Critic Reviews

• Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times

  A self-indulgent pilgrimage to the shrine of '70s fabulousness, "Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston" assembles a fine assortment of archival material but falls far short of its stated goal.

• Sara Stewart, New York Post

  It's unfortunate that director Whitney Sudler-Smith seems to have spent more time on his own hair than his interview prep.

• Rachel Saltz, New York Times

  Lost in all this is Halston, who comes through only in dribs and drabs. If you're curious about him, skip this film.

• Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

  This isn't simply the biography of an American icon, but the chronicle of a misguided filmmaker.

• Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

  This film has a grander trajectory than just about any other fashion doc.

• Eric Hynes, Village Voice

  A ghastly vanity affair for one Whitney Smith, the son of a socialite who, despite minimal credits to his name, feels entitled to make Halston's story his own.

• Mike Scott, Times-Picayune

  Halston's name is in the title, but the faintly irritating Ultrasuede isn't necessarily about the fashion designer. It's about director Whitney Sudler-Smith

• Diego Costa, Slant Magazine

  The tension between the amateurish interviewer and the star interviewees gives the doc a layer of authenticity that its otherwise formulaic structure and storytelling fail to find.

• Chris Barsanti, Filmcritic.com

  A dishwater-dull film about an electric subject

• Sam Adams, AV Club

  At least Smith has proof that he spent ample time with the beautiful people.

• Richard Knight, Knight at the Movies

  Less a portrait of its ostensible subject than that of his times, and the film suffers from yet another examination of the disco era.

• Philip French, Observer [UK]

  A glossy, messy, highly watchable biography of the handsome, charismatic American milliner, innovative fashion designer, New York celebrity and brand creator Roy Halston Frowick...

• Derek Malcolm, This is London

  Sudler-Smith interviews Minnelli and other celebrities in a somewhat amateurish fashion. But it's the era that's intriguing rather than the man.

• Andrew Pulver, Guardian [UK]

  The man himself remains something of a cipher. But this is an interesting slice of pop history, nonetheless.

• Nigel Andrews, Financial Times

  Peculiar, picaresque and presided over by a self-appointed fashion paradigm.

Read all 15 critic reviews