Exactly 50 years to the date after David Bowie retired his beloved Ziggy Stardust character, digitally restored footage of the final performance is hitting the stage where it originally happened. On July 3rd, 2023, London’s Eventim Apollo Hammersmith is hosting a screening of the 1979 concert film Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture, now restored in 4K.
Known as the Odeon back in 1973, the Eventim Appolo Hammersmith will roll out the red carpet to commemorate Ziggy Stardust’s legacy, welcoming a fleet of some of his frequent collaborators and musical successors for an on-stage panel ahead of the screening.
The restoration of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture also contains famed guitarist Jeff Beck’s performance scenes, which were cut from its original iteration. Shot by filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker (Monterey Pop, Bob Dylan Don’t Look Back, Depeche Mode 101), the new version — complete with 5.1 sound — revitalized stellar onstage antics along with candid backstage moments of Bowie and The Spiders from Mars, plus a guest appearance from Ringo Starr.
In addition to the Eventim Appolo screening, simultaneous one-night-only screenings of the Q&A and the film will also go down on July 3rd in cinemas in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, and Australia. Screenings in Canada, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary will take place throughout July, while additional screenings will be announced in the US, Latin America, Asia, France, Spain, Belgium, and Scandinavia.
Tickets are on sale now for the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith red carpet on May 16th, with movie tickets available starting May 18th. Get details on all the announced screenings here, and see a trailer for the restoration below.
If you can’t make it to the theater, you can watch Brett Morgen’s 2022 Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream, which is now streaming on HBO Max.
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