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The ‘60s may be known for its hippies and folk music, but while some artists wore colorful clothes and sang about peace and love, in New York City, a group of edgy artists was experimenting with music and art and light. And in The Velvet Underground, director Todd Haynes tells their story in an appropriately hazy style.
The Velvet Underground explores the history, the music, and the influence of this experimental rock band of the ‘60s. It introduces the band members and their various associates through interviews, observations, and various types of footage. At times, it offers a glimpse behind the scenes through stories about touring and in-fighting and jealousy. But it also allows viewers to witness the art and the energy of the band’s music, their shows, and the environment of Andy Warhol’s legendary art collective, The Factory.
More than just a straightforward telling of the band’s story, then, The Velvet Underground is really an experience. The film’s style feels like a hypnotic moving collage of stills and Warhol’s archive footage, set to music, with interviews playing out either side-by-side or in voiceovers. It’s poetry and music and art and film. It’s visually interesting, with loads of footage showing in all different parts of the screen, but it can be overwhelming, too. There’s just so much to see—and it doesn’t always make a whole lot of sense.
For that reason, nothing here feels especially solid. With so much going on, it can be difficult to focus on the artists or their stories—or anything else, for that matter. Hardcore fans probably won’t learn anything new about the band and its members, and casual viewers probably won’t get much of a grasp of the artists, their stories, and their music. But, in the end, that doesn’t really seem to be the point. This isn’t meant to be a concrete, doctoral dissertation of a documentary. It’s designed more like a piece of art—something that fits within the unusual, indistinct, even improvised style of the band’s music. Not everyone will enjoy the film’s rather indistinct feel, but as you get to know more about this renowned band, you’ll realize that it’s all fittingly bizarre.
The Velvet Underground may not be a detailed documentary, taking time to introduce all of the players and walk viewers through their story. Instead, like the band’s music, it’s more of an avant-garde experience—one that fans of the band will be able to appreciate.
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