Citizen Kane (1941, Orson Welles)
Velvet Goldmine and Citizen Kane actually have the same narrative structure. This classic movie tells the story of a journalist who has to find out the meaning of Kane's last word: Rosebud. Charles Foster Kane is a character based upon the eccentric millionare William Randolph Hearst. If you like Velvet Goldmine, you have to watch this movie. Haynes has taken a lot of ideas from this movie. You will have a different opinion of Velvet Goldmine after watching this essential film.



Casablanca (1942, Michael Curtiz)
I guess you have seen this one many times but it's worth watching again. As you probably know, 2HB was inspired by this movie.
Here's looking at you, kid. (Bogart to Bergman).



Sunset Blvd. (1950, Willy Wilder)
Another movie you probably have seen. This one is here because the glam rock movement was influenced by Hollywood classic films. Gloria Swanson shows how sad can be the life of an old star.



2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Stanley Kubrick)
What would have Bowie done if Kubrick hadn't made this film? A great film based upon an Arthur Clarke novel. Bowie's first hit was inspired by the story of this astronaut who is lost in space with a computer called Hal.



Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1973, D.A. Pennebaker)
A documentary about Ziggy's last concert. The actual concert is extraordinary and the behind the scenes images are very interesting.



A Clockwork Orange (1971, Stanley Kubrick)
This masterpiece, based upon the short novel by Burgess, is one of the favourite films of Todd Haynes and of David Bowie. When David Bowie created Ziggy, he was influenced by this movie. Alex is a captivating character whose interests are rape, ultra-violence and Beethoven. Bowie used music from this film as Ziggy appeared on stage.
In a hi-speed master (á la Clockwork Orange) Brian rapes the wife doll and then the husband. (Taken from the Velvet Goldmine script).



Moulin Rouge (2001, Baz Luhrmann)
This postmoden musical is actually a sweet love story. The music is probably the most important thing of this movie. Some glam hits, such as Diamond Dogs and Children of the Revolution, are here for our listening pleasure.