Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

Play trailer Poster for Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars PG Released Jan 1, 1983 1h 31m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
73% Tomatometer 41 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Documentarian D.A. Pennebaker focuses his lens on a 1973 concert by David Bowie, who performs under the moniker Ziggy Stardust with his glam-rock backing band, the Spiders From Mars. While some backstage footage of the theatrical singer-songwriter is featured, the majority of the film is devoted to the music played onstage, which includes hits, album cuts and covers of Rolling Stones and Velvet Underground songs. Bowie also shocks fans by announcing his intention to drop the Stardust persona.

Where to Watch

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

Critics Reviews

View All (41) Critics Reviews
Derek Malcolm Guardian The concert's the thing, and there we see this amazing phenomenon in full glory, prancing like some vaguely benign princeling at his hypnotised fellowers' behest. Aug 20, 2021 Full Review Gwilym Mumford Guardian The moment where Bowie announces that this is "the last show that we'll ever do", to the screams and groans of the audience (most of whom assumed it was he, not Ziggy, who was retiring) remains utterly bracing. Rated: 4/5 Mar 2, 2017 Full Review J. R. Jones Chicago Reader It's not clear whether Pennebaker understands what it's about-he can only grope for a visual equivalent with cliched shots of overwhelmed fans. Apr 14, 2016 Full Review Alejandro Alemán El Universal This document is a testament of the past, when things were done differently: The funny clothes, technical mishaps, AV effects and the fortunate non-existence of smartphones blocking the experience. [Full Review in Spanish] Apr 8, 2016 Full Review Alonso Díaz de la Vega El Universal This film is a piece of cultural memorabilia that, more so than capturing a significant concert, recreates what being David Bowie was at that time, and above all, looking at him. [Full Review in Spanish] Apr 6, 2016 Full Review Jennie Kermode Eye for Film Indisputably one of the greatest concert films ever made, DA Pennebaker's striking work captures those last moments onstage in all their glory. Rated: 5/5 Feb 22, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (101) audience reviews
OHK P Wonderful film dispite its age. Captures the moment in David Bowie history wonderfully. Also love the before concert and in between music parts Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/27/23 Full Review jack c To look at Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and be much too critical of it, and this is now four months since David Bowie left his corporeal form (has it been that long already?) is difficult. I know I can certainly nitpick certain things, mostly in the streak of the 'auteur'; given that this is DA Pennebaker, who also brought us basically the definitive Dylan doc from the era a decade before this, Don't Look Back, and the precursor to Woodstock in Monterey Pop, this isn't quite as superlative as those films as far as the Cinema Verite fly-on-the-wall approach. There's some behind the scenes stuff, but it's not terribly involving (aside from seeing Bowie's make-up put on to make him Ziggy) as the conversations seem muted and uninteresting (yes, even with Ringo backstage which seems a feat). BUT, and this is the big but here, I know deep down I don't care, at least as far as why I wanted to watch this again. And somehow, of all things, watching his life performance here of 'Space Oddity' finally made me cry. I don't know whether it would've brought me to tears (not for too long, just enough, and some of it was due to feeling a connection with the audience as a couple of people shown by Pennebaker's camera were also in tears), but it was in that moment it hit me: we won't get this again, not quite in this style, not quite in this style, not shot on such rough film and in such an atmosphere. Of course there are still provocateurs in rock/pop (Marilyn Manson on the heavier side, Lady Gaga on the more space-driven and sexual, if it can somehow get more sexual than Bowie), but Bowie was his own sound much as Tarantino was and is his own filmmaker: taking from various sources (rock, blues, glam from T-Rex, the avant-garde rock of Lou Reed, Iggy Pop to an extent) and making it his own giant and unmistakbale SOUND in full caps. And don't forget this is David Bowie as Ziggy friggin Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - including the practically incomparable guitarist Mick Ronson on guitar playing like he's ten years ahead of the fashion and heavy metal stars only still in his own class - and playing off of all the works he'd done up through the masterpiece Aladdin Sane. Here you get to see him perform many of his big hits (along with Oddity you get 'Changes' and 'Suffragette City' and his own rendition of 'All the Young Dudes' which he wrote), and Pennebaker and his crew are at times breathless to keep up and yet have enough cameras and sense to also get the crowd. The audience is a key part of this, even as at times it's hard to see all of them and the lights make it into its own stylized piece of filmmaking; they're often seen only briefly, and yet what we see is enough and, again, I think this helps to connect the audience watching the film further with the band. But for all the hits (and some covers, like 'White Light White Heat' and 'Let's Spend the Night Together'), the stand-outs here are the songs that people who only know Bowie from classic rock radio won't know as well. By the time that Bowie and the Spiders get to 'Time', which is more indebted to German lounge singing of the early 20th century (Threepenny Opera anyone?), the softer but incredibly incisive 'My Death', and a wild, possibly overlong but who the hell cares rendition of his most metal-ish song 'The Width of a Circle', he's on fire as a performer and totally in control of how he can command a stage and an audience. In other words it may not be the perfect rock documentary, hence why it's not the full top-star rating. But as far as performances by mega-stars in their prime, this is a keeper (and ironic that this was his "final" performance, of course just the beginning of the many many Bowies). And yet the tears I had briefly watching this and coming to grips after months of feeling numb to his loss were I think the fact that he'd still be iconic if all he left was this. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Saw this at the infamous Queen Theater back in the day. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Absolutely I love this film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member A landmark documentary about a landmark show. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Decent capture of David Bowie at his creative, flamboyant best. Good concert, and it's not all about Bowie. Mick Ronson's guitaring almost steals the show. Interesting behind-the-scenes footage adds a new, more personal, aspect to the live concert genre. Could have done with more of that though, as the behind-the-scenes stuff is fleeting, and sometimes seems token. Maybe some footage of practices and sound checks, or interviews with Bowie, would have been in order. Not perfect though. Production quality is quite raw and rough. Sound quality is variable. A must-see for all David Bowie fans. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

The Kids Are Alright 100% 88% The Kids Are Alright Watchlist The Song Remains the Same 75% 87% The Song Remains the Same Watchlist F for Fake 88% 88% F for Fake Watchlist Pumping Iron 92% 84% Pumping Iron Watchlist Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll 89% 95% Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Documentarian D.A. Pennebaker focuses his lens on a 1973 concert by David Bowie, who performs under the moniker Ziggy Stardust with his glam-rock backing band, the Spiders From Mars. While some backstage footage of the theatrical singer-songwriter is featured, the majority of the film is devoted to the music played onstage, which includes hits, album cuts and covers of Rolling Stones and Velvet Underground songs. Bowie also shocks fans by announcing his intention to drop the Stardust persona.
Director
D.A. Pennebaker
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Miramax Films, Pennebaker Productions, Mainman
Rating
PG
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 1, 1983, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Jul 9, 2023
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 24, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$162.5K
Runtime
1h 31m
Most Popular at Home Now