up nonsence
Review: This movie made no sence, yes it had a coherant plot, which is clearly [a take] of Citzen Kane, but its problem is its depiction of the 70's glam rock era seemed more like 80's new romantics and the script is peppered with to many out of place surreal moments like aliens dropping Oscar wilde off on an Irish familys doorstep and what the [heck] has Oscar Wilde gotta do with glam rock music anyway?!? It was all stlye over substance. Todd Hayens directs the film with lots of zooms and rapid cuts, which thankfully distract from the poorly scripted events that the cast seem to be forced through. Also the dialog was really bad. Christan Bale shouting "thats me that is" and concert hecklers yelling "get off you wooftah" both made me cringe like i was sucking a lemmon. With a better script this could have been a moden classic but as it is, its a badly written David Bowie/Citzen Kane hybreed. AVOID AT ALL COSTS
Rating:
Summary: Dazzling!
Review: Velvet Goldmine, the movie loosely based on the life of Glam Rock God, David Bowie, is a wonderful portrayal of the entire glam rock era. The story follows reporter Arthur Stuart(Christian Bale) in a search for the singer Brian Slade(Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) who had faked his own death years before. As the life of Brian Slade is revealed, the viewer is taken to the world of glam rock's finest days in London. Curt Wild(Ewan McGregor) is an American singer that infactuates, and eventually brings down Slade. To give away any more would be to spoil the film, so let me just say that this is one of the best movies i've ever seen and I very highly reccomend it!
Rating:
Summary: Two good parts that give it 4 stars
Review: I haven't seen the whole movie but just the parts I want to see. Such as... Ewen Mcgregor making out with Johnathan Rhys-Myers How hot is that!!!! It's great! and then to see Ewen Mcgregor ALL OF HIM bouncing around just mmm ehhh droooool yummmm eee whooo who cares about plot when you have TWO GUYS MAKING OUT?!
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