![]() Still in his teens, he opened for them once and claims to have heard them in concert “60-70 times,” often at the Boston Tea Party.įrom left: John Cale, Spencer Morrison, Lou Reed. The singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman, of Modern Lovers fame, speaks fervently of the band. There’s a comparable high-octane quality to the documentary.Īlong with the archival footage, there are talking-head interviews with the likes of Warhol “superstar” Mary Woronov Reed’s sister (who does a nifty version of The Ostrich, a dance inspired by a small hit from the Primitives, a Velvets’ forerunner) and the classical composer La Monte Young. The Factory was amphetamine central, and Reed’s heavy indulgence would help break up the band. It allows Haynes to cram in that much more information into each shot and the image onrush that results makes for a very energetic film. It also means that seeing the documentary in a theater would make the viewing experience even more preferable to streaming than usual. Much of the film is presented in split screen, which means multiple images are presented simultaneously. There is definitely a sense that music has never been the same since the early days of The Velvet Underground, and a feeling of melancholia permeates the documentary, but Haynes also recognizes the joy underneath the melancholia and infuses every moment of the documentary with that joy of knowing Velvet Underground once rocked the world.Split screen images from "The Velvet Underground." Apple TV+ Instead, by showing the audience what inspired the band, and how different they were than anything else, it allows the audience to reach their own conclusions without spelling it out. It'd have been easy for Haynes to open the film with the famous Brian Eno quote "The first Velvet Underground album only sold 10000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band," but the film's greatest achievement is that it expresses the message of that quote without having to put it on screen or interview dozens of musicians inspired by Velvet Underground. That being said, The Velvet Underground does a good job of giving both hardcore fans and newcomers something to learn and appreciate about the band. In fact, where the members of Velvet Underground express some dissatisfaction with Warhol seemingly using them as decoration for his Factory collective, the film puts the band front and center, even without much concert footage, using frenetic and energetic editing to make the story feel like you're watching a rare Velvet Underground concert. Haynes seems to emulate Warhol's aesthetic to take you to the time where the artist collaborated with Velvet Underground, like using split screens for most of the runtime, with Reed himself standing perfectly still and staring blankly at the audience for minutes at a time, enhanced by jarring edits that takes some time getting used to but adds to the feeling of watching a time capsule rather than just a homage. It is Warhol who casts a shadow over both The Velvet Underground the band and the documentary, as the pop artists managed the band and helped promote them - perhaps his biggest contribution was introducing the band to singer Nico. Indeed, the film is as much about the band itself as it is about the New York art scene that birthed the band, especially Andy Warhol's Factory scene. Haynes leaves no stone unturned when it comes to the duo's upbringing, and how their unique backgrounds helped make their art so distinct. The story focuses mostly on two band members, the notorious singer/songwriter Lou Reed, and the classically trained John Cale. Rather than opening the documentary with a montage of talking heads praising the legacy of The Velvet Underground or with a cheesy quote, it takes us back to the very beginning and trusts that the audience will both care enough to follow along, and recognize the journey they are in and that a little patience is required on good journeys. Thankfully, Todd Haynes isn't interested in following standards, as his documentary debut The Velvet Underground manages to encapsulate what made the eponymous band great all while making you feel like a part of the movement that created it. Most music documentaries, but especially rock documentaries, focus on following the beats - remembering the greatest hits or the biggest failures, examining the scandals and generally making the audience feel like they just missed out on the coolest party ever, only to remind them that thinks will never be this cool again.
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