The Velvet Underground
Visionary filmmaker Todd Haynes’ “first documentary is just experimental enough to capture the raw artistic energy that sparked the Velvet Underground” one of the most influential bands in rock and roll history, but “there are giddy moments that threaten to explode non-fiction norms with the director’s usual flair. But if The Velvet Underground excerpts oodles of experimental films (and channels several more) without threatening to become an experimental film itself, that’s only because Haynes’ loving tribute is able to translate the language of a singular American moment into something digestible enough for us to understand that no one will ever speak it the same way again. Nevertheless, The Velvet Underground is a film you hear with your eyes. Warhol said that he liked the Velvets because they sounded the way his movies looked, and now Haynes has made a documentary that looks the way the Velvets sounded.” (indiewire)
The Cornell Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections acquired a Velvet Underground archive in 2015 that is the largest archive of Velvet Underground material held by an institution, according to the library’s rare and manuscript curator, Katherine Reagan. Professor Judith Peraino (Music), who teaches a graduate seminar on the archive, will discuss it and the film in conjunction with the October19th screening.
Sylvia Reed, second wife of the late recording artist, songwriter and musician Lou Reed, was integral to his life and work during the 1980s and early 1990s. Sylvia was involved in the management of Lou’s career, and co-designed album artwork, as well as lighting and set design for his live performances during that prolific period of his life. Sylvia was key to the album cover design for "The Blue Mask" (1982), "New York" (1989), "Songs For Drella" (1990), which received a Grammy nomination for the album artwork, and "Magic and Loss" (1992), among many others. Sylvia Reed lives in New York and is currently working on a book about her life with Lou.
website: www.apple.com/tv-pr/originals/the-velvet-underground
Ithaca Premiere