“The artist is not with society, he’s different,” says Mary Woronov in the just-dropped trailer for Todd Haynes’s fantastic documentary, The Velvet Underground. It’s an apt pull-quote for a film that’s more about the band and the culture they arose from, reacted to and fermented than any rise/fall/redemption-styled rock narrative. Set against a few of Velvet hits (“Sweet Jane,” initially in a drone-y, slowed-down live version; “Here She Goes Again”; “Venus in Furs”) the trailer gives a glimpse of the film’s elegant graphics, masterful use of archival (not just VU concerts but experimental films of the day) and smart musicology. […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 30, 2021