The late and great David Bowie has a birthday coming up, and fans are in for real treat. Francis Whately is back to follow up his 2013 documentary, David Bowie: Five Years, with a new documentary titled, David Bowie: The Last Five Years. While the first documentary focused on Bowie’s earlier career in the 70s and 80s, this one will instead focus on the last years of his life.
Specifically, it will concentrate its attention on three of Bowie’s final projects: his albums The Next Day and Blackstar and his musical Lazarus. Bowie initially took break from the world of music in 2004 when he suffered a heart attack on stage. However, from early 2011 to early 2016, the musician returned to the scene like a twirling tornado, ready to sweep old and new fans into his vortex. Blackstar, which was released on Bowie’s 69th birthday (a mere two days before his death), was particularly successful. Bowie fuses