but, you know, why did that happen? at the centre of it was the famous new york city artist and film director andy warhol, who discovered the band and became their manager. he incorporated them into his art studio, called the factory, where artists, models and other cool kids known as warhol s superstars hung out. people came because the cameras were running. they thought they could become famous. todd haynes recreates the unconventional nature of velvet underground s music and how it combined with art in his film. he juxtaposes light with sounds, uses split screens and takes viewers on an immersivejourney through space and time. velvet underground s music was dark and edgy and full of life, so it makes perfect sense that the band was created here. in fact, in this apartment, on 56 ludlow street, is where members of velvet underground perfected what would become some of their signature sounds. lou reed brought in themes from his own life, with lyrics
was the manager, and the band had lou reed as its charismatic lead singer. kitty cox went to see the documentary. we re sponsoring a new band, it s called the velvet underground. a rock n roll band like no other. todd haynes new documentary on the velvet underground explores the unique set of circumstances that brought together four outsiders to create a distantly different sound. steeped in the heady mix of avant garde art and filmmaking of 1960s new york city. they go so deep. they go so deep within the 1960s itself, and they were so ahead of their time thematically and sonically that no one knew what to do with them, even at a time of incredible invention and desire for radical change. and it still took decades for people to catch up to what they were doing. so you learn so much about not only the 1960s,
that never shied away from topics like drug abuse, sexuality and depression. he was immensely talented and deeply emotional, but reed could also be a difficult person to be close to. todd haynes s film explores this contradiction through those that knew him best. he was complicated, man. he was full of all kinds of protective barriers. somebody who felt insecurity, and he s sharing it with us in the most direct way possible, which is in his work. reed s work and that of his band endures, speaking to people who don t quite fit in and prefer to embrace life with its rough edges intact. emerging from a pandemic in which we all felt disconnected and offkilter, haynes believes the velvet underground also resonates for a new reason. for us, it was the movie we had been making underground during lockdown in this pandemic.
i think it s the perfect synchronicity. to think that someone who has that aesthetic and taste, who s a festival queen and favourite, to think that her film might get an even bigger audience, that s a win win, yeah. good evening. benedict cumberbatch may be the actor of the moment. he also has an anticipated role in taika waititi s new film the electrical life of louis wain, a portrait of an english artist who made surreal cat paintings. i just don t want you to think you have to be cooped up in this house. but the brooding intensity of his performance in the power of the dog may prove far stronger than its feline rival. one great influential new york city rock band formed in the 1960s, the velvet underground, was the subject of a new york film festival documentary this year. the band came from a storied era of new york city pop culture history. at one time artist andy warhol
thriller, titane, this year s big winner at the cannes film festival, came to new york with its director and star. i told myself, pretend you re doing a little show. this is a weird show, butjust have fun with it. there were many festival films with great performances, a real stand out, benedict cumberbatch in the power of the dog. and some great documentaries, one using animation to chronicle the plight of an afghan refugee fleeing the taliban 25 years ago. and the other, a portrait of the influential new york rock band formed in the 1960s, the velvet underground. like almost every british schoolchild of my generation, i had the works of william shakespeare thrown at me. but i have to admit, the only play of his that i received with a massive amount ofjoy was macbeth.