Movies
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The appearance in Colin MacInnes' novel Absolute Begginers (a story of 1950s London street life) would be considered that of a cameo...but none the less, Bowie knows how to make an appearance in another way. He ended up contributing three songs to the soundtrack: "Absolute Begginers," "That's Modivation," and a remake of the 1958 hit "Volare." Baal was created as a BBC Teleplay of Berholt Brecht's Baal with David Bowie as the lead character. Baal is a shiftless, homicidal poet. The part was nothing to be desired, but the music is amazing, my personal favorite, is "The Drowned Girl." Gee...I wonder how you could tell that I liked that one so much? Hmmm...good question. I wanted to see it, but since I live in the States, that's impossible...oh well. I'm sure it was good. Bowie ended up landing the role as Andy Warhol (my favorite artist of all time). His American accent and his Warhol-esque manerisms made him believable and gained him high praise. Basquiat is the story of the Neo-Expressionist artist Jean-Michele Basquiat (who you might have seen in the Blondie video, "Rapture"); his humble beginnings, his rise, and his eventual fall. It's a beautiful movie and I highly recommend it to anyone that loves great acting, great direction, and a beautiful story. There are a ton of famous actors that star in it such as Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Willem DaFoe, Benicio Del Torro, and Courtney Love. Bowie, himself, ends up contributing a song to the soundtrack, "A Small Plot of Land."
This movie portrays the drug scene in Berlin in the 70s, following tape recordings of Christiane F. 14 years old Christiane lives with her mother and little sister in a typical multi-storey apartment building in Berlin. She's fascinated by the 'Sound', a new disco with most modern equipment. Although she's legally too young, she asks a friend to take her. There she meets Detlef, who's in a clique where everybody's on drugs. Step by step she gets drawn deeper into the scene. Dream On This was Bowie's appearance on HBO's
successful sex series before Sex in the City, Dream On. Elephant Man, The David Bowie landed the role as John
Merrick, the Elephant Man, on Broadway. This was a major deal for Bowie, because he
was finally being taken seriously as an actor. The irony of the situation was when
he was performing on Broad way, just a few blocks away, John Lennon (one of Bowie's
freinds) was gunned down by Mark David Chapman. However, the original plan of
Chapman was that if Lennon did not appear that night, he would have returned to where the
Elephant Man was playing and would have shot David Bowie. That night Chapman was
going to kill a musical legend and he didn't care who. A real tragedy. Everybody Loves Sunshine Two toughs from the wrong side of the tracks in London, choose different paths when they are released from prison. The quiet Ray (Andrew Goth) wants out of the 'gangsta' life and into the local music scene with his pals, while his brash, emotional partner Terry (singer/songwriter/DJ Goldie) wants to dominate the city's criminal community. His strange fixation with Ray and his pathological need for respect that he cannot show to others in return, lead him to make some impulsive moves that result in violent death and tragedy for all concerned. Hunger, The This is the one with lesbianism,
David Bowie as a vampire, and Susan Sarandon in that unsuccessful cult film ('cause you
kow Rocky Horror is a classic). Catherine Denuve and David Bowie star as ages-old
vampires looking for new blood and companionship...and they find it in Susan
Sarandon. I personally have never seen it, but in a way I'm a bit curious, but then
again I'm not, 'cause I heard it's pretty bad. Il Mio West The idealistic lifestyle of a old West farmer Leonardo Pieracconi), his Indian wife Sandrine Holt), and half-breed son (Yudii Mercredi), who narrates the tale is disrupted when his father (Harvey Keitel), an old gunslinger shows up on the farm. Although looking to retire, the family is not happy with his return given his past lifestyle and mistreatment of his family. Things get worse when another gunfighter (David Bowie) shows up and terrorizes the town trying to force the father into a gun fight. Into the Night To be honest with you, there were
only two reasons why I watched this movie, it was a Sunday night on FX and David Bowie was
in it. I didn't pay much attention to the plot. Frankly, the most amusing
part was the character Bowie was playing. He's a British character (like Bowie), but
his nick name is The Frenchman. I just found that amusing. His whole job
within the movie is to try to kill Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfiefer. But he
fails...oh well, maybe next time. Just A Gigolo David Bowie plays a sort of innocent ne'er-do-well discharged from the German army after World War I and drifting through existence; he can't find anything to do with himself except hire himself out as a "gigolo" for rich, proto-Eurotrash war widows in ballrooms where they "dance to forget". Bowie's father is a once-domineering tyrant who has been silenced by a stroke. Bowie tries to break the news to him that he has descended so far as to play the gigolo, a betrayal of his father's macho ideals, but Dad only sits in stony silence -- a disturbing scene. Bowie plays a poor lost soul. As Western civilization decays all around him, a sinister character stalks him and tries to gain control over him; this bloke is vaguely homosexual (only suggested), and one of his lines is a real groaner of a double-entendre: "We will have you in the end!" Marlene Dietrich is the center of romantic gravity in this story; she sadly, sweetly tells Bowie the raison d'etre of forlorn women dancing with gigolos in the ballrooms -- the only way to assuage loss and stave off despair. Then she performs the song "Just a Gigolo", bringing out all the heartbreak from its depths. The end of the film is dark and truly chilling. Labyrinth David Bowie's most famous movie,
because, let's face it, he's singing and you gotta love the spandex pants, am I right
people? Let's set up the basics, David Bowie plays Jareth, King of the Goblins who
had fallen in love with Sarah (Jennifer Connelly Dark City, A Beautiful Mind).
