D.A. Pennebaker’s 1973 concert movie Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was David Bowie’s first major appearance on film. It captured his final concert as his Ziggy Stardust persona, but it would hardly be the last time the musician appeared on the big screen as David Bowie. Certainly, the case can be made that all of Bowie’s film characters were indistinguishable from himself. He performed a concert in Christiane F., had a cameo in Zoolander, and made his final feature film appearance in 2009’s Bandslam (Bowie was a fan of director Todd Graff’s previous movie, Camp). Bowie’s most iconic performance as an extraterrestrial being in Nicolas Roeg’s 1976 film The Man Who Fell to Earth blurred the boundaries of his public image. The Hunger, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me also played upon his androgyny and alienness.
Earlier this week, website Open Culture introduced us to Posteritati, a New York poster gallery and digital archive of over 40,000 artworks from around the world. Gems include posters designed by artist Tadanori Yokoo (known as the “Japanese Andy Warhol”) and a fine selection of Czech New Wave one-sheets. But we were instantly drawn to the David Bowie gallery, which inspired us to search for other international posters featuring the Thin White Duke. The eclectic group of artworks reminds us that Bowie carved for himself an extraordinary narrative during his lifetime through such idiosyncratic, complex, and endearing characters.
The Man Who Fell to Earth, Argentina
The Man Who Fell to Earth, Japan
The Man Who Fell to Earth, Germany
The Linguini Incident, Spain
The Man Who Fell to Earth, Sweden
The Man Who Fell to Earth, UK
Into the Night, Japan
The Man Who Fell to Earth/Performance, Japan
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, Japan
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, France
The Hunger, France
The Hunger, Poland
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Germany
The Man Who Fell to Earth, Italy
Just a Gigolo, UK
Just a Gigolo, Italy
Just a Gigolo, France
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Italy
Christiane F., Belgium