This book constitutes the first monograph dedicated to an academic analysis of David Bowie's appearances in film. Through close textual analysis together with production and reception histories, Bowie's 'silver screen' career is explored in full. The book covers performance documentaries such asZiggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, star vehicles ranging from the eulogisedThe Man Who Fell to Earth to the excoriatedJust a Gigolo, plus roles from the horror chic ofThe Hunger and cult fantasy ofLabyrinthto the valiant high-browBaal and vainglorious high-budgetAbsolute Beginners, ending with Bowie as Bowie inBandslam and others as 'Bowie' inVelvet Goldmine andStardust. Alongside showing his willingness to experiment (and at times fail) across a variety of genres, this study investigates Bowie's performative style that, while struggling to accommodate the requirements of cinematic realism, fits more harmoniously with alternative production codes and aesthetics. More broadly, by exploring the commercial, socio-cultural and ideological significance of Bowie on film, the book demonstrates how notions of gender, sexuality and identity formation, plus commodity and cultural capital, function and fluctuate in contemporary society.

Stephen Glynn lectures in Film and Television at De Montfort University, UK. His previous investigations of the connections between pop music and film includeThe British Pop Music Film(Palgrave, 2013) andThe Beatles and Film (2021).