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Movies / On DVD / Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture

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Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture (1983)

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71 %
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Reviews Counted: 28

Fresh: 20

Rotten:8

Average Rating: 6.1/10

Rated: PG

Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

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... 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]

Starring: David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, Woody Woodmansey

Starring: David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, Woody Woodmansey, Ken Fordham, Brian Wilshaw, Geoffrey MacCormack, John Hutchinson

Director: D.A. Pennebaker

Director: D.A. Pennebaker
Studio: Cowboy Pictures

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 4, 1998

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The...

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
04/01/05
Greg Maki
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

No review available.

comment Comment
08/21/03
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views

No review available.

comment Comment
07/21/03
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

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.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
02/21/03
Bryan Reesman
Citysearch

No review available.

comment Comment
01/24/03
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
12/13/02
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
11/19/02
Jason Anderson
eye WEEKLY

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.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
10/04/02
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Certainly of interest, if only for its vintage. But the film is drab and slight.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
10/04/02
Shawn Levy
Oregonian

The concert remains more of an historical curiosity than a must-see rock film.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
10/04/02
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A colorful snapshot of an early chapter in the story of an accomplished performer.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
09/12/02
Gary Dowell
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
09/09/02
Elbert Ventura
PopMatters

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.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
08/23/02
Jonathan Perry
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An excellent example of its genre, with Pennebaker capturing the excitement of what was a very special, emotion-charged occasion.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
08/22/02
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
08/22/02
John Patterson
L.A. Weekly

Even the non-Bowie fans...will be entertained with this finale perf as the alien-like Ziggy [Stardust].

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
08/19/02
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

what truly awes in the realization of Bowie's completely mature command of both his voice and the stage so early in his career

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
08/18/02
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Looks like a bootleg concert video made by a gifted fan.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
08/16/02
Richard Harrington
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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