Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture (1983)
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Theatrical Release: Jul 10, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: The quintessential moment in glam-rock history, ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS is David Bowie at his best. This film of the 1973 concert (released 10 years later) documents the hallucinogenic collage of kitsch, Warhol/Pop irony, and flamboyant excess that was the Bowie... The quintessential moment in glam-rock history, ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS is David Bowie at his best. This film of the 1973 concert (released 10 years later) documents the hallucinogenic collage of kitsch, Warhol/Pop irony, and flamboyant excess that was the Bowie phenomenon: his trademark synthetic androgyny is a musical symbiosis of feminine passion and masculine dominance that define his funky, gender-bending art and, ultimately, the glam-rock genre as a whole. Early on, the film cuts to elaborate backstage costume changes between sets, highlighting a playlist that includes such classics as "Changes," "Space Oddity," "Time," and "Suffragette City." In this comprehensive document of a seminal peformer in music history, director D.A. Pennebaker captures the enigmatic singer's smoldering brilliance like a Hubble photograph of a supernova; it is essential viewing for Bowie fans and music historians alike. [More]
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
Starring: David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, Woody Woodmansey, Ken Fordham
DVD Info
Release:
May 13, 2003
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentary - 1. D.A. Pennebaker
- 2. Tony Visconti
DVD-ROM Features:
- Web Links
- Screen Saver
- Calendar
- Desktop Icons
Tracks:
- 1. Intro
- 2. Hang On To Yourself
- 3. Ziggy Stardust
- 4. Watch That Man
- 5. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
- 6. All the Young Dudes
- 7. Oh! You Pretty Things
- 8. Moonage Daydream
- 9. Changes
- 10. Space Oddity
- 11. My Death
- 12. Cracked Actor
- 13. Time
- 14. Width of a Circle
- 15. Band Introduction
- 16. Let's Spend the Night Together
- 17. Suffragette City
- 18. White Light White Heat
- 19. Farewell Speech
- 20. Rock 'N' Roll Suicide
- 21. End Credits
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
While "Ziggy" is obviously more of interest to hardcore Bowie fans than anyone else (some critics have trashed it for that reason), it should be required viewing for rockers-in-training who really want to learn about good showmanship.
Freed of the unflattering contemporary distractions offered by This Is Spinal Tap, Pennebaker's Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars captures Bowie at perhaps his purest, punkiest rock 'n' roll peak.
Certainly of interest, if only for its vintage. But the film is drab and slight.
The concert remains more of an historical curiosity than a must-see rock film.
A colorful snapshot of an early chapter in the story of an accomplished performer.
Pennebaker doesn't break any ground here, in what is essentially a linear concert film. But he doesn't need to. Bowie's brilliant -- and, by today's stadium-size standards, intimate -- performance does that for him.
An excellent example of its genre, with Pennebaker capturing the excitement of what was a very special, emotion-charged occasion.
Somehow poor pacing and this lack of visual variety manage to make a great show seem boring -- which is, I suppose, an achievement of sorts.
Even the non-Bowie fans...will be entertained with this finale perf as the alien-like Ziggy [Stardust].
what truly awes in the realization of Bowie's completely mature command of both his voice and the stage so early in his career
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by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/28/05
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