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Just a Gigolo

Play trailer Poster for Just a Gigolo R 1978 1h 30m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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33% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 40% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A Prussian veteran (David Bowie) spurns his decadent sweetheart (Sydne Rome) and joins a gigolo ring in post-World War I Berlin.
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Just a Gigolo

Critics Reviews

View All (6) Critics Reviews
Eddie Harrison film-authority.com ...isn’t quite the disaster that was widely reported at the time; it’s a unique historical fiction that actually shows Bowie’s splintered identify to good effect...foreshadowing tropes explored in both the acting and musical career that followed…’ Rated: 3/5 Oct 29, 2023 Full Review Rob Schmieder Gay Community News (Boston) A stellar reason to see and enjoy Just a Gigolo : David Bowie. Aug 30, 2022 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Bowie is never less than stunning. Rated: THREE STARS Mar 6, 2022 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Lackluster writing and directing leave it operating only at a level of awkward embarrassment. Rated: 2/4 Jul 3, 2021 Full Review Brian Orndorf Blu-ray.com Strictly for film historians and Bowie fans curious to watch a feature he basically disowned. Rated: D Jun 23, 2021 Full Review Augusto Martínez Torres El Pais (Spain) A slow-paced movie whose story ends up being incomprehensible. [Full Review in Spanish] Aug 7, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (13) audience reviews
Eva D Not as bad as ppl make it seem especially for a movie that was pieced together and decently funny if you like Awkward humor and one of the weirdest movies I ever saw so it’s that at the very least Bowie 10/10 Story ?/10 Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/20/24 Full Review Paul M Bowie was a terrible fraud who knocked a couple of good tunes but drove a Volvo, kinda says it all. This film exposes what a class A bore, terrible actor, with an odd small boys body despite being 30 something. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/21/24 Full Review Audience Member If you want action and suspense, don't watch. If you want to see a film about the life people lived after a major war and about how a veteran can struggle to find a place in the aftermath of the war and go on with his life, then I'd say you should watch it. I liked the film because I found it exactly like I imagined the first years after World War I: chaos, a struggle to get by, a world turned upside down where nothing you used to know stands true anymore. It's a world where previously wealthy people would do almost everything now for a decent meal, where a pig is reason for envy because it means survival, where another mouth to feed is not welcome, even if that is your long lost child coming back from the war. It is a world where doing the lowest jobs has become perfectly acceptable and being a prostitute or a gigolo may still be frowned upon by some, but fills your pockets more than anything else. It is a world where a young officer from a good family and with good morals has to adapt or die. That's who Paul, the character played by David Bowie, is - a young and naïve officer who believed war was for glory and is now puzzled by the aftermath. His own family have lost their fortune and his former privileges don't stand anymore, so he has to earn a living although he has no training for doing any job. He takes what jobs he can find, he is even courted by the extremist groups on the rise at the moment, and he ends up being a gigolo. The film is pretty much a picaresque story in which the main character encounters various social groups and is eventually changed by his experiences. Gradually the naïve young man becomes more and more cynical and seems to start adapting to the situation even if this means throwing away everything he had considered respectable. The acting is good, the scenes look good, the music is good. Just don't expect it to be entertaining, because it is not, it is rather troubling, even if it attempts to have a bit of humor from time to time. Yes, Bowie and Sydne Rome are gorgeous and Marlene Dietrich is haunting in her last role. Bowie didn't like the movie, but Bowie was known for getting bored quickly so he may not have liked the filming process - yes, he had to carry a pig in his arms for many scenes, and he had to get inside a giant bottle, and he had to wonder aimlessly on the streets, and yes, we feel for him, it wasn't fun, but the film is not as bad as he said it was! It is interesting, actually, and Bowie did a good job with the character whether he liked it or not. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member cinegeek.de Our Daily Free Stream. David Bowie drehte während seiner Berlin Zeit nur einen Film: Schöner Gigolo, Armer Gigolo. Wir sehen Weltstars wie Curd Jürgens, Kim Novak und Marlene Dietrich in ihrem letzten Auftritt. Schöner Gigolo, Armer Gigolo zeigt das Berlin der 20er: Die Armut auf den Strassen, die Nachtclubs, gelköpfige Nazi Bösewichter und einen einsamen Helden. David Hemmings hat als Regisseur seine Stars einfach sich selbst überlassen. Curd Jürgens spielt mal wieder den Herrenmenschen und Sydne Rome ist dumm mit hübschen Glubschaugen. David Bowie ist der preussische Offizier Paul von Pryzgodski, der nach dem ersten Weltkrieg nach Berlin zurückkehrt, aber seine Heimat nicht mehr findet. Er spielt einen Gigolo und wird schliesslich von Nazis erschossen. Wir befinden uns in einem Szenario, dass aus einem Comic stammen könnte. Unter Tage arbeitet ein Nazi Oberst an der Auferstehung der arischen Rasse und hört dabei Wagner. Währenddessen lässt sich Gigolo Paul von einer Witwe am Sarg des Gatten verführen. Marlene Dietrich agiert als Chefin des Gigolo Service und darf sogar eine Nummer singen (über die wir aber besser schweigen wollen). Es muss als kuriose Entscheidung gelten, dass sie sich ausgerechnet David Hemmings Film nach 17 Jahren Leinwand Abstinenz ausgesucht hat. Trotz seiner offenkundigen Lächerlichkeit verrät der Film etwas über das Mauer Berlin des Jahres 1978: Der Senat stellte ungewöhnlich hohe Fördergelder zur Verfügung, um die Stadt wieder als Film Metropole zu etablieren. So addierte man Marlene und David Bowie für einen krachigen Flopp an den Kassen. Für Bowie ein weiteres Kostüm in seiner Karriere, für Marlene ein vergessener Abgang und für Berlin ein typischer Schildbürgerstreich. mehr auf cinegeek.de Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member ????? - ?????? ????????, ?????? ??? ????? ???, ??? ?????? - ???? ??????, ???????????, ????????? ?????????, ??????? ? ??????? ???????... ??? ?????? ?? ????, ??? ???????? ??????... ????? ????? ?????? ? ?????? ??????. ? ????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ????? ??????, ??????? ????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ? ?????????. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member has little to do with the song of same name Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Just a Gigolo

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A Prussian veteran (David Bowie) spurns his decadent sweetheart (Sydne Rome) and joins a gigolo ring in post-World War I Berlin.
Director
David Hemmings
Producer
Rolf Thiele
Screenwriter
Ennio De Concini, Joshua Sinclair, Julius Brammer, Irving Caesar
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 25, 2020
Runtime
1h 30m
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