--- title: "Velvet Goldmine" year: 1998 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/velvet-goldmine" fi1m_id: "velvet-goldmine" imdb_id: "tt0120879" tmdb_id: 1808 wikidata_id: "Q1481540" fi1m_score: 81 critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 15 published: "2026-09-13" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:20.995542+00:00" region: "JP" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Velvet Goldmine (1998) Directed by Todd Haynes · 2h 03m · Drama, Music ## Identity Velvet Goldmine - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/velvet-goldmine - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** velvet-goldmine - **IMDb ID:** tt0120879 - **TMDB ID:** 1808 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1481540 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120879/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1808, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1481540 **Fi1m score: 81** · Critics 68 from 15 reviews *In a sentence:* The glitter earns its keep; the detective could have taken the night off > Todd Haynes makes glam rock’s promise of reinvention feel worth believing in, helped by committed performances and clothes that do half the storytelling. The winding investigation is a drag, but the music repeatedly wins us back. ## Synopsis A journalist looks back at the glam-rock scene and the star at its centre. Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) tries to piece together the past of Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor) and Mandy Slade (Toni Collette) are part of the story he uncovers. Todd Haynes’s drama moves between investigation and musical fantasy, following performers and outsiders for whom clothes, music and sexual freedom offer ways to become someone else. The film runs for 123 minutes and carries an 18 certificate. ## Review Todd Haynes’s *Velvet Goldmine* is a persuasive, sometimes frustrating film about the freedom a pop star can appear to offer. We recommend it for the music, the performances and its belief that dressing up can matter, with a warning that the detective story becomes laborious. The enquiry into a glam idol’s past gives Haynes a way to revisit an era without pretending to deliver its official history. He is interested in what the fans might have wanted from it. Sandy Powell’s costumes do much of the explaining, making the performers’ determination to dress differently seem exciting. Maryse Alberti’s colour photography lets the clothes command attention, and we can understand their appeal before anyone explains it. Christopher Hobbs and Amy Beth Silver’s production design extends that extravagance into the spaces around the performers. Occasionally there is too much competing for the eye, but the crowded images suit people so determined to be noticed. Jonathan Rhys Meyers’s Brian Slade is convincing as someone a fan could build a life around, even when the man himself remains difficult to reach. Ewan McGregor brings a welcome unruliness to Curt Wild; the film loosens up around him. Toni Collette gives Mandy Slade a sharper emotional presence than the writing consistently allows the others. Christian Bale’s Arthur Stuart has the less immediately rewarding task of carrying the investigation, and he makes its connection to personal identity worth following. None of them can quite solve the unevenness of Haynes’s screenplay. We were moved by the seriousness Rhys Meyers brings to the extravagantly dressed Slade. He makes the wish to be seen differently feel urgent, and Haynes allows that wish to look a little ridiculous without dismissing it. The music, with contributions from Carter Burwell and Craig Wedren, helps sustain that generosity: it gives the performing room to be pleasurable before we are asked to interpret it. There are stretches when the soundtrack supplies all the persuasion the dialogue has been labouring towards. The investigation keeps getting in the way. James Lyons’s editing has to accommodate the enquiry and a story that will not run in a straight line, and the changes of direction eventually start to feel fussy. Haynes asks us to piece together Slade while also tracing what the enquiry means to Stuart; too often, both interests lose momentum in the process. At 123 minutes, the film has enough space to develop these connections, but it spends too much of that space arranging another approach to them. Most critics are less persuaded than we are. The complaints about coldness overlook how much feeling Haynes puts into the prospect of sexual freedom, though the objections to the storytelling are harder to dismiss. Against the usual music drama, his willingness to let fantasy replace a tidy life story is a considerable virtue. We do not need every song to illustrate a lesson about success, and the film is often at its most engaging when it lets the performers get on with performing. Choose it for an evening when the music can have your full attention. Anyone after a dependable history of glam rock should look elsewhere, because Haynes is far more interested in what it might have felt like to find yourself through a record. Allow him some untidiness, and turn it up. *Fi1m score 81, published 13 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics like Velvet Goldmine, and the praise gathers in the same places. The soundtrack, a mix of period tracks and new covers, is singled out repeatedly, as is the look of the film: camerawork, production design and costumes are admired even by reviewers who admire little else. Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Toni Collette are the performances named most often. Several critics enjoy the Citizen Kane structure, a journalist digging into a vanished glam star’s past, and read the film as a celebration of artifice and sexual freedom rather than history. The reservations cluster around that structure too. The mixed reviews find the film formless and dramatically slow, arresting in its first half and bogged down by layered storytelling in the second. Some call it emotionally cold, more fantasy than fact. The spread is wide: Empire dismisses it as a clunky mess redeemed only by Collette, and Roger Ebert finds it confusing and unfocused, a long way from the near-raves elsewhere. ## Straight answers **Is Velvet Goldmine worth watching?** *Velvet Goldmine* is worth watching for anyone who wants a music drama about reinvention rather than a tidy history of glam rock, and we scored it 81. Sandy Powell's costumes, the soundtrack and Jonathan Rhys Meyers's Brian Slade carry it; the detective story that frames them becomes laborious. Give it your full attention and turn the music up. **How long is Velvet Goldmine, and what is it rated?** *Velvet Goldmine* runs 2h 03m. It is a drama and music film. **Where can I watch Velvet Goldmine in Japan?** *Velvet Goldmine* is not on any streaming or rental service in Japan at the moment. It is available in 7 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is Velvet Goldmine, and is it suitable for children?** *Velvet Goldmine* is not violent or frightening, but its 18 certificate is earned by adult sexual content, and it is not suitable for children. The film is about performers and outsiders for whom sexual freedom is part of the point, and it treats that seriously rather than coyly. Adults and older viewers only. **How does Velvet Goldmine compare to Orlando?** *Velvet Goldmine* and [*Orlando*](https://film.one/film/orlando) both use costume and desire to explore changing identities, but Todd Haynes's film is louder, more crowded and more uneven, while Sally Potter's is the calmer and drier of the two. Choose *Velvet Goldmine* for the music and the extravagance; choose *Orlando* for Tilda Swinton's company and a tighter, wittier hand. **What should I watch after Velvet Goldmine?** After *Velvet Goldmine*, try [*Phantom of the Paradise*](https://film.one/film/phantom-of-the-paradise) (1974, Fi1m 82): Pop ambition gets a more vicious musical treatment, with horror close behind. Then [*Orlando*](https://film.one/film/orlando) (1992, Fi1m 81): Costume, desire and changing identities, handled with a calmer, drier wit; and [*Daisies*](https://film.one/film/daisies) (1966, Fi1m 85): For more colour, unruly play and impatience with respectable behaviour. ### Reviews we read (15) - **The AV Club**, Keith Phipps (90/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as an unconventional, imaginative, and experimental work that reveals more about its subject than a straightforward telling could. It is called one of the year's freshest and most exciting films despite occasional threats from its ambition. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/velvet-goldmine-1798195761) - **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (90/100, inferred): Janet Maslin praises Todd Haynes's dazzlingly surreal film as a celestial ode to the heyday of British glitter rock and David Bowie's early 1970s persona. She highlights its operatic storytelling, visual sensuality, and reimagining of the glam-rock era as a world of theatricality and sexual possibility, structured like a rock Citizen Kane. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/01/movies/glittering-ode-to-the-days-of-ziggy-stardust.html) - **Time Out**, GA (90/100, inferred): The film is a witty, evocative re-creation of glam rock structured like Citizen Kane, with a journalist investigating a Bowie-like star's staged assassination. It blends film à clef elements, celebration of pan-sexual liberation, and Haynesian themes of transgression and identity, delivered with superb craft and inventive flair. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/velvet-goldmine) - **Little White Lies**, Robb Sheppard (85/100, inferred): The critic praises Haynes' 1998 film as a glittery, fun love letter to glam rock, evolving sexuality and the weight of the past, packed with pop-culture references, strong performances and a superb soundtrack that fills the Bowie-shaped hole. [Read](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/velvet-goldmine-todd-haynes-glam-rock) - **Radio Times**, Kevin Harley (4/5): Haynes's valentine to glam rock adopts its styles with wit, ingenuity and exuberance in a Citizen Kane-ish investigation of a rock idol's past that also explores the journalist's selfhood. It features strong performances and a lush, rousing soundtrack celebrating glam's idealism and nostalgia. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-3cm52u/velvet-goldmine/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (70/100, inferred): Kenneth Turan calls the film a dazzling and dizzying feverish dream of pop decadence that showcases Haynes's showy visual sense and flair for playing with film. He notes it is best at spotlighting these strengths while sometimes having more on its mind than it can successfully handle. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-nov-06-ca-39763-story.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Jeremiah Kipp (70/100, inferred): The critic calls Velvet Goldmine a rollicking good ride thanks to its haunting, colorful images and strong performances. Haynes is praised for viewing glam rock as an expressive art form for outsiders, with the film also capturing the emotions tied to cultural change. