• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, April 27, 2023

David Bowie gets a magical, mystical documentary this weekend on HBO that combines his art and philosophy into a portrait of the real man without resorting to linear, chronological storytelling.

Not that telling his life story chronologically would have been such a bad thing. But the impression gained from the documentary is that Bowie’s life and art were anything but linear.

Is it any wonder? Performer, futurist, gender bender, cultural observer and pop artist are just some of the labels that can be attached to Bowie, who was all of them and more.

The new documentary is titled “Moonage Daydream” after one of the songs on his 1972 album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.” “Freak out in a moonage daydream,” went the song’s refrain.

It was just like Bowie to coin a word like “moonage” during a period of technological advancement known to everybody else as “space age.”

As this documentary demonstrates, he was that kind of thinker -- always a step ahead in his consideration of the world around him. 

Men had walked on the moon five times by the time “Ziggy Stardust” was released in June 1972. To Bowie, that meant the world was in a post-Space Age period. It was now the Moonage, which is how he chose to spell it.

The documentary was directed by Brett Morgen, who “in 2018 [was] granted unprecedented access to Bowie’s archives encompassing a lifetime of materials, including an extensive catalog of unseen footage and personal collection of his own art and poetry,” said a press release from HBO.

“[Morgen] spent four years assembling the film and another 18 months designing the soundscape, animations, and color palette while working with Bowie’s long-time collaborator, friend, and music producer Tony Visconti, as well as sound mixer Paul Massey [Oscar winner for “Bohemian Rhapsody”].

The film is by no means a comprehensive compendium of Bowie hits. In fact, most of his best-known songs are missing. But clearly, assembling a greatest-hits documentary was not the point here.

The voice of Bowie is heard throughout. He talks about the many guises he adopted over the course of his life and career. He talks about spirituality, citing philosophies ranging from Buddhism to Nietzsche.

When he talks about the nature of our chaotic world and our materialistic culture, he does so without rancor. Indeed, the world fascinates and amuses him.

A simple statement he makes at one point in the film seems to sum up his world view. Says he, “Everything is rubbish and all rubbish is wonderful.”

“Moonage Daydream” premieres on Saturday (April 29) at 8 p.m. Eastern on HBO and streaming on HBO Max.