By falling in love with her, he granted her one wish. Unknowingly, Sarah
wishes for the King of the Goblins to take her baby brother, Toby. After realizing
what she has done, she travels through the Labyrinth meeting all kinds of creatures to
save Toby by reaching the Goblin Castle within 13 hours. Phew! Sounds like a
lot of work to me! And it is. Personally if it was me, I'd be like, send back
my baby brother, and keep me here for all eternity. I'd be willing to "be with
him, love him, and do as he says so he'll be my slave." You better believe it!
Last Temptation of Christ, The The carpenter Jesus of Nazareth, tormented by the temptations of demons, the guilt of making crosses for the Romans, pity for men and the world, and the constant call of God, sets out to find what God wills for him. But as his mission nears fulfillment, he must face the greatest temptation: the normal life of a good man. Based, not on the Gospels, but on Nikos Kazantzakis' novel of the same name. Linguini Incident, The David Bowie plays Monte, a British
conman who makes a bet that if he can get married in a week to Rosanna Arquette, he can
receive his green card. Many saw this as a foolish movie without any form of plot.
Personally, perhaps that's why I'm so odd, but I enjoyed this movie. It's one
of those silly B romance comedies. But you add comedy, romance, and David
Bowie...that spells good fun had by all! *lol* Okay, so many didn't see it as
that entertaining but the cameo by Iman is worth it in my opinion. There's this one
scene in this movie where Rosanna Arquette asks, "Who wants to see me die in this
daring feat?" ('cause she's an escape artist) and Iman raises her hand. I just
found that laugh out loud funny. You gotta see it! Man Who Fell to Earth, The I have a feeling that this is a bit
of a prono in disguise. It's a very artistic film and I enjoyed it very much, but
some scenes felt like the director and actors said, "Hey, the cameras on and I'm
horney...let's go for it!" But the idea in and of itself is intriguing and the
visual displays are fascinating to me. Perhaps the few of you out there that haven't
seen it would enjoy it as much as I did or perhaps even more, but it's one of those mood
movies. You definitely have to be in the mood for it. It's very cool and I
enjoyed it a lot, so I recommend this one as well. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence In 1942 British soldier Jack Celliers comes to a japanese prison camp. The camp is run by Yonoi, who has a firm belief in discipline, honour and glory. In his view, the allied prisoners are cowards when they chose to surrender instead of commiting suicide. One of the prisoners, interpreter John Lawrence, tries to explain the japanese way of thinking, but is considered a traitor. Mr. Rice's Secret A terminally-ill boy's life is saved when his deceased 400-year-old friend, "Mr. Rice", leads him on a treasure hunt to find a magical "Potion of Life". Death is always a difficult subject to cover in the movies. Even more so when dealing with terminally ill children. Mr Rice's Secret succeeds in covering the issues in a sensitive but not mawkish way. Bowie gives a measured performance as the ancient mystic who befriends a young boy with Hodgkin's disease. The real star though is Bill Switzer, who excels as the boy fearing death who must learn to love life. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me This movie, oddly enough is based on
the life of Laura Palmer...we all remember her from Twin Peaks the series, right?
The whole big mystery was who killed her, and all the wacky people and strange happenings
that were involved (including David Duchovny in drag but that's another story for another
time). I'm not quite sure what role David Bowie actually had within the movie, but
he had a fairly predominant role because he's high on the credit list...so that's my next
task...to go check that one out. Yellowbeard Yellowbeard, a pirate's pirate, is allowed to escape from prison to lead the authorities to his treasure. He finds that his wife neglected to tell him that he now has a son, 20, and shame of shame, an intellectual. The British Navy, Yellowbeard, his son, and members of Yellowbeard's old crew all go after the treasure. Bowie is uncredited in this film, but he is THE SHARK. Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture I actually own this on DVD.
It's one of David's live performances from 1972. It's very good because you get a
feeling for what it was like to actually be in the audience to whitness a David Bowie
performance. He performs some really good songs and he's always entertaining.
He's a fantastic live performer and I think this "movie" captures it very well.
It's a must watch if not a must buy for any David Bowie fan. Zoolander Male supermodel Derek Zoolander is on his way down after three years of continuously winning the "Male Model of the Year" award. When he is beaten by the hot newcomer Hansel, Derek starts searching for a new meaning in his life. Just then fashion czar Mugatu offers Derek a comeback in his new "Derelicte"-line. What nobody suspected is that Mugatu plans to assassinate the new Malaysian Prime Minister on his visit to New York, so that cheap child labor is still available for Mugatu's fashion producing. By brainwashing Zoolander, Mugatu and his evil associate Katinka create a dumb and willing killer to do the job. Only in Time Magazine journalist Matilda suspicion arises slowly, and she tries to stop Derek. David Bowie is the judge for the Walk-Off between Derek and Hansel. Highly amusing. I would buy the movie for just $5 because Bowie is in it. |
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This is
the page for David Bowie's movies, television appearances, and plays that he's acted
in. That's what I love about Bowie...he does so much. His acting, in my
opinion, is just as good as his music. 