Rating: 
Summary: Where Is The ENCORE ????????
Review: When I originally saw this concert on TV as a teen - it concluded with a blistering encore of Jean Genie by Mick Ronson assisted by his idol Jeff Beck. It looked like a scene orchestrated by Vince McMahon of wrestling fame with each of the guitar slingers firing blazing riffs back and forth at each other. Did Bowie leave this off because of some kind of Beck-ola pay-ola? Did the amazing Ronson, like the lighters that bear his name, shine too brighty at the end of the concert? Only David knows for sure. There can be no conclusion to this show without that finale. Why reissue it yet still incomplete. Check your local boot-legger for this missing cherry. Deliberate omissions like this is why the fans deserve some kind legal swapping of discarded gems!
Rating: 
Summary: Watch That Man...Oh, Honey Watch That Man
Review: I recommend that you read the booklet that comes with this DVD. It documents the events leading up to the filming of Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture. Pennebaker almost never got to the show that night in 1973. That certainly would have been a shame. Thankfully, he DID make it there to film this historic event in Rock history. I am forever grateful.
This movie was available on VHS for a number of years, but on VHS, it was a blurry, noisy mess. Many critics shunned it for its poor quality. And because of its bootleg-like quality, it was never released to theatres. ...Fast-forward to the digital age. Through much love and hard work, Ziggy Stardust: The motion picture has now arrived on DVD in stellar form. The Special Edition contains completely remastered audio (remastered by Tony Visconti) and video. Gone are the grainy picture and the poor sound. The improvement in quality is incredible. I can't believe what has been accomplished here. This DVD is a delight to watch. I can't recommend it more. It's a must for any rock fan. A Definate must for any Bowie fan. Buy it while you can still find it.
I wasn't born when this historic concert took place. At 28 years of age, I missed out on the whole Ziggy era. It's a testament to Bowie's greatness that in those 28 years, I haven't seen anyone do it better. And without Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture, I wouldn't have got to see it at all. A+
Rating:
Summary: Pretty hilarious actually
Review: When this stuff was current, Bowie was the hottest, the coolest, the glam-est. Now it looks so dated, you laugh in an affectionate sort of way. It's a great memento of that era, but the video is so bad and the whole thing has such a cheesy feel that it's probably not something you'd come back to over and over. Still, it's good fun, and the hits of the day are there; it's worth a viewing or two.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty hilarious actually
Review: When this stuff was current, Bowie was the hottest, the coolest, the glam-est. Now it looks so dated, you laugh in an affectionate sort of way. It's a great memento of that era, but the sound and video are so bad and the whole thing has such a cheesy feel that it's probably not something you'd come back to over and over. Still, it's good fun, and the hits of the day are there; it's worth a viewing or two.
Rating:
Summary: CLASSIC
Review: Some reviewers here have complained that this (the DVD version) looks and sounds like trash. But since I like Bowie I bought it anyhow, expecting something no better than a bootleg. Well, I've seen plenty of bootlegs and this is nowhere near that poor. In fact, it's AMAZING. Yes, the sound quality isn't the best, but it's perfectly listenable. And, yes, the camerawork is a bit spasmodic and grainy, but that only adds to the gritty mood. Glam rock is SUPPOSED to be a bit trashy. If you want sleek, overproduced Bowie, then look elsewhere. But if you want Bowie at his best, then you can't miss this one. Watching this concert film you enter a ZONE and don't leave it till the end. This is Bowie at his best. Every now and then, Bowie flashes a killer smile, and that's because he knows he's onto something good. The music is some of the best rock ever recorded. The atmosphere is electric. Throughout the concert, Bowie is in THE ZONE, the audience is in THE ZONE -- and, if you don't expect polished concert footage, you will be, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Sound, Bad Picture
Review: D.A. Pennebaker's filming of the final concert by David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust incarnation is a great piece of rock history. Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars is considered to Mr. Bowie's masterpiece. Mr. Bowie not only created a classic album, but in adopting the androgynstic persona, he blurred the lines between male and female and spearheaded the glam rock movement. Unfortunately, this disk is a major disappointment from the visual side. The songs and performance are first rate, but the picture is horrible. The disk does not clean up the blemishes. It is grainy, blurry and just plain tough to look at. The camera work doesn't help matters either as Mr. Pennebaker keeps the camera locked on Mr. Bowie most of the time and many times in close-ups. This takes away from the full experience of the show. The producers did do a great job in remixing the sound and the 5.1 Surround Sound mode is clean and clear. You are better off buying the cd soundtrack version than the DVD. This is for diehard David Bowie fans only because of the atrocious picture quality not because of content.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Release, Ziggy Rules!
