Rating: 
Summary: yikes
Review: well, I thought this movie was gonna be good and it sure wasnt. there are some great rock music in here I might add but Jonathan Rhys-Myers really chews up his part and the scenes hes in and it got way boring seeing him pint after McGregor's character(who shouldnt of showing his frontal parts in the first place). both McGregor and Christian Bale are smashed in this movie
Rating: 
Summary: Costumes alone are worth a viewing!
Review: So one of my favorite actresses Toni Collette dresses like Jennifer French in AbFab through this movie- the glam rock costuming is ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS as the setting for this outrageous, touching, stirring and definitely different coming of age movie told in retrospective. Christian Bale and Ewan MacGregor are great- be prepared this has a strong gay theme with full frontal nudity so do not watch if this offends you.
Rating:
Summary: woof!
Review: I had to purchase this DVD because it was clogging up my Netflix queue because I kept it so long! The music is mindblowingly fantastic fun... mostly originals done lovingly in the style of glam, and the "faux" bands sound just as authentic and over-the-top as the original glam icons. The costumes and sets are fantastic; this movie is just gorgeous to look at. And the plot is also a lot of fun.... it's fun to follow it, and, the first time, to try to figure out where it's going, but it holds up on repeated viewing as there are some subtle twists and turns. Also, a bonus... there's an awful lot of Oscar Wilde quotations in this film, and if you're a Wilde fan, it's fun to play "spot the quote." Some are obvious... some, not so much. And, of course, full frontal Ewan's always nice. >;)
Rating:
Summary: Thanks, Mr. Haynes!
Review: I *really* wish this film would materialize into a human so I could have sex with it. If you haven't seen the film and are getting put off by the nasty reviews here, please, for your sake, ignore them. They didn't get it. It was meant to be a campy, fun, very indulgent piece of slash fan fiction. Nothing more. I'll be honest, it's not for everyone. If the idea of extremely sexy and gorgeous boys in makeup and tight pants making out appeals to you, especially if you're obsessed with glam rock, and an extra bonus if you're a rabid Placebo fan (the Placeboys are in it, and Brian looks tastier than I've ever seen him, which is saying something), buy this movie immidiately. You will not regret it, I swear. However, if you're homophobic, or you think this was supposed to be a bio of Magic Pants himself, or you want to watch a brilliantly written indie film like Trainspotting or something, you're going to be pissed off. I won't lie to you. This movie was made for girls who are into the whole slash fan fiction scene and gay boys only. If you're a fan of Hedwig, Labyrinth and Rocky Horror, you're going to be obsessed with this film. And the soundtrack kicks f*cking @ss, btw. Oh yeah, and Ewan McGregor's naked. Now go see it.
Rating:
Summary: Homage and Ravishing Rock Dream!
Review: VELVET GOLDMINE is a waking dream about the 70s glam rock era. It was marketed as a mystery which was a mistake. I think the studio had no idea what to call this ambitious film! Taking cues from David Bowie and Citizen Kane, it tells the story of the rise and fall of a fictional rock hero named Brian Slade. Much has been made of the Bowie connection, and the CITIZEN KANE strucure of the film. I don't think Todd Haynes set out to do a bio of Bowie, nor was he aspiring to remake a classic. Like the glam stars of yesteryear he quotes them, but uses them to his own end. What the film REALLY captures is the seductive nature of glam, and the feeling that many of its stars exploited sexuality and made many people feel conned. Many kids identified with an illusion, and once they realized it was only an illusion they felt betrayed! It was a lot like pulling that curtain back and finding a scared old man and not the great and powerful Oz. It was bittersweet, and the movie achieves this! Bare bones DVD here! No commentary, no featurettes. Just a trailer to let you see how wrong-headed the marketing of the film was. But the sound is excellent and you get to see the film in widescreen glory! And if you are a fan of Ewan McGregor, or Christian Bale ... here there be full frontal shots! But in the end it was the costumes and not lack thereof that got the Oscar nod.
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie-Good Music
Review: I think this is a very good movie. The actors are amazing especially Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Christian Bale.Ewan McGregor is also very good in this movie, but what makes the movie stand out are Jonathan and Christian. The music though is the thing that makes the movie great and even though Jonathan isnt singing some of the songs you can feel the song through him.
