‘The Velvet Underground’ doc streaming
The Velvet Underground has a robust story, but not an easy one to tell.
The group was together from 1964-73, with occasional reunions in the 1990s. It launched the careers of the late Lou Reed and Nico, as well as John Cale and Maureen Tucker. It’s acknowledged as a bedrock influence on so much that came in its wake, including glam, punk and New Wave — David Bowie was a particularly outspoken fan — and the mythology that grew around the Velvets, back in the day and subsequently, fueled its iconoclastic status.
“The Velvet Underground” is the first documentary made by director Todd Haynes (“Velvet Goldmine,” “I’m Not There,” “Carol” and more) and offers a comprehensive two-hour exploration of its short but impactful history. Authorized by the surviving band members and their estates, it features a trove of footage, including from the Andy Warhol Factory archives and other New York avant garde filmmakers the group worked with during the mid and late ’60s. Cale and Tucker sat for new interviews, along with personalities from the scene and admirers such as Jonathan Richman, John Waters and Jackson Browne.
“The Velvet Underground” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in July, and it began streaming Friday, Oct. 15, on Apple TV+.
Haynes, 60, describes himself as “utterly a Velvets fan” who was approached by the Universal Music Group to make the documentary. “I was immediately interested. Even though I’d never made a documentary before, I was like, ‘Yeah, sign me up!’ It was a coherent part of music I’d already explored in some of my films, almost like the prequel to ‘Velvet Goldmine.’ In many ways I discovered the Velvet Underground having already been into and listening to Bowie and Roxy (Music), Patti Smith, punk — music I didn’t realize was sort of impossible without the Velvet Underground as the sort of core.”