The Velvet Underground (2021)

Directed and produced by Todd Haynes, The Velvet Underground (2021) is an American documentary that delves into the story of the influential rock band. Haynes was granted access to interviews with surviving members, including founding members John Cale and Maureen Tucker. Filmed in 2018, the documentary also features voiceovers from Doug Yule, who joined the band in 1968. In October 2020, Apple TV+ secured distribution rights for the film. The world premiere took place at the Cannes Film Festival on July 7, 2021 and it was later released theatrically and on Apple TV+ on October 15, 2021. On December 13, 2022, The Criterion Collection released it on DVD and Blu-ray.

The influential band, The Velvet Underground, emerged from the avant-gardes of early-1960s New York City in music, art, and film. Despite not achieving mainstream success, they left a significant impact on experimental and alternative music as well as shaping punk and new wave genres. The band was made up of Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, John Cale, Doug Yule, and Maureen Tucker. Under the management and promotion of artist Andy Warhol, German singer and model Nico was added to the line-up. Through Haynes’s film, we are taken through the band’s cultural influences in both music and cinema. From their formation to the original line-up’s break-up in the 1970s, interviews with surviving members Cale and Tucker are combined with archival material from their music and films.