Bowie: The Man Who Changed the World (2016) User Reviews

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[StrictlyConfidential · 6/10 · 27 August 2018]

"The Man Who Changed The World" is yet another celebrity-documentary to be released in the wake of the tragic death of pop-idol, David Bowie in 2016.

There can be no denying that at the very pinnacle of his popularity - Bowie had a phenomenal influence (as had Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson) on the direction of pop music and on the contemporary fashions of his generation.

Through stills, interviews, and film clips (from various stages in Bowie's career) - "The Man Who Changed The World" offers the viewer a fond reminiscence of a dynamic individual who was greatly admired, emulated, and respected by millions of adoring fans from all across the face of this planet.

Interesting, but no Bowie music included and issues with volume fluctuations

[brettsanace · 5/10 · 29 May 2017]

The content was interesting and highlights how Bowie was always ahead of the trends in music creativity, fashion, and the ways in which the music industry operated, which explains how he got his reputation as a music genius and legend.

Do not watch this if you want to hear any of his recordings or see concert footage as there isn't any. Either the producers didn't want to fork out for the licensing fees or Bowie's estate did not give permission for their use.

The sound editing is pathetic with massive changes in volume throughout which is quite annoying.

It is these last two points that resulted in me only rating this documentary 5/10.

Strangely edited, with some interesting interviews and no Bowie music

[micke-bystrom · 4/10 · 12 July 2017]

If it hadn't been for a few good interviews with David, seemingly made by others in different times (plus an odd phone video that is nevertheless quite interesting) this almost tabloid style tale of David Bowie's life wouldn't have been worth watching and certainly isn't worthy for such a great and unique artist like David Bowie.

Some people from Bowie's life tell a few stories, but the life story that this film attempts to illuminate is sketchy and jumpy, which is only underlined by the interspersed still photos typically from the wrong era and usually the wrong video material for the events being presented and multiple times also being repeated for seemingly no good reason. It's like a film school project and I'm not sure Andersson is passing the exam either.

I hadn't seen much of this before, so found it somewhat interesting nevertheless, but the absence of any Bowie music made the experience very odd and the editing, well, it's not very good, is it?

It's intriguing

[Tommy-Iceman · 24 April 2019]

I am late to the party on this one, but this is the David Bowie story I didn't know. It's the young David Jones from Bromley, who was a singer looking for a personality, and spent his life trying to win his mother's approval. It follows his early career, a long apprenticeship in which he picks up the tricks that would make him famous. The dire mime days, the way he mimicked the style of Anthony Newley, and then got banned by the BBC. It took 11 years for him to achieve fame with Ziggy Stardust.

There a lot of voices fitted in here. The tender but candid recollections from Mary Finnegan and Dana Gillespie of their years with Bowie, and Russell Harty asking bizarre questions. Overall, it was pretty damn good.

One of the worst documentaries ever

[dierregi · 1/10 · 21 May 2017]

As a great fan and admirer of Bowie's career I was very much looking forward to watch this. Turns out that there is no Bowie music played - which for a documentary about a musician is absurd.

As if that is not enough, the narrative's pace is awful. Bowie's career was a long one and difficult to cover in a couple of hours, but the documentary offers only extensive coverage of the 60s, when Bowie struggled for years to get noticed.

Interviews are only with people who knew him at the beginning of his career. The last third of screen time is rushed to get through the "remaining" decades, while in the background, poor quality photos of Bowie flip and rotate, as if in an amateurish PowerPoint presentation.

Bits and pieces of interviews with Bowie himself are shown here and there, but nothing that cannot be found browsing Youtube.

What you get is: poor quality images, a handful of photos that rotate several times regardless of chronology, a few anecdotes of Bowie's youth and ZERO music. It is maddening having to listen to somebody mentioning Life on Mars? or Space Oddity and hearing instead some anonymous drumming in the soundtrack.

