Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars - The Motion Picture (50th Anniversary Ed.)

[MifuneFan]

Rhino Entertainment will be releasing Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture (1973) on Blu-ray for its 50th Anniversary on August 11th. This will be a 3-disc set, with the Blu-ray of the film, plus 2 CD's (full track listing below)

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture Blu-ray

https://store.davidbowie.com/product...mtemail_950828

While Bowie's decision to retire his beloved extra-terrestrial rockstar persona and to dissolve The Spiders From Mars was a shock to fans (and to the band as well!), it was a pivotal moment in securing his future. Moving past Ziggy was a crucial early step on Bowie's journey to becoming the restless, inquisitive and shape-shifting artist that would have unparalleled influence on music, film, fashion and beyond. In addition to providing the template for '70s glam rock, the impact of Ziggy Stardust's brief existence remains widespread across popular culture, having inspired artistic and ideological freedoms that are still being enjoyed by musicians and the wider creative community today.

The band's performance on July 3, 1973, was captured on film by award-winning director DA Pennebaker (famed for Dylan's classic '67 doc, Don't Look Back) and released under the title of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture.

A new version of the film is now ready to be screened to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of Bowie's bravest and most celebrated moments.

The new version of the film features:

• The full uncut performance featuring seldom seen scenes with the legendary guitar player Jeff Beck not included on previous DVD and soundtrack releases, including his high-octane performance on Bowie's anthemic 1972 hit, The Jean Genie
• A fully restored, 4K visual mix overseen by DA Pennebaker's son, Frazer, and Chris Hegedus
• A 5.1 mix undertaken by producer Tony Visconti
• An extended running time of one hour and 42 minutes

A film that focuses on the adoration of Bowie fans and which captures David onstage and in his dressing room prior to the show, this anniversary edition of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture is the closest audiences will come to being there on that unforgettable night 50 years ago.

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust: The Global Premiere - YouTube

Blu-Ray:

1. Opening Credits/Introduction
2. Hang On To Yourself
3. Ziggy Stardust
4. Watch That Man
5. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
6. All The Young Dudes
7. Oh! You Pretty Things
8. Moonage Daydream
9. Changes
10.Space Oddity
11. My Death
12. Cracked Actor
13. Time
14. Width Of A Circle
15. Band Introduction
16. Let’s Spend The Night Together
17. Suffragette City
18. White Light White Heat
19. Medley: The Jean Genie / Love Me Do / The Jean Genie (feat. Jeff Beck)
20. Round And Round (feat. Jeff Beck)
21. Farewell Speech
22. Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide
23. End Credits

Tracklist:

CD 1

Part 1 Introduction (Incorporating: Beethoven Ninth Symphony (Arranged and Performed by Wendy Carlos)
Hang On To Yourself
Ziggy Stardust
Watch That Man
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
All The Young Dudes
Oh! You Pretty Things
Moonage Daydream
Changes
Space Oddity
My Death

CD 2

Part 2 Introduction (Incorporating: The William Tell Overture by Rossini) (Arranged and Performed by Wendy Carlos)
Cracked Actor
Time
The Width Of A Circle
Let’s Spend The Night Together
Suffragette City
White Light/White Heat
Medley: The Jean Genie / Love Me Do / The Jean Genie (feat. Jeff Beck)
Round And Round (feat. Jeff Beck)
Farewell Speech
Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide (Finale: Pomp and Circumstance by Edward Elgar)

[Gacivory]

Interesting! Says 3 discs. I wonder if the soundtrack is included.

[Walter Kafka]

It's cool that they're including the missing scenes. This film has always had a "raw" look.

[MifuneFan]

Pic of the set now up at Amazon. I assume the ratings logo won't be on the US release.

[SamuelTurn]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Pic of the set now up at Amazon. I assume the ratings logo won't be on the US release.

According to the official Bowie Twitter account (https://twitter.com/DavidBowieReal/s...554077184?s=20) the BD will be All Region. I’m guessing the rating is on there because it’ll probably be on store shelves in the UK and they require the BBFC sticker on the front packaging. I hope it’s on a J-Card or just on the shrinkwrap.

