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Todd Haynes Dives Into The History Of The Velvet Underground In Trailer For New Documentary
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Ben Yakas
Published Aug 30, 2021
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AppleTV+
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 30, 2021
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Director Todd Haynes is no stranger to making unconventional, unforgettable films about rock musicians, from his debut short film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story which featured Barbie dolls, to his daring exploration of the '70s glam rock scene in Velvet Goldmine, to deploying a cadre of famous people to play Bob Dylan stand-ins in the brilliant I'm Not There. Now, he's finally gearing up to release his first ever documentary, all about NYC's greatest experimental rock band of the '60s, The Velvet Underground.
The long-awaited doc is finally coming out this fall, first showing at the New York Film Festival in late September (tickets for that go on sale September 7th) before premiering on AppleTV+ on October 15th. You can check out the first trailer below.
Through archival footage and contemporary interviews, the film charts the intersection of the Andy Warhol Factory scene with the formation of the group, and explores how the band became a cultural touchstone "representing a range of contradictions: the band is both of their time, yet timeless; literary yet realistic; rooted in high art and street culture."
It includes the participation of many of the still-living key members of the band, including founding members Maureen Tucker and John Cale, as well as some very well-known admirers like behind-the-scenes legend Danny Fields and musician Jonathan Richman (the real one, not the fake one who conned his way into an Olympia music festival this weekend).
Paul Morrissey, Andy Warhol, Lou Reed and Moe Tucker in a split screen still from the film
AppleTV+
There will also be an accompanying soundtrack, The Velvet Underground: A Documentary Film By Todd Haynes – Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack, released on the same day as the film, featuring an assortment of classic Velvet Underground tracks, live versions of songs, some influences, and "The Ostrich" by The Primitives, a pre-VU band formed by Reed and Cale.
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apple tv
Todd Haynes
lou reed
documentary
the velvet underground
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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