The career of musician and actor David Bowie is explored in a new documentary Moonage Daydream which has been highly praised after it’s debut screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
Director Brett Morgen, who has a background in groundbreaking music documentaries, was given access to a treasure trove of previously unseen footage, interviews and recordings from across Bowie’s decades long career.
While the film takes it’s name from track three on Bowie’s highly acclaimed 1970’s album Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, the film takes a look at his entire creative output.
David Bowie first found success in 1969 with Space Oddity and remained in the public consciousness until his death in 2016. Just days before his passing Bowie released his final album Blackstar which was both a critical and commercial success.
Director Brett Morgen got the media’s attention as he appeared on the red carpet at the Cannes screening. As Bowie’s classic song Let’s Dance blasted through the speakers he danced down the red carpet sharing his excitement about the film.
Critics who got to see the film at Cannes have described it as a five star viewing experience. In The Guardian Peter Bradshaw described it as “gloriously celebratory”, while Owen Gleiberman writing in Variety said it was, “a kaleidoscopic head-trip meditation on David Bowie, rock’s shape-shifting astronaut of identity.”
The film eschews the more traditional approach of talking heads interviews or voice over, and instead delivers a visual stream of consciousness concocted from the musicians own massive archives of his work.
Morgen has worked on the creation of the film for years, exploring the wide range of archival material he was given access to, and also taking in additional research along the way.
The late singers estate gave him complete artistic control over what he made with the materials, the final result being an experimental presentation of the Bowie experience more than a narrative biography.
Take a look at the teaser trailer, this film will be released in September.
OIP Staff
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