"I do the art, and then I try to sell it." - David Bowie

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 30 May 2017]

I was surprised at the low viewer rating for this documentary, but reading some of the writers here it's kind of understandable - there's not much David Bowie music in it. It's not something that really bothered me while watching because I picked up on a bunch of facts concerning Bowie that I never knew before, even though I've followed his music virtually from the beginning of his career. Like his older brother Terry being institutionalized for schizophrenia and eventually committing suicide, and Bowie's own belief in Roswell aliens which formed the basis of his early career, Ziggy Stardust persona.

That Bowie brought a theatricality and showmanship to music that didn't exist before goes without saying. Not only did he entertain, but he intrigued and provoked audiences as well, while totally obliterating accepted musical boundaries. With that, I found it interesting that an early influence on his career was Anthony Newley, the well regarded British singer and actor, who never achieved Bowie's sort of flamboyance, but did have an infectious energy and style while performing. I found that quite interesting.

Probably the one downside for this viewer that others have mentioned was the narrow scope of the film's focus. There was a heavy preponderance of things going on in the single year of 1969, the year when 'Space Oddity' hit the music charts. Almost the entire rest of Bowie's career is given fleeting mention, including collaborations with Marc Bolan and Mick Ronson, who helped him develop the androgynous look, blurring the lines of sexuality in his music.

I think if you read some of the harsher reviews for the documentary on this board you might be put off seeing the picture, but I think there's some value to it, for music and Bowie fans alike. If I had my preference, I would have liked to see and hear more music too, but there are plenty of other sources for that. Give this one a try and I'm sure you'll pick up some nuggets you didn't know about just as I did.

A Disjointed Mess

[guitarmanf · 2/10 · 17 May 2017]

I'm one of the biggest Bowie fans of all time. I've seen nearly every doc, read nearly every book, heard nearly every record, and seen nearly every interview. This film is hands down the most disjointed, incoherent piece of cringeworthy garbage I've ever seen related to the man (and that includes sitting through the 1987 Glass Spider concert film). One minute we're watching someone talk about Bowie Bonds, and the next scene we're hearing someone (poorly) narrate the background behind Young Americans and his collaboration with John Lennon on the track Fame.

There are only a handful of people interviewed for this film, and while they provide some interesting stories of him growing up, there is NO commentary from key characters in his life such as Tony Visconti, Brian Eno, Angie Bowie, Gail Ann Dorsey, Iman, among others. In fact, there isn't even any of Bowie's original music in this film (save for one or two brief clips of him performing on TV), which leaves the viewer with the impression that the director was not authorised to make this film.

The most enjoyable parts of this "documentary" are when David himself is interviewed, however all of these clips can be found on YouTube and various other online sources.

Overall, this is a film of such low quality that it appears to be made by a 6th grade student who just discovered a 2003 version of iMovie. I made an IMDb account ONLY for the purpose of writing this review, so I could warn any Bowie fans (or anyone who might be interested in getting to know more about him) to save your time and money by not watching this piece of trash.

A cheap and incompetent documentary

[JosiahSilas · 4/10 · 9 May 2018]

I had just finished reading "On Bowie" by Rob Sheffield, which was a touching a passionate tribute to the late singer. I thought that this documentary would be the perfect follow-up, providing a clear portrait of the man's life, art, and personality set against the social climate of the decades that saw his rise in popularity.

It absolutely wasn't. It was a directionless mess, with the sort of obnoxious narration and editing one might expect from a celebrity news program - phony, superficial, and without a clear vision or narrative driving it. You see the same pictures over and over again, the same interviews are sampled. It's an exercise in monotony.

You could easily complain about who wasn't interviewed for this documentary, but more egregious is the fact that the film couldn't even secure the rights to Bowie's music. Can you imagine a Jimi Hendrix movie that didn't feature his rendition of The Star Spangled Banner? Or a Prince movie where we don't hear "Kiss"?

And yet this movie references "Space Oddity" and "Fame" without a single note of these iconic songs. No clips of "The Man Who Fell To Earth", "Labyrinth", or any of his music videos. There is footage of his live performances with the audio removed because who wants to watch a movie about a singer and actually hear them sing?

