På denne langfredag kommer jeg til at tænke på, hvordan jeg for 30 år siden så Martin Scorceses film The Last Temptation of Christ (der aldrig har fået en dansk titel), der er bygget på Nikos Kazantzakis’ roman. Filmen var dengang meget kontroversiel, fordi den viser hvordan Jesus bliver fristet af djævelen og tilsyneladende giver efter for at stige ned af korset, blive gift med Maria Magdalene (!) og få børn. Filmens og romanens pointe er dog faktisk, at det netop ikke sker og at djævelen bliver besejret. Men det overså de kristne fundamentalister.

Det er i al fald en film, det er værd at se. Harvey Keitel er en overraskende velvalgt Judas. Men den store overraskelse for mig var at opdage, hvem der spillede Pontius Pilatus. Jeg forventede (og håbede vel også) at han ville sige, at we can be heroes, just for one day.

Lad os da endelig markere den store omrejsende David Bowie-udstillings åbning i Brooklyn, New York City i dag med en Bowie-post. En af de mest spændende og tilfredsstillende kunstneriske ting der sker omkring David Bowie i disse år, er Bowie-entusiasten Nacho’s uofficielle videoværker, hvor han – hovedsageligt via sin egen konto på YouTube – restaurerer og/eller skaber nye højkvalitets Bowie-videoer ud fra gamle optagelser. Her en imponerende net-doku han tilmed har lavet om David Bowie’s hovedfilm, Nicholas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell To Earth. Nacho’s egen introduktion til den følger under Vimeo-biografen her.

David Bowie is The Man Who Fell To Earth – 2017

This is a film about a film – Nic Roeg’s 1976 esoteric science fiction movie – The Man Who Fell to Earth. Roeg’s film has beguiled and baffled audiences since it’s release. It explores, often in abstraction and allegory, the themes of alienation, power, love, trust and betrayal.

David Bowie is The Man Who Fell To Earth is an attempt to partly explain the movie. And it is a look at the way the film came together and at Roeg’s working methods, and at the creative process itself. And because it is a film about the creative process, it was felt that it should also in itself, try to also be creative.

It is quite widely known that Bowie and his music were greatly influenced by Roeg and the time he spent working on the film. And so David Bowie is The Man Who Fell To Earth also tries to paint a small portrait of Bowie and his music during the era – from latter part of ’74 up to the January 1977 album, Low. Bowie also created music that was intended for the soundtrack to The Man Who Fell to Earth. Famously, it was never used and remains almost unheard to this day. However, parts of the unused music were later incorporated into his albums Station To Station and Low. And so, as part of the story telling in David Bowie is The Man Who Fell To Earth, some of Bowie’s music from those albums is used with re-edits of scenes from the movie, worked in with the interviews and commentary.

Whether or not David Bowie is The Man Who Fell To Earth is actually successful in these endeavors, you may judge for yourself. At the very least it is an hour in the brilliant and highly enjoyable company and art of Nic Roeg, David Bowie and Candy Clark.

Ja, formidable Harry Dean Stanton, der 91 år gammel døde i Californien i går, havde et udseende slet ikke ulig Henrik Hall. Han nåede som disciplineret arbejdnarkoman at medvirke i intet mindre end 114 Hollywood-spillefilm – bla. The Wrong Man, How the West Was Won, In the Heat of the Night (nej, ikke Sandra-klassikeren), Cool Hand Luke, Kelly’s Heroes, Godfather II, kultklassikeren Repo Man, Paris, Texas, Wild at Heart, The Last Temptation of Christ, ja, selv Pretty in Pink –  samt et lignende antal TV-dramaer, senest vel David Lynch’s nye sæson af Twin Peaks – rest in peace, Repo Man!