[CelestialAgent]

No mention of the Pennebaker/Visconti commentary from the DVD?

[Rayjg]

Do the CDs add any new tracks in comparison to the CD set from a few years ago in a hardbox? If not I just might wait for a Blu-ray only release.

[BlueRagtop]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

Do the CDs add any new tracks in comparison to the CD set from a few years ago in a hardbox?

I don't know the specific set you're referring to, but I believe this is the first time the Jeff Beck tracks (Jean Genie/Love Me Do and Round and Round) have been available on digital disc. (Jean Genie/Love Me Do did, however, appear on bootleg vinyl way back in the day. It's in my collection.)

[cupboy]

... I’m guessing the rating is on there because it’ll probably be on store shelves in the UK and they require the BBFC sticker on the front packaging. I hope it’s on a J-Card or just on the shrinkwrap.

Nope. It's printed right on there for everybody to enjoy. It's also on the Blu-ray disc.

Would they have an option to just use a sticker? Maybe stickers aren't allowed. Someone could remove a sticker endangering children and ruining their lives.

[ParanormonWisdom]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Pic of the set now up at Amazon. I assume the ratings logo won't be on the US release.

Rated 12 for one use of the word "wanking"

Pathetic that the UK government changed the law so that any documentary that potentially may be above a PG needs to be rated by the BBFC, I mean is anyone going to be upset or corrupted by one moderate swear word? Especially as the uncut theatrical cut seemed to turn up every year or so as early evening filler on BBC2 back in the late 80s.

I'll probably buy and enjoy this but even watching it on TV as a kid I do remember thinking how poorly shot it was, what with the endless static tightly framed close ups. It'll be interesting to revisit this in HD.

[Gacivory]

Link to the Bowie site. It’s a Blu-Ray & 2 CD soundtrack!

https://store.davidbowie.com/product...mtemail_950828

[bigshot]

I always thought that film didn't look much better than a VHS tape. Now it's on blu-ray in a 4k restoration. OK.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by bigshot

I always thought that ilm didn't look much better than a VHS tape. Now it's on blu-ray in a 4k restoration. OK.

16mm restored will always look better than a VHS tape, but maybe that’s just me.

[agentalbert]

Originally Posted by bigshot

I always thought that film didn't look much better than a VHS tape. Now it's on blu-ray in a 4k restoration. OK.

I agree. It looks like ass. And I seem to remember hating the way it was shot, like it was all closeups and you never got any sense of the stage or anyone but Bowie.

[Atomobile]

I just watched this in a movie theater last week. This looks amazing! I've never seen it look this good and didn't think it was possible to improve. The soundtrack, on the other hand sounds incredible! They must have had multitracks or something, because it sounded so good cranked up in the theater, like it was recorded yesterday! I can't wait to get this set. Hopefully cheaper than the current $50...

[bigshot]

This wasn't very well lit and photographed. 4K won't help that.

[MifuneFan]

Even from the trailer video I posted above, it looks much clearer, and more detailed than previous iterations. This will also be the complete film for the first time, so that's also a big plus.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Even from the trailer video I posted above, it looks much clearer, and more detailed than previous iterations. This will also be the complete film for the first time, so that's also big plus.

I’ve never had a problem with previous Pennebaker restored films. I guess i just like 16mm.

[iaragorn1]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

I’ve never had a problem with previous Pennebaker restored films. I guess i just like 16mm.

Your post reminded me that Pennebaker also did Depeche Mode 101.

The review here says that though IMDB says that 101 was shot 35mm it seemed more like 16mm. Take that how you want but they gave 101 4 stars for video.

[iaragorn1]

Off the top of my head, The Hills have Eyes was an Arrow 4k release derived from the best 16mm reels that they could find and it looks pretty good. Just because it's 16mm doesn't mean it is DVD NTSC terrible.

It won't look like it was shot on digital or with 35mm but it will miles better than what has been out there. The caveat of course is that they completely screw this up but the promo vid looks good