This is a crass and tasteless movie that was clearly cobbled together after Bowie's death in an attempt to exploit his grieving fans. He deserved better. His fans deserve better.

Horrible sound mix, too much fluff.

[erik-783 · 4/10 · 28 May 2017]

Not enough real info about his music, writing process, inspiration, and how he created his music. Too much info about inconsequential things. The entire production was marred by a horrible sound mix that was constantly loud then soft with no consistency. The music that they put in made it sound like a cheap expose from TMZ, and it had no relationship to the wonderful music that he wrote.

Love you David Bowie!

[Mattyman7 · 8/10 · 25 May 2017]

I did it in two sittings. I enjoyed the style and looks of this movie. It brought me close to David Bowie. As a new fan, I learnt new stuff about him. This shows that he was quite a bit more than just a musician. He was so intelligent which comes across loads. The most outstanding parts were about when he was young. I didn't realize the scale of what he was doing in the early part of his career. He got booed off the stage as David Jones. Would've been top class if this had his songs but very good anyway

A Bowie Documentary - without any Bowie Music?

[ukstevenhawaii · 5/10 · 6 July 2017]

Very average. Some of the interviews were good but it jumped around too much and the constant segues into the same screenshots, showed it was made for US commercial TV breaks. Too much fluff and not enough filler - and how can you talk about this amazing music, without playing any of it? Oh, you didn't pay the rights to use the music perhaps?

Totally unsatisfying.

All The Not So Young Dudes

[aaronmorgan-28895 · 4 November 2016]

I'm a die-hard Bowie fan from before Ziggy Stardust. This new release confirmed my hopes & desires to see something different about Mr. Jones so I was pleasantly surprised. It may not be especially interesting to casual fans, but Bowie zealots will treasure these new interviews with friends who document the making of an icon. It examines how Bowie was responsible for pioneering the most groundbreaking fashion trends of the twentieth century. How he refused to conform to 'masculine' expectations and ended up changing the face of music. His shifting identities served a purpose, but even when all the "confusion" is stripped away, he still retained an enigmatic mystique. Sadly, there's no Bowie music in this, but it's well constructed and overall, the movie serves to help illuminate to Bowie fans on who the man really was.

Informative Yet Not Exciting; No Music

[iquine · 5/10 · 2 November 2017]

(Flash Review)

If you are a big Bowie fan and are interested in how he got started, gained his fame and to his death, this will be up your alley. The film goes into detail about his early years, various relationships, his impactful albums, how his personas changed over time, his smattering of acting roles and most interesting for me is how much control he had over the business side of his music and performances. This film didn't pay music royalties so there was no big songs interspersed yet there were a plethora of Bowie interviews. No special production creativity, thus this was a completely average documentary.

Should be called "How Not to Make a Documentary"

[thadirtydog · 3/10 · 21 May 2017]

I love David Bowie as an artist and visionary. The writer/director of this horrible documentary has painted the most dull and boring picture of a vibrant and exciting subject. It is almost a miracle to fail this badly. There is ZERO music of Bowie's in the film which leaves you feeling completely empty. The story telling drives you back and forth through time randomly so that a new fan of Bowie would be totally lost. All of the most important people in Bowie's life are nowhere to be seen in this disaster. There is no redeeming qualities other than the interviews of David himself.

A must-not-watch.

Bowie: The Man Who Changed the World. Really?

[dcarsonhagy · 3/10 · 22 September 2016]

You'd never know it from watching this. First and foremost, let me say that I was a huge fan of David Bowie. He was Lady Gaga before Lady Gaga, and was kinda out there before Elton John donned ridiculous costumes and minced across the stage.

However, this has to be the most BORING documentary I have ever tried to watch. I have tried THREE times and have yet to get through it because it is so boring. This documentary isn't really about his music. Oh, it kinda hits all around it and you get one or two SHORT samples at best. It simply is just interviews and the talking never stops. It starts with his childhood and bores you all the way to...well, I don't know. Like I said, I've never been able to finish it.

