Moonage Daydream is out in theaters worldwide and features never-before-seen footage of the renowned rock legend David Bowie, addressing his groundbreaking musical journey with stunning visuals and, of course, a remarkable soundtrack.
The documentary is one of the few movies that does justice to Bowie's iconic style, providing fans with bold imagery and vibrant sequences about the artist's life and career. Most importantly, it faithfully goes through the many phases of Bowie's musical transformations, from the iconic Ziggy Stardust to his sophisticated New Wave tendencies.
Where Are We Now - 13M
Bowie always had a tendency to embrace the strange and the unknown, turning it into a distinctive trait of his career. The music video for "Where Are We Now" represent these characteristics quite well and is arguably his most experimental clip.
Feeling like a lyrics video at times, the video uses keywords from the lyrics to capture the viewers' attention as two puppets sit next to each other, one with Bowie's face and the other with Jacqueline Humphries' face, an abstract painter whose works of art clearly inspired the aesthetic of the video.
The Stars Are Out Tonight - 15M Views
Highly artistic and counting on the legendary actress Tilda Swinton as a co-lead, the music video for "The Stars Are Out Tonight" is a music video that feels like a movie and showcases Bowie's great talent for acting, which explains why he participated in several movies and TV shows throughout his career.
The video gets as weird as a music video can be, escalating into total madness as Bowie and Swinton, a couple, try to cope with the arrival of strange visitors. It could have been easily directed by David Lynch and the references are clear; bodies moving and dancing in disturbing motions and unconventional cuts being used to cause a feeling of discomfort.
Valentine's Day - 18M Views
Few Bowie performances and videos showed him in such an honest, intimate state as the music video for the "Valentine's Day" video does. With incredible close-ups of his eyes intercalated with his forthright sole performance in an abandoned building, the video intends to bring the viewers close to the artist, almost like Bowie is in front of them, singing directly to them.
Taking the lyrics into , the song does feel like a heart-to-heart conversation, and the music video captures that at ease while also inviting fans to come closer and contemplate Bowie's new style.
Modern Love - 22M Views
One of the most vibrant Bowie songs, "Modern Love" is the kind of tune that automatically prompts listeners to dance away. The s Ha, for example, where a scene features the protagonist energetically dancing through the streets at the sound of the song.
The music video captures this urge to dance, showing Bowie and his band in high-spirited synchrony and energy that could light up an entire city.
Heroes - 27M Views
Arguably Bowie's most popular song, "Heroes" is an absolute classic that continues to resonate with audiences of all ages and reproduced by several other talented artists, such as Coldplay recently.
While every rock fan is familiar with the big hit, the music video isn't one of the most famous, probably because of the low quality and how simple it looks. Some might find it uninteresting, even, but Bowie's hypnotic performance is brilliant as always and fans can see in his powerful stare how much he believes in the lyrics he's singing.
Let's Dance - 34M Views
The opening shot of the "Let's Dance" music video introduces a remote bar in the middle of nowhere, where Bowie and a cello player perform their song as a small audience reacts energetically to it. What starts off as a typical music video quickly gives way to an honest depiction of love, family, and hard work.
Different from what the title of the song implies, this tune is actually about keeping the head up and face changes, something the music video manages to deliver perfectly and apply to a relevant political commentary about Australia's Aboriginal people, conducting the discussion through gestures of affection between family and incredible Australian natural landscapes in contrast with the busy urban environment.
Life On Mars - 39M Views
In the peak of the most ambitious part of his career, David Bowie gave life to the iconic Ziggy Stardust and addressed otherworldly themes such as life on other planets, the absurdity of life, and the downfall of humanity, with highly existential lyrics and exuberant looks designed to be weird and clash with what's considered ordinary, or even real.
The "Life On Mars" music video manages to deal with all of those ambitious themes in a very simple way: the whole video is Ziggy performing the song, and while one could say there's nothing truly remarkable about it, the exaggerated makeup practically blends Bowie's face into the white background behind him, causing the many close-ups to distort the "human" body. In the end, the video is basically Ziggy's confession about the atrocities he's seen on Earth, and how he wishes to fade away.
Blackstar - 48M Views
One of his final singles, "Blackstar" earned Bowie a Best Rock Song Grammy and came with a 10-minute-long video illustrating the enigmatic lyrics of the song. Eerie and bleak, the video is an absolute delirium and leaves room for plenty of interpretation, but arguably presents a celebration of grief, either mourning a person, a concept, or the ing of an era.
The video calls back to the creepiest music videos from back in the '90s, in a way every single frame looks somewhat unnatural. The dances, the performance, and the dark visuals evoke an almost religious ritual, with Bowie in the center of everything as an agent of chaos.
Lazarus - 61M Views
"Lazarus" caused real buzz back when it came out because David Bowie ed away just a few days after the video was ed. The video features Bowie hallucinating while lying in a hospital bed, unleashing another version of himself in the room; a smiley, dancing Bowie who seems to represent the artist's longing for his younger years.
Regardless of the talk about whether the video is a death omen or not, it can be appreciated as a breathtaking ode to the happy years of not only Bowie but anyone's life. On the other hand, the video depicts a melancholic look at the idyllic dreams of a dying legend in his final moments, beautifully performed by Bowie himself, also a great actor who appeared in several movies and TV shows.
Space Oddity - 103M Views
Arguably one of Bowie's most disruptive songs, "Space Oddity" summarizes everything the artist has built in his career in of originality and absurdity. Otherworldly and charmingly weird, the music video features Bowie performing the song on his guitar in saturated red light and in between fluctuating waveforms and psychedelic visions.
If there's one thing the video does best is capture the sense of urgency the lyrics evoke, g something's gone wrong as, almost ironically, Bowie sits calmly and performs the song.
