The memory of David Bowie seems to permeate throughout the increasingly divided world, bridging the ever-widening gaps in politics, agendas and personalities alike. His legacy is one that has transcended pop music and now acts as a touchstone for the global zeitgeist, as a cultural phenomenon. Now, with the blessing of his estate, the trailer for a forthcoming film titled; Moonage Daydream is set to etch his name in the annals of musical history.
The trailer comprises exclusive footage of Bowie from his Ziggy Stardust years up to his more contemporary looks and stage personas. With fantastic colours and intimate scenes of Bowie on and off stage, a quote describes the film as “An immersive cinematic experience”. A voiceover of the late artist reciting a passage from the 1998 film “Mr. Rice’s Secret” which he starred in, his all too familiar voice saying; “It’s what you do in life that’s important, not how much time you have.”. Feast your eyes on the trailer for Moonage Daydream down below:
The trailer coincides with the film’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and is set to be released in cinemas in September 2022 as well as the HBO and HBO max in the spring of 2023. Running for 140 minutes and featuring 48 newly remastered concert tracks, the film will include 35mm and 16mm footage from Bowie’s archives.
The mammoth task of directing such a film was taken on by Brett Morgen, who you may know from his 2015 film Montage Of Heck, a documentary concerning the life of the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. The film featured archival recordings and animated portions that detailed the Nirvana singer’s origins. The latest film was described here as; “neither documentary nor biography, but an immersive cinematic experience built, in part, upon thousands of hours of never before seen material.”
According to reports in Variety, the film’s score was handled by the music producer Tony Visconti. Visconti was a longtime collaborator of Bowie’s and produced some staples of his recorded music history, such as; Diamond Dogs, Young Americans, Low, “Heroes”, Lodger, Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps), Heathen, Reality, The Next Day and Blackstar.
Following the same report; “the Oscar-winning sound team behind “Bohemian Rhapsody” is also mixing and designing the project. Re-recording mixers are Oscar winner Paul Massey and David Giammarco (“Ford v Ferrari”), while the sound design team includes John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone, both of whom picked up Academy Awards for the Freddie Mercury biopic.”.
When asked about the reasons behind the lack of plans for a typical biopic picture, Bowie’s widow Iman explained; “It’s always a no. We always ask each other, ‘Would he do it?’ He wouldn’t,”