I don't think this is rated, but from what I saw there is nothing in it to offend. It remains the most boring attempt at a documentary I have ever seen.

Really awfull

[agmeeuwsen · 1/10 · 19 May 2018]

As a fan I'm aware I know more about Bowie than most but still: this documentary is so bad it should be banned. It 's a mess. it's uneven in any sense: the sound is bad, the quality of the images is uneven, The narrative goes back and forth an back again and forth again in time and in subject with no clue whatsoever what the makers are aiming for. There's no original music and none of the inner circle of Bowie has co-operated. They'd better had call the whole thing off.

Crash Course for the Ravers

[leerax · 9/10 · 19 May 2017]

Was always hypnotized by Bowie because he was different. Now the glitter has settled. The seasons have changed and returned. So many other dear ones have departed near and far. It's been a year without Bowie that kicked off when dozens of beloved musical icons died unexpectedly —Glenn Frey, Prince, Leonard Cohen and George Michael,to name a few.

Childhood pals Dana Gillespie and George Underwood talk about facets of David's early life. Enjoyed the older footage and stories on glam adventures on how Bowie made it.The stuff from his girlfriend Mary was cool. Friend Bob descriptions about Bowie being shunned in his early career was interesting too, "food for thought".

It ends with footage from his Brixton birthplace on the night he died, when thousands of fans, many wearing the Aladdin Sane stripe — gathered to mourn the hero. I went down there that night. It was both a stunned wake and a total celebration. Why this doesn't have any Bowie music- why? You won't see the great man's concerts but you will see interviews with friends close to the man you never saw before. In conclusion, is it worth watching? I'd have to say "yes".

There's a reason the narrator isn't credited

[sarah-927-728242 · 1/10 · 22 May 2017]

This 'documentary' is straight-up terrible. Couldn't manage to get through more than 25 minutes before realizing I'd learn more - and be more entertained - by watching random clips of Bowie interviews on YouTube.

The opening credits are your first clue the film will be terrible: The graphics look like something you did in iMovie, and then you find yourself wondering why a movie about David Bowie is starting without using a song by David Bowie.

About 10 minutes in, you realize: Whoever did this doc didn't have enough money to pay for the rights to any Bowie songs! So in a movie about a musical artist, there is NO MUSIC BY THAT ARTIST.

About 15 minutes in, you realize that none of the major players in Bowie's life will appear. Which isn't a surprise by this point, because any film that can't afford a single Bowie song probably has about as much chance as I do of scoring an interview with, say, Iman or Brian Eno or Mick Jagger.

At 20 minutes in, you start to notice that the image collages are starting to repeat over and over again, randomly. They aren't grouped chronologically or thematically - they just sort of fly by sometimes. And the constant sound level issues start to get extra annoying (why is the voice-over always mixed deep into the music bed?).

At 25 minutes, you check IMDb to see what rating this amateur-hour documentary got, and you realize that there is no credit for the narrator. Why? Either he didn't want his name associated with this, or he's the producer's next-door neighbour who agreed to do it for free. (I also find it interesting that the producer has buried HER credit after everyone else's. Is she hoping no one will associate her with this in future?)

Anyway, don't waste 25 minutes like I did. If you're interested in Bowie, find another source of info/footage.

Intimate portrait of Five Star Icon

[Sissy111 · 25 October 2016]

This well done documentary is very interesting. It does a lot to investigate how David Bowie struggled in his early years to become an icon of our times. It includes archive clips as well as interviews with those who worked with him, and clips of the man himself. If you know the broader strokes of Bowie's music through the 70's and into 80's pop stardom, there isn't much you won't have seen or heard but what fun to see this early footage of Bowie.... it gives you a real sense of the early life and creation that David Jones made which became the brand image and the many faces of 'David Bowie', and the innovations that made him unique. The man was a five- star icon.

Because there is so much to cover in such a varied artistic career it would be near on impossible to do justice to it all in a couple of hours and even though there is no musical performance at all this doc is really worth a watch to see some of the older footage and the new interviews with his friends and collaborators.

