Sound Opinions Brings You Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture

By Eric Hehr in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 15, 2012 4:00PM

On July 3, 1973, Ziggy Stardust announced to a sold-out crowd at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, “Not only is this the last show of the tour, but it’s the last show that we’ll ever do.” Directly after this vague statement, amongst a sea of confused audience chatter, The Spiders from Mars began playing the aptly placed last song of the evening, “Rock ‘n Roll Suicide.” When the band left the stage that night, they also left behind the apotheosis of glam rock, the poster child of early 70’s glitz and glamour, the biggest rock star of his time: Ziggy Stardust, otherwise known as David Bowie.

When the then 26-year-old David Bowie stepped onto the Hammersmith Odeon stage, very few people in his personal entourage were aware that he planned on killing off his eminently androgynous alter ego that night—in fact, the only member of the Spiders to know was guitarist Mick Ronson.

However, documentary filmmaker D.A Pennebaker, knew that the Hammersmith Odeon show would be the last sighting of the rock star from Mars. Sworn to secrecy by Bowie’s manager, Tony DeFries, Pennebaker assembled a small crew and shot the legendary night at the Hammersmith Odeon. The result, Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture has gone down in history as one of the best rock documentaries ever made.

While most of the performance sequences are out-of-focus, shaky, and generally murky, the most endearing aspect of Pennebaker’s documentary is the candid back stage footage that begins the film, which documents Bowie applying the necessary makeup and costumes to become Ziggy Stardust, receiving a mysterious letter through a telex (a form of typed communication that preceded faxes and e-mail), and having a conversation with his then-wife, Angie Bowie (who had somehow “developed” a British accent within the short span of two years), about how many Rolls Royces were parked outside.

On Thursday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m., Sound Opinions hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot will host a special screening of D.A Pennebaker’s Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture in honor of the concept album’s 40th anniversary at The Music Box Theatre. In typical DeRogatis and Kot fashion, there are sure to be some conflicting opinions about the film, as well as its iconic star. And while DeRogatis and Kot's editorial expositions to film screenings are always enlightening and amusing, the real reason to come to this event is to see David Bowie at the height of his career, retiring his most renowned alter ego, on the big screen.

Advance tickets are $9, WBEZ members enter code BOWIE for $1 discount, remaining tickets will be $10 at the door.