Sadly, it’s been almost a decade since the passing of the Thin White Duke. This documentary, which aired last night on Channel 4 in the UK, is a bit lopsided. Essentially, Bowie: The Final Act, directed by James Stiasny, initially comes across as a greatest hits of Bowie information, aiming for the gravitas and invention of the far superior Moonage Daydream. It falls short of that in the first half, as we know the well -aired anecdotes too well: transition from folkie to androgynous rock god, theatricality, bi-sexuality, yada yada.
Then it ignites, as the backlash against his nineties is explored. A Melody Maker butchering of his Tin Machine album made him cry. Reeves Gabrels, Tony Visconti and Earl Slick talk of how complex and rich their collaborations were. The run -up to his second legendary Glastonbury performance is insightful and deeply moving.
But most insightful and saddest of all are the accounts reflecting ‘The Next Day’ and ‘Blackstar’ recordings, the latter his swansong. Engineers and collaborators reminisce on his avoidance of talking chemotherapy, and instead of how he poured every last drop of himself into the work. He transcended death it seems, by staring it directly in the face, and he’s clearly still missed terribly by those who knew him briefly, such as writer/collaborator Hanif Kureshi, and Visconti, a long time friend, musician and producer. The actor was cracked here, and the real David Jones revealed. A lovely tribute, after a flawed first half. Rest in peace, beautiful David.
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