Rating: 
Summary: Convoluted/Unauthorized David Bowie Bio Pic
Review: I have to be honest and admit straight off that the only reason I watched this movie was because I am a huge Eddie Izzard fan -- and he has a decent supporting role in this film. However, I love glam rock and am old enough to remember Ziggy Stardust. While this movie has some great visuals and a fairly decent soundtrack -- for the most part it's just too trippy for it's own good. The plot is extremely convoluted -- jumping backwards and forwards in time -- and the main character, Brian Slade, (a David Bowie clone played in a very hohum fashion by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) is never really fleshed out. We never really learn why he faked his own death. For that matter, we never learn why reporter Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) is so involved in unearthing what happened to Slade. This movie had a great premise -- and it could have been handled much better. It's too bad that Todd Haynes could not have created something that David Bowie would have wanted to participate in. The movie's music and story would have greatly profited from the infusion of a real glam rocker. The reason I gave this movie three stars instead of less is because of the excellent supporting cast. While neither Jonathan Rhys-Meyers or Christian Bale are interesting leads -- Ewan MacGregor, Toni Collette and Eddie Izzard put in five star acting performances. Especially Ewan MacGregor -- who's Iggy Pop inspired "Curt Wild" essentially steals the show. If you're really interested in a movie about Glam Rock, check out the real deal, David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars". Or better yet -- get yourself some CDs by Bowie, Lou Reed, Mott the Hoople and Iggy Pop.
Rating:
Summary: what ever happened to brian slade... who cares
Review: I really, really wanted to like this movie. I read very mixed things, yet still it would NOT deter me. I suppose after recently viewing "Far From Heaven," and seeing Todd Haynes' name attached to this, I had my expectations way too high. Style in the fim is cool, but the opening title sequence reminds me of what didn't quite make the cut of the first Austin Powers flick. The main issue for me was that I didn't really feel for any of the characters. They all seemed like one dimensional charicatures. Never did I feel the soul behind Brian Slade (his inspirations, his songwriting, his artisitic process -- isn't that a big part of a musician?!) All I know is he's a guy that likes to perform in flamboyant clothing, with no reference to where his music is really coming from. And the music wasn't terribly inspiring either. And I never forgot he is lip syncing. Toni Colette did a good job, but the filmmakers never have enough consideration to explain why her accent vacillates from British to American throughout the film. (Is it for publicity? No one is telling me) Anyway, she was probably the best in the film. Ewan did what he could with the material. And there are some "Citizen Cane" references, but there's no Rosebud, and at least I cared about Cane. So cut to the bottom lines: 1) If you want to see a brilliant Todd Haynes film, see "Far From Heaven" 2) If you want to see a brilliant glam rock film with a killer sounftrack, great production, and some SOUL, see "Hedwig & The Angry Inch" 3)If you want to see Ewan McGregor nude, see "The Pillow Book"
Rating:
Summary: a couple flaws, but dazzling
Review: This is a wonderful film. Visually, it's dazzling, and the plot itself, though convoluted at times, is deep and explores human nature in its own ways.
Although there's a few little flaws in the plot, in the end, the visuals and the wonderful acting (Ewan McGregor's Iggy Pop impressions especially, though Toni Collette is also amazing) make it more than worthwhile. Eddie Izzard's Jerry Divine is particularly slimy and disturbing.
If you love music (David Bowie, Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, etc) lovely, glittering visuals, and pretty faces (Christian Bale, Exan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Toni Collette), this is a perfect film for you.
Rating:
Summary: A dazzling film made of ivory and gold
Review: I don't often write reviews on Amazon, but I wanted to write one in defense of Velvet Goldmine because I have read some very bad reviews (see below). A lot of reviewers (particularly those who lived during, or are big fans of, the 70s glam rock era) seem to be insulted by the film's obvious parallels to the David Bowie/Iggy Pop story. Well, to those people I say, "Get over yourselves!" Of course the story is based on Bowie. Everybody knows that. I mean, Bowie himself was approached to be a part of the movie, but declined. That's why ultimately it became a fictional story loosely based on Bowie. And I emphasize "loosely based" because that is the main point of my defense: Velvet Goldmine is a fictional story, and therefore it owes no allegiance to Bowie or anyone else. Who says that someone can't take Bowie's story, twist it up, embellish it, and maybe even defile it a little? No one, that's who. Todd Haynes deserves credit for making this story his own, even if he did happen to leave traces of Bowie all over the place. My advice to anyone who has seen or intends to see Velvet Goldmine is this: don't take it too seriously. It doesn't even take itself seriously, so why should you? Aside from the fun story, this movie is also worth loving just for the FABULOUS soundtrack. The movie is filled with some real treasures from the 70's (from Slade to Eno to T-Rex to Steve Harley). There are also a variety of 70's covers and even some original songs. I would argue that every last one of them is fantastic. And if you can't bring yourself to love the story or the music, then how about all the heart-stoppingly gorgeous boys who strut around in make-up and tight pants? They're worth every minute. And when they're not busy strutting around in tight pants, they're either kissing each other or singing fabulously. What more could you possibly ask for? I couldn't recommend Velvet Goldmine strongly enough. Just take it for what it is and you will have a great time!
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