Cracked Actor
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''Cracked Actor'' (or full title, ''Cracked Actor: A Film About David Bowie'') is a 1975 television
documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
about the musician
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, made by
Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (born 11 March 1947) is a BBC presenter and retired British television executive. He stepped down as Creative Director in December 2015, and was chairman of the board of trustees of the charity Kids Company from 2003 until its collap ...
for the BBC's ''
Omnibus Omnibus may refer to: Film and television * ''Omnibus'' (film) * Omnibus (broadcast), a compilation of Radio or TV episodes * ''Omnibus'' (UK TV series), an arts-based documentary programme * ''Omnibus'' (U.S. TV series), an educational progr ...
'' strand. It was first shown on
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
on 26 January 1975. It was filmed in 1974 when Bowie was struggling with
cocaine addiction Cocaine dependence is a neurological disorder that is characterized by withdrawal symptoms upon cessation from cocaine use. It also often coincides with cocaine addiction which is a biopsychosocial disorder characterized by persistent use of coc ...
, and the documentary has become notable for showing his mental state during this period.


Content

The documentary depicts Bowie on tour in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, using a mixture of documentary sequences filmed in limousines and hotels, and concert footage. Most of the concert footage was taken from a show at the Los Angeles
Universal Amphitheatre Universal Amphitheatre (later known as Gibson Amphitheatre) was an indoor amphitheatre located in Los Angeles, California within Universal City, California, Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a p ...
on 2 September 1974. There were also excerpts from
D. A. Pennebaker Donn Alan Pennebaker (; July 15, 1925 – August 1, 2019) was an American documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of direct cinema. Performing arts and politics were his primary subjects. In 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci ...
's concert film ''
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'') is the fifth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 16June 1972 in the United Kingdom through RCA Records. It was co-pr ...
'', which had been shot at London's
Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...
on 3 July 1973, as well as a few other performances from the tour. ''Cracked Actor'' is notable for being a source for footage of Bowie's ambitious
Diamond Dogs Tour The Diamond Dogs Tour was a concert tour by English singer-songwriter David Bowie in North America in 1974 to promote the studio album ''Diamond Dogs'' (1974). The first leg of the tour utilized a rock opera-style stage show format with multi ...
.


Production

The title of the documentary was originally to be ''The Collector'', after a comment that Bowie had made to interviewer
Russell Harty Frederic Russell Harty (5 September 1934 – 8 June 1988) was an English television presenter of arts programmes and chat shows. Early life Harty was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, the son of greengrocer Fred Harty, who ran a fruit-and-veget ...
the previous year, whereby he described himself as "a collector of accents". Yentob and his team were given the task of documenting Bowie's famous ''
Diamond Dogs ''Diamond Dogs'' is the eighth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 24 May 1974 through RCA Records. Bowie produced the album and recorded it in early 1974 at Olympic and Island Studios in London and Ludolph Studios i ...
'' tour, which was already underway when they started filming. Locations for the documentary mainly centred on Hollywood and Los Angeles, but there was also concert footage taken from Philadelphia. A number of performances from the tour were shown, including the songs "
Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album ''David Bowie''. After the commercial f ...
", "
Cracked Actor ''Cracked Actor'' (or full title, ''Cracked Actor: A Film About David Bowie'') is a 1975 television documentary film about the musician David Bowie, made by Alan Yentob for the BBC's ''Omnibus (UK TV series), Omnibus'' strand. It was first sho ...
", " Sweet Thing/Candidate", "
Moonage Daydream "Moonage Daydream" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally recorded in February 1971 at Radio Luxembourg's studios in London and released as a single by his short-lived band Arnold Corns in May 1971 on B&C Recor ...
", " The Width of a Circle", "
Aladdin Sane ''Aladdin Sane'' is the sixth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 20April 1973 through RCA Records. The follow-up to his breakthrough ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (1972), it was the fi ...
", "
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
", "
Diamond Dogs ''Diamond Dogs'' is the eighth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 24 May 1974 through RCA Records. Bowie produced the album and recorded it in early 1974 at Olympic and Island Studios in London and Ludolph Studios i ...
" and "
John, I'm Only Dancing (Again) "John, I'm Only Dancing" is a song by English musician David Bowie, originally released as a non-album single on 1 September 1972. A glam rock and R&B number, the lyrics describe a situation in which the narrator informs his lover not to ...
".


Legacy

The tour and film coincided with a prolific time in Bowie's recording and acting career. During the summer of 1974, Bowie started recording at Sigma Studios Philadelphia for what became the ''
Young Americans ''Young Americans'' is the ninth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 7March 1975 through RCA Records. The album marked a departure from the glam rock style of Bowie's previous albums, showcasing his interest in soul and ...
'' LP. After seeing an advanced screening of the film, director
Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg (; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing '' Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973), ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976 ...
immediately contacted Bowie to discuss ''
The Man Who Fell to Earth ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' is a 1976 British science fiction drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and written by Paul Mayersberg. Based on Walter Tevis's 1963 novel of the same name, the film follows an extraterrestrial (Thomas Jerome Newt ...
''. Photos from Bowie in the US in 1974 on tour and recording, of which some sequences can be seen in ''Cracked Actor'', have been used elsewhere, including the cover of ''
David Live ''David Live'' is the first official live album by English musician David Bowie, originally released through RCA Records in 1974. The album was recorded in July of that year, on the initial leg of Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour, at the Tower Theater ...
'' and inserts for the Rykodisc and anniversary booklets for the CD pressings of the LPs that include "Young Americans". Biographer
Nicholas Pegg Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, writer and director. Educated at Nottingham High School and graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Exeter, Pegg subsequently trained at the Guildford School of Acting. Acti ...
calls ''Cracked Actor'' "arguably the finest documentary made about David Bowie," while Paul Trynka considers it one of the greatest music documentaries ever made. In 1987, while working on his album ''
Never Let Me Down ''Never Let Me Down'' is the 17th studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 20 April 1987 through EMI America Records. After a series of miscellaneous projects, Bowie hoped to make his next record differently following his ...
'', Bowie reflected in an interview about his state of mind during the time the film was made: In 2013, Alan Yentob said of the film: "I'd caught him at what was an intensely creative time, but it was also physically and emotionally gruelling. Our encounters tended to take place in hotel rooms in the early hours of the morning or in snatched conversations in the back of limousines. He was fragile and exhausted but also prepared to open up and talk in a way he had never really done before."


Commercial status

The documentary remains officially unreleased, though there are bootleg video copies circulating as a result of the programme being shown again by the BBC in the early 1990s and more recently in 2007, 2008, and 2013.


References


Sources

* *


External links

* * {{Italic title 1975 films British documentary films BBC television documentaries Rockumentaries Documentary films about singers David Bowie 1975 documentary films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films