Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1973)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

D.A. Pennebaker

Release Date:

December 1973 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Plot:

The July 3rd, 1973 historic concert of the 'leper Messiah'. This was to be David Bowie's last concert...

Plot Keywords:

Concert Film | Mime | Rock Music | Independent Film | Character Name In Title

Cast

David Bowie	...	Himself / Ziggy Stardust
Mick Ronson	...	Himself
Trevor Bolder	...	Himself
Mick Woodmansy	...	Himself
Angela Bowie	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maureen Starkey	...	Herself

Also Known As:

Bowie '73 with the Spiders from Mars (UK) (alternative title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Hammersmith Odeon, Hammersmith, London, England, UK

Company:

Bewlay Bros.

Trivia:

RCA requested that many references to, mostly, death and suicide in Bowie's lyrics should be bleeped. Pennebaker gave way. But he only bleeped the mono-sound negative, while the stereo film print and soundtrack remained non-bleeped.

Quotes:

David Bowie: What do you know about make-up? You're Just a Girl.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003) (V)

Terrible footage, great music

In 1973, David Bowie return to the UK from a success world tour. July 3rd was to be his final show in the personae of Ziggy Stardust, playing alongside the Spiders From Mars. Thousands of fans crammed into the London venue to watch the great man go out on a high. Of course, it would have helped if the film crew had had more money, more technology or, dare I say it, more skill at their disposal, because, as a concert film this is a pretty grainy affair to watch.

I should start on the good first I guess. The music is great and fans will not be disappointed with the delivery and the capturing of it. It all sounds great and, although I know others have talked about the use of miming, I must admit I was too into it to really care. As someone who falls into a later generation, I was never going to get a chance to see Bowie in concert at this stage of his career, so this my best chance to get to see it so, on that level it is worth a look. I enjoyed it because of the music but, as a film, I must admit finding it very hard to watch, preferring at some stages to get on with something else while just listening to the songs.

Visually, it is a mess. The images are very blurred and grainy, an effect not helped by the lighting throughout the show. The couple of cameras offer a limited amount of shots and I didn't think any of them did a good job of capturing the atmosphere of the gig; and no, showing me screaming teens didn't cut it on its own. The chance to see the costumes and stage presence of Bowie made me keep watching but it is hard to ignore just how very amateurish the footage feels. I was able to forgive to some degree due to the lighting and the period it was shot in, but it is still hard to ignore the problems when they are constantly present – blurrily staring at me from my screen.

Overall the music saves it, making it well worth a look for anyone with more than a passing interesting in the music of David Bowie. It seems to have been a great show and it must have been memorable to have been in the audience, but you wouldn't know it from Pennebaker's footage. Sadly the lighting has left the footage looking blurry, while the mobile nature of the cameras means that it is all shaky and regularly has a bad view as its best view. Still worth seeing but it does need your forgiveness at times.