by John Zenoni
Well, a stranger rock documentary I could not have watched than ‘The Velvet Underground’, by filmmaker Todd Haynes (‘Dark Waters’, ‘Carol’, ‘Far From Heaven’, ‘I’m Not There’ and many more).
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. The documentary starts with the origin of the band and follows them through the forcing out of member John Cale. The band also had Andy Warhol on board, who was also fired by Lou Reed.
I didn't really know anything about the band coming into this film, other than knowing who Lou Reed was, but did find it fascinating how they came together and I liked how the film spent time focusing on the influence of each band member. They're called a rock band but really fit in more with the avant-garde or alt rock bands at the time. When they left New York and went out to the West Coast for shows, it was interesting to find out that the band and their followers hated the hippies of the time and vice versa. I loved the interviews with those who detested the hippies and what they had to say, ha!
Definitely an interesting film that gives insight into an interesting - and what appears to be a groundbreaking - band. I did hear a few songs played throughout the film that I did like, so this film may have resulted in me becoming a fan. That remains to be seen though, as I have yet to listen to their catalogue of music.
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