Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Red-Barracuda This concert film is probably most famous for capturing a pivotal moment in music history. It is the last show that David Bowie performed under the Ziggy Stardust persona and the last time he was on stage with his backing band The Spiders From Mars. Seemingly his announcement near the end of the show stating that this was the final appearance was not only news to the audience but to the band as well!The film takes the form mostly as straightforward concert footage. There is also some backstage material interspersed throughout which I think it would have been good to have had more of, seeing as it revealed a little bit more of what Bowie was like behind the mask. But as it was, the vast majority of material is taken from the concert. The approach taken is very stripped down and basic. There isn't really a lot of imagination in the approach but I guess the idea was to let the show speak for itself. Perhaps though it might have been better for a live performance by such a flamboyant performer as Bowie to be presented with a little more imagination. Sometimes, it's the audience reactions to the show that are truthfully the most interesting, seeing as some of his fans seem to be almost hyper-ventilating with emotion. Some of the costume changes now provoke a chuckle or two; although, in truth, I have always found the fashions of the 70's glam rock era to be absolutely catastrophic. But at the end of the day it is a time capsule film and in this sense it is interesting. Even if Bowie does feel the need to do a mime artistry routine.The concert itself? One for Bowie devotees especially I would say, of which I am not one I have to admit. But I thought Mick Ronson was very good on guitar and they all do knock out the tunes with some energy. It was also interesting to hear a good version of The Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat close the show.

bob the moo 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.

Andreas Jacke This is the last concert the figure Ziggy Stardust would ever do and is very great. In a morbit, dangerous and heavy way Bowie made a great event from it. Is the mixture from darkness, powerness and loosing feeling who makes it so great. The facination of this androgyn type who is the dead and crying living and the lost of life in the same moment have very much suspense. Is exiting to see the heroic movement face to face with death. Ziggy was the heaviest creature Bowie ever was been. Mr. Newton is no more the man who sold the world because he falls on in. The space metaphysik from Bowie - who is written since today (earthling) is her on his highest point!!! Ziggy had no chance to live longer because it was to dangerous for the cracked actor himself! A great but heavy concert!

rich100 This is a badly filmed concert. From many perspectives (lighting, setup, directing, and most importantly, focus) there seems to have been almost no thought to making a decent film out of this concert. Another person has said that this film looks like something made by a few people who snuck in cameras (though that would have been pretty tough in 1973). Except for a few seconds of band introduction, the video might lead you to believe that Bowie and Mick Ronson performed as a duet. Bowie introduces the bass player and drummer of the spiders briefly, but fails to mention the four offstage musicians (given 0.5 seconds in the final credits.) So why watch this film? Because in 2002 it was re-released with a mix by Tony Visconti (longtime Bowie producer who truly knows exactly what he's doing with Bowie's music) so the sound is really pretty good in stereo or 5:1. It's not the studio albums, but it's good. The question you always have to ask is, am I listening to a re-mix off the sound-board, or some filler recorded long afterward? Nevertheless, if you've seen Bowie live, and know what an incredible performer he is, you'll be curious about this 1973 show. You'll be disappointed if you spend $7 in a theater, let down if you spent $3 to rent the video, but OK if you caught it on cable for free and play it loud.