Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars **** (1973, David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder) – Classic Movie Review 3672

Director D A Pennebaker’s indispensable 1973 British music documentary is a hunky-dory cinema verité film of David Bowie’s farewell performances as the androgynous Ziggy Stardust.

The film takes all those who want to relive the glam rock era’s brightest and most glitzy star back to London’s Hammersmith Odeon in July 1973.

Bowie’s flamboyant stage posturings earned it a PG certificate, but the songs are the thing and there’s still a fantastic lot of pleasure to be found in ‘Oh! You Pretty Things’ and ‘All the Young Dudes’, as well as Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide, White Light/White Heat, Changes, The Width of a Circle, Time, Cracked Actor, Space Oddity, Moonage Daydream, All the Young Dudes, Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud, Watch That Man, Ziggy Stardust and Hang On to Yourself, all written and performed by Bowie.

All are just brilliant but perhaps the best highlights are the great medley of ‘Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud’/’All The Young Dudes’/’Oh! You Pretty Things’, a Lou Reed cover, and the Rolling Stones cover, Let’s Spend the Night Together.

The historic July 3 1973 concert was to be David Bowie’s last concert with the Ziggy persona.

The film was released in the UK in December 1973 but not until December 1983 in the US.

David Bowie died on January 10 2016, aged 69. Adieu, dear departed.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3672

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