This is the film of the final concert that Bowie would ever play with his (then)back up band, The Spiders From Mars (featuring Mick Ronson on guitar). It was filmed/directed by D.A. Pennebaker (Don't Look Back, Monterey Pop). Despite those credentials, this is unfortunately a very poorly shot & edited document of a very good concert. The camera(s) seem to shake,rattle & roll every time they're fixed on a band member (Pennebaker seems to have a real problem keeping the camera in focus, making this film about as much of a challenge as watching the first reel of Warhol's 'Poor Little Rich Girl'--where the entire first reel is totally out of focus). Bowie & company manage to be in finer than fine form,snorting fire during this Odeon Hammersmith performance in 1973. This film was originally filmed for what was intended to be the pre cursor of the DVD, the laser disc, but after viewing the poor quality of the film, the producers of the laser disc quickly changed their minds. 'Ziggy' then managed to sit in the can for ten years, until it managed to somehow get spotty distribution (via the art house circuit)in 1983. If you can get past the clumsy, in and out of focus camera work & poor editing,this film just might give you a clue into what Bowie was into back then. Honestly,I would have to recommend picking up the sound track CD instead.
