Velvet Goldmine

"Leave your expectations at the door"

1998 2h 3m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

🍅

64%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★6.9TMDB · 561🍅64%Rotten Tomatoes●65Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 39,470

DramaMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Almost a decade since larger-than-life glam-rock enigma Brian Slade disappeared from public eye, an investigative journalist is on assignment to uncover the truth behind his former idol.

“Leave your expectations at the door”

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Cast

Ewan McGregor
Curt Wild
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Brian Slade
Toni Collette
Mandy Slade
Christian Bale
Arthur Stuart
Suzy Eddie Izzard
Jerry Devine
Emily Woof
Shannon
Michael Feast
Cecil
Janet McTeer
Female Narrator (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Todd Haynes
Writers: James Lyons, Todd Haynes, Todd Haynes
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 48% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Todd Haynes, shot by Maryse Alberti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Carter Burwell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor James Lyons shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ewan McGregor and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Toni Collette carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Leave your expectations at the door".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Todd Haynes directs. Maryse Alberti behind the camera. Carter Burwell scores. James Lyons cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 48% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
228 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Todd Haynes, shot by Maryse Alberti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Carter Burwell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor James Lyons shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ewan McGregor and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Toni Collette carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Leave your expectations at the door".
9IMDB entry: tt0120879 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 17 themes, including "journalist", "great britain", "rock star", "poetry".
11Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Maryse Alberti
Original score: Carter Burwell
Editing: James Lyons
Production design: Christopher Hobbs
Costume design: Sandy Powell
Makeup / hair: Peter Swords King
Sound: David Novack
Runtime: 123 min · 2h 3m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $9,000,000
Box office: $4,300,000
Return: 48% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Rotten Tomatoes: 64% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 65/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 39,470 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 4 wins & 12 nominations total

Also by

Todd Haynes

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Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2017-05-31
★ 7/10
If you stop for five minutes to actually think about the plot, Velvet Goldmine falls apart, but if you just think about how off-the-charts wonderful all the individual aspects are, you'll be just fine. Final rating:★★★½ - I strongly recommend you make the time.
CinemaSerf2023-08-28
★ 6/10
With the swinging sixties finally on the wane, "Brian Slade" (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is starting to feel redundant. His career seems doomed - until that is, he is inspired by the potency of a "Curt Wild" (Ewan McGregor) concert and like a caterpillar to a butterfly, is reborn as the sexually ambiguous "Maxwell Demon" a glam rock icon inspiring adulation the world over. Just as he reaches his zenith, however, it all ends rather suddenly. Ten years after that shocking performance, journalist "Arthur Stuart" (Christian Bale) decides to investigate just what did happen. Todd Haynes has created quite an hedonistic display for us, here. The three lead performances - especially Meyers - really embrace the ethos of the period. The sex, drugs, rock and roll mentality where anything and everything goes is really well reflected. It's not the characters that let this down, though - it's the shambolic narrative and the initial theme just seems to become subsumed in Haynes' desire to show us something that might have been shocking then, but kind of isn't now. Shades of David Bowie, Elton john, Iggy Pop - you name it; but sadly - very little originality. Still it's enjoyable to watch and the actors keep the whole things suitably messy for what did feel like an over-long 2 hours.