Review: This full package is just what you'd think it'd be - no surprises. It's done well. The picture is probably as good as it can get - being digitally mastered from 16MM film (which is not at all a favorite of mine). Sixteen Millimeter film tends to look grainy and blurry and it's shame now that this legendary musical performance didn't have a higher budget.The sound of the DVD is clear and strong. The best part for me was the commentary soundtrack by Tony Visconti and the director which is insightful; I learned a lot. The DVD also comes with a fold-up poster and mini booklet. It's a nice package for fans. I still claim that David Bowie's best LP is "The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" of 1972. He hit his peak early on, but the surprising thing is how he managed to maintain a vibrant, and always fascinating creative impulse for many years afterwards. Whereas most artists would have disappeared after Ziggy's pinnacle, Bowie quickly kept us thinking, and rethinking the whole while. In my opinion, this is David at his peak. See a truly historic Rock & Roll moment, captured on film forever, and now remastered on DVD for your home collection.
Rating:
Summary: At last, a stellar sound mix pushes this movie up to 5 stars
Review: For years the concert film "Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From
Mars" was infamous for its grainy visual look and absolutely
abysmal sound mix, which was particularly bad on the first four
songs. Which was a shame, since the concert was clearly excellent, featuring Bowie at an early performing peak with his "Ziggy" concept. Now, at last, with this 2003 rerelease
the film has been given a just sound remix by DA Pennebaker, who
explains why the sound had always been so bad on previous
releases in the accompanying booklet. The difference between the old and new versions is literally night and day. Now the sound is spectacularly loud and clear,
in 5.1 surround--I never knew it would *ever* sound this good.
This increases one's appreciation of the concert 500%, and shows The Spiders From Mars to have been a great backing group, with Ronson of course a particular delight on his solos for classics like "Moonage Daydream" and "Width Of A Circle". The entire
film is an homage to the glory days of glam-rock, when fanatical UK audiences would dress up in the glittery makeup and outfits of their rock idols and act out each line of the song
with them; the audience is truly a sensational thing to behold
in this film, as they seem completely mesmerized, almost as if they were under hypnosis (on the other hand, Angie Bowie's brief
cameo at the beginning shows her to have been a supremely
superficial, self-serving and annoying presence!). Every song is a classic, with some like "All The Young Dudes", "My Death" and "White Light/White Heat" that never made it onto a Bowie studio album, and others like the climactic "Width Of A Circle" that were greatly expanded. Bowie's androgynous outer-space image--replete with lightning-quick costume changes and some lurid interplay between himself
and Ronson (kneeling and licking the guitar during a solo, and so forth) was a phenomenon at the time and still pretty legendary, although in actuality the spectacle was relatively
modest compared to the concurrent antics of Alice Cooper or
Gabriel-era Genesis. But it is the audience which probably lingers on the most after every viewing--the like of which has never been seen since. The film also comes with a bonus poster, although personally I would've taken it without, at a lower price.
Rating: 
Summary: Where in the world is the original mix?
Review: I have not seen nor heard the DVD release of this work but I have the VHS version. What a terrible injustice to the concert! I remember watching the concert on "In Concert" way back in the 70's. I even audio taped it on cassett, as it was aired on radio at the same time. No, the stupid echo effects were not on that version, Mick Ronson's guitar work (I miss that guy), was in front and smokin'! Who thought of mixing Ronson's ax just about out of the concert in the first place. To top it all off, Jeff Beck came out near the end of the show and played Jean Jeanie with the band An unbelivable walk on, just blew the roof off the place, you would never know it though since it is left off all video productions.
Does anyone know when the REAL VERSION (What was released for the "In Concert" show on ABC) production would come out. It must be somewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Glam rock rocked
Review: an electrifying performance that includes the wonderful zaniness of the seventies as experienced through the mind and music of one of its foremost innovators. This is true edginess, before the days of corporate driven rock. This is cutting edge work from poets, musicians and filmmakers who risked alot to do the work they knew mattered. An obvious classic thirty something years on...
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