US Edition50 Years Ago, An Enigmatic Sci-Fi Film Prompted a Rock Star’s Reinvention
Bowie’s role as an alien in a sci-fi film inspired his 1976 album Low, marking a key artistic reinvention after retiring Ziggy Stardust, critics say.
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50 Years Ago, An Enigmatic Sci-Fi Film Prompted a Rock Star’s Reinvention
Screen Archives/Moviepix/Getty ImagesDavid Bowie always had an otherworldly quality, even when he wasn’t staying up all night playing with synthesizers and living off of a diet of green peppers and whole milk. When he was, the effect created by his long, thin limbs, white skin, and one eye permanently dilated from a childhood accident — contrary to popular belief, Bowie did not have heterochromia — was downright alien. That made the chameleonic …
50 years ago, David Bowie made his movie debut with a trippy sci-fi epic that broke all the rules
There are plenty of options for a pop star looking to transition into cinema. They can take a campy part in a silly movie that winks at their celebrity, as Lady Gaga did in Machete Kills; a music-centric role that shows off their day-job skills in a different context, as Gaga did in A Star Is Born and the Joker sequel;, or a character that pivots away from their pop persona and musicianship entirely, as Gaga did in House of Gucci. Beyonce has al…
In the mid-1970s, David Bowie was ready to retire from music and was looking for a new direction. His creative shift came at just the right time for director Nicolas Roeg, who was searching for his lead actor for a future cult classic. "I've got it. It's a dead end and boring," he said in 1975 with a shrug. "There will be no more rock 'n' roll records or tours from me. The last thing I want is to be a fucking useless rock singer." The musician's…
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