Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1983) on Netflix
At London's Hammersmith Odeon in July 1973, David Bowie gives his final performance as Ziggy Stardust. The filmed concert mixes pop, theater, and excess with his band, the Spiders from Mars.
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Trailer
Plot summary
On July 3, 1973, David Bowie walks onstage at London's Hammersmith Odeon as Ziggy Stardust. He is backed by the Spiders from Mars for the final date of the Ziggy Stardust Tour. The show merges flashy pop, ironic kitsch, and theatrical excess, pairing a feminine stage energy with masculine command. Cameras stay close to Bowie under weak lighting while flashbulbs from the crowd add bursts of light. Fans are filmed throughout the hall, and a few backstage moments interrupt the concert. The setlist draws from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Aladdin Sane.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1983)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- D. A. Pennebaker had scant knowledge of David Bowie's music apart from "Space Oddity" and initially thought he was going to be filming Marc Bolan. He had planned to shoot only a few songs, about 20 minutes, as a promo for an RCA video disc product.
- Jeff Beck accepted an invitation to play with Bowie's band without knowing the show would be filmed. He played guitar on three songs, then asked to be removed from the final cut, so all three were cut from the film.
- Pennebaker shot the concert with only three people and poor stage lighting, so he kept many shots tight on Bowie in his spotlight and asked the audience to take as many flash photographs as possible to provide extra light.
- After abandoning his Ziggy Stardust persona, Bowie was unresponsive to the filmmakers' requests for post-production input. He later said Ziggy Stardust was "something that I couldn't look at for years".
- Pennebaker had experimental filmmaker Robert Breer rotoscope Bowie for possible inclusion in the film. The rotoscoping was completed but was never used.
SPOILER
Bowie had told only his manager Tony DeFries and one member of his band, Mick Ronson, that he planned to drop the Ziggy Stardust persona and stop performing for a while.