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/velvet-goldmine/) - **The Times**, Stephen Dalton (70/100, inferred): The critic calls Velvet Goldmine a flawed but still compelling masterpiece and a glittering, overreaching homage to 1970s glam rock that mixes Bowie, Iggy Pop, Citizen Kane and Oscar Wilde elements. He notes its commercial disappointment and production issues but praises its audacious celebration of fakery, artifice and sexual experimentation. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/why-im-mad-aboutvelvet-goldmine-rh2m550p7dc) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (2/4): The film is a confusing mix of approaches that fails to cohere into a compelling story about the glam-rock scene or its central character. Ebert praises the stage performances and evocation of the era but criticizes the borrowed structure from Citizen Kane and lack of focus. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/velvet-goldmine-1998) - **The Guardian**, Rob Mackie (50/100, inferred): Todd Haynes's glam-rock homage feels camper and more biographical than the real 1970s scene, delivering a formless, over-the-top music-biz fantasy with a Citizen Kane-style structure. It singles out Eddie Izzard's wardrobe and performance for praise amid the excess. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian/0,,44299,00.html) - **The Independent** (50/100, inferred): The review describes the film as technically masterful but emotionally cold and more fantasy than history. It notes the polarised reactions and leaves the final judgment to the reader. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-velvet-goldmine-18-1180209.html) - **Variety** (50/100, inferred): The review finds the film constantly imaginative and stylistically lively but dramatically inert, with an arresting first half that bogs down due to multilayered storytelling. It praises technical achievements like camerawork, production design, and costumes while noting performances are functional rather than deep. [Read](https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/velvet-goldmine-velvet-mines-glam-rock-era-1200453527/) - **Empire**, William Thomas (15/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a misguided mess that fails to capture the glamour of its era and instead delivers a ridiculous, clunky fiction. The one standout element praised is the performance of Toni Collette as Mandy. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/velvet-goldmine-review/) - **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (85/100, inferred): The critic praises Haynes' bold, non-linear approach that captures the essence of 1970s glam rock through unreality and sexuality rather than conventional biopic storytelling. Standout performances from Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Toni Collette are highlighted for bringing the era's allure, chaos, and illusion to life. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/velvet-goldmine-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) - **Collider**, Andre Dellamorte (80/100, inferred): The critic appreciates Velvet Goldmine as a dense, playful, and inventive faux-biopic that uses the Citizen Kane structure to explore glam rock, pan-sexuality, and its cultural rise and fall. The infectious soundtrack (period tracks and modern covers) and strong performances, especially Ewan McGregor’s, are highlighted as standout elements. [Read](https://collider.com/velvet-goldmine-blu-ray-review/) ## Details - **Director:** Todd Haynes - **Director:** Todd Haynes - **Screenplay:** Todd Haynes - **Story:** James Lyons, Todd Haynes - **Cinematography:** Maryse Alberti - **Editor:** James Lyons - **Music:** Carter Burwell, Craig Wedren - **Production design:** Christopher Hobbs, Amy Beth Silver - **Costume design:** Sandy Powell - **Producer:** Christine Vachon - **Cast:** Ewan McGregor as Curt Wild; Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Brian Slade; Toni Collette as Mandy Slade; Christian Bale as Arthur Stuart; Suzy Eddie Izzard as Jerry Devine; Emily Woof as Shannon; Michael Feast as Cecil; Janet McTeer as Female Narrator (voice) - **Runtime:** 2h 03m - **Release (Japan):** 5 December 1998 - **Genres:** Drama, Music - **Budget:** $9 million - **Box office:** $4 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNx-hJ54L70 ## Where to watch in Japan Not streaming, renting or buying in Japan at the last check. Also available in: BG, CA, GB, IT, LT, NL, PT. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1999: Best Costume Design (nominated) ## If you liked this - *Hedwig and the Angry Inch* (2001): Another musician invents a self onstage, with sharper jokes and deeper hurt. - *Phantom of the Paradise* (1974), Fi1m 82: Pop ambition gets a more vicious musical treatment, with horror close behind. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/phantom-of-the-paradise.md) - *Orlando* (1992), Fi1m 81: Costume, desire and changing identities, handled with a calmer, drier wit. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/orlando.md) - *Daisies* (1966), Fi1m 85: For more colour, unruly play and impatience with respectable behaviour. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/daisies.md) - *Linda Linda Linda* (2005): A quieter account of the confidence people find by making music together. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/velvet-goldmine