The Velvet Underground - Under Review

If you're looking for a breakthrough documentary, folks, this ain't it -- although there are some great interview moments with longtime member Maureen Tucker and some early VU clips you may not have seen already. Largely, this is just a march through all of the albums, in chrono order, with a mix of rock critics, band friends, and business associates -- and Mo -- all opining on the band's history, turning points, inner conflicts, stylistic development, significance, influences, and influence, with special attention paid to generally-agreed-upon landmarks like "Venus in Furs", "Heroin" and "Sister Ray". Most of the reviewers manage some real insights: Billy Name offers a wonderful recollection of exactly how Lou Reed came to choose the mysterious cover art for White Light/White Heat and what that choice meant in the context of the band's work at the time, and the notoriously self-absorbed Robert Christgau manages to get off one useful observation. The name Le Monte Young is even mentioned in passing, and we see and hear a very young John Cale performing a Cage work for piano. Nobody embarrasses themselves, and I found myself muttering "yep, right, that's good" at most of the comments. But the bulk of it will probably be of most interest to folks who are either new to the band or who have never thought hard about its impact.

This was pretty Cool. Peoples opinions about the band--etc.Where honest--and dead on. Only Doug Yule and Maureen Tuckerappear in this. --which is better than a lot in these "Under Review"--Series.Ideas of Songs,--Etc. Playing Live--etc. Again--How people viewed theband, and maybe why--they didn't become hugh like a lot of people thoughthey should have been. Kinda like the Ramones.Yet I have a friend who said this once--It wasn't cool to like theVelvet Underground--till Lou Reed had a solo Career.For some there maybe some truth in that statement. But I still think andfeel that the Velvets where a unique band--who's time has come now, but didn'tthen.

What is great about this one--in the "Under Review"--series.This is the only one that I've watched/own--that some of the actualartist appear in it. Maureen Tucker and Doug Yule are actualgive interviews for this. So of course--since Doug is on this,For whatever reason--No chance of the Great-Late-Lou Reedto be in it. You know most of the History, Recording of the Records,But it is cool to hear it from them, and one of the engineer guys.point of view.

What goes on here? The line "contains unreleased live and studio music" is totally wrong!!! There is no live music at all and the studio tracks have all been released previously.The live "clips" of the early band are the same 2 or 3 15 second shots with no sound shown a few times.A picture book would give the same look at the band menbers and the various memorabilia.The Mo and Doug Yule interviews are interesting.It was also nice to see what a toe-f@@ker looks like - listen to Lou's "Take No Prisoners"No Lou Reed. No John Cale.I wish I had waited to buy it used instead of pre-ordering it.

I'm a huge Velvet Underground fan and know a bunch about them, so I can't say I learned much new stuff, but for me the video footage was superb. It was very cool to see Mo Tucker doing her thing and John and Sterling, just phenomenal! There's lots of Lou Reed stuff out there to watch, but this is a must see for the VU years.

I'm going to do something that shouldn't be as radical as it ought to be: actually review the DVD that was released, instead of a fictional DVD of the imagination that most of the other reviewers here bizarrely believe that it should have been.VELVET UNDERGROUND and CAPTAIN BEEFHEART were the first two of a series of DVD that are intended to be critical analyses of the music of the band in question. I'm not sure where anyone would have gotten the impression that it was supposed to be a documentary in any other sense than that, but all the complaints I see lodged here are aimed at qualities that were never intended to be in the film to begin with. The aim of the series was go examine the music through a presentation of some archival film footage and extensive critical discussion. That is precisely what the DVD delivers. In fact, most DVD reviewers gave this disc glowing reviews when it was released.I'm one of those odd birds who actually read critics. One of my favorite critics, Robert Christgau, is one of the more prominently consulted individuals in the film. I was overall enormously impressed with the insight the various individuals consulted regarding the Velvets' music. Only one truly ignorant statement was made in the course of the film, which is usual for a film of this type. Oddly, the truly awful statement was made by a critics I usually have a great deal of regard for, Clinton Heylin, author of the well known rock study FROM THE VELVETS TO THE VOIDOIDS. He says bald-faced that "Venus in Furs" is the most important rock single after "Heartbreak Hotel." One hardly knows what to make of such a statement, especially given that the one major acknowledged influence on the Velvets was Bob Dylan and especially his single "Like a Rolling Stone," which is frequently and rightfully regarded as the most influential rock song in history. And just before Dylan released "Like a Rolling Stone" the Stones released "Satisfaction." I love "Venus in Furs," but it impossible for me to compare in any meaningful fashion the influence of that song to either the Dylan or Stones' singles. But as I said, this was fortunately the exception rather than the rule in the DVD. Most of the reviewers (even Heylin) are otherwise very insightful in their comments on the album.I strongly recommend this DVD to any fan of the Velvets. I've been listening to their music for over 30 years and I still learned a great deal about their music. I also recommend the series of DVDs as a whole. I would just ask potential viewers to keep in mind that these DVDs are focused on a critical evaluation of the music. They are not intended as biographical DVDs or attempts to present all the archival film footage that exists. I think those are great as well, but I welcome as much critical discussion of great music as possible.

This is a fantastic documentary without the flash and fanfare of other music documentaries. It is very low key but riveting considering Lou Reed is not even in it! Apart from the band members interviews I found the testimonies of the fans extremely engaging and indepth as they projected how deeply they were affected by the albums as they heard them for the first time. The objectivity of the fans allows them to articulate the bands position in rock and roll history and their impact on music and popular culture and was a perfect balance with the bands own views on their work. I would highly recommend this documentary.