Cracked Actor: A Film About David Bowie (1975) (TV)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Release Date:

1975 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

BBC documentary about David Bowie in his drug days. |

Plot Keywords:

Song | Portrait | Concert

Cast

David Bowie

...

Himself (also archive footage)

Runtime:

UK:53 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Quotes:

Fan queuing at concert: I'm just a space cadet.. he's the commander.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 50 Greatest Documentaries (2005) (TV)

"I'm just the space cadet - He's the commander."

This excellent documentary - originally broadcast by the BBC in 1975 - may seem slow moving and "arty" to those weened on Biography's breezy chrono-bio clip-show style, but it's as honest a portrait as you'll ever find on the enigmatic singer, captured in the midst of an intensely creative period, but fueled and debilitated by massive cocaine use. It contains some unusually candid behind-the-scenes footage as well as providing fascinating glimpses of the fabled 1974 "Diamond Dogs" tour, unavailable elsewhere. If you can find a good gray market copy, snap it up. Otherwise, pester the BBC to give this a proper release.