The man was savvy business whiz, back in 2013, he shocked us all with the release of The Next Day, his first album in a decade.. It might be said that the release of his final album just days before his death was the greatest publicity stunt in music. The young Mr. Jones probably never thought it would be like this when he recorded 'Over The Wall We Go' with Paul Nicholas, banned by the Britain's BBC nearly fifty years ago. We miss you David. Thanks for all you have done to uplift us and for being the soundtrack of our lives. There won't be another. Farewell sir.

Not worth watching

[jstoutemyer · 3/10 · 4 June 2017]

I thought this would be something very interesting and some of it was. What I found hard to believe was the complete omission of any actual music. I watched almost the entire documentary and did not hear one clip of any actual music. Why? It almost seemed like they weren't allowed to use any of the actual music he wrote and recorded or from the concert footage used. I've seen many documentaries such as this that include small clips of live shows, clips of the particular songs they're discussing etc., but this was completely devoid of anything like that. Could have been much more enjoyable. Mostly just pictures and concert footage with a bunch of blabbering.

Disappointing

[redsandro · 3/10 · 6 November 2018]

This is the most randomly thrown together mix of anti-chronological clips and mediocre interviews you can get while still being legally allowed to be called a documentary. It's tempting to rate it anything above 5 stars just because it's Bowie, but throughout the entire documentary you're wondering: When does the actual documentary start? Mainly and very importantly, it's because the documentary does not contain any David Bowie songs whatsoever. No rare performances. No bootlegged recordings. Not even soundbites for the songs they are discussing.

I am wondering if this was planned, or if they only discovered they had licensing issues after the video was ready and they decided to release it without the music.

If you are a Bowie fan please don't watch this, you'll waste your time

[lopezmelinal · 2/10 · 19 January 2018]

This is one of the worst documentaries I've ever seen. It doesn't make any sense, completely incoherent, very hard to follow. David Bowie was actually a man who change the world and this documentary has absolutely no prove of that! To start IT HAS NO BOWIE MUSIC! WHAT!? I was completely disappointed with this, I'm giving it 2 stars just because it's a Bowie documentary and it has some interviews with him (that you can easily find on youtube, by the way), but at least you can hear some interesting things coming from his mouth The rest is just disappointing

Misrepresentation

[mannly · 5/10 · 26 August 2018]

The most dull boring documentary of a superstar who was far from it! I found it monotonous and tedious to watch. A real shame. Even the voiceover is a lower tone than all the clips. Incredibly badly put together.

The man who changed everything

[jasonpetersettlen · 10/10 · 21 August 2017]

Bowie was the man who changed everything for me. I listened to his music on a loop. The early 70s was the start of my obsession with piling on make-up and reinventing myself. I identified with Bowie's twisted glamour. If you wanted to escape the dreariness of mainstream fashion, then Bowie was your man. Dressing up became a way of life for us. Even my straight friends with an ounce of imagination embraced their flamboyance, happy to be connected with Ziggy and his feminine side. This documentary really shows Bowie's genius and love of his craft. He turned lyrics upside down and inside out, right to the unfortunate end. Most interesting thing I took from it were the amazing background interviews and time warp interviews. Great documentary.

Nothing says great musician like an hour and a half without his music

[steventhomas42-1 · 1/10 · 4 August 2017]

I tried to like this documentary, truly I did, but after 45 minutes hearing Bowie sing 5 words (but getting nearly 2 minutes of Anthony Newley's talent), I gave up and found a sitcom.

Interviews with the guy he knew from primary school who injured his eye, the former lover who continued living in a flat with him and Angie, an old manager, a BBC personality: the list goes on. Maybe if they could have found the girl who swept up in the salon where he got his first haircut to round it out, I would have felt some connection to Bowie, but alas, not to be found! I love documentaries about musicians. This is more a documentary about a few people who knew a musician when he was young interspersed with old interview footage.

Bowie may have changed the world, but this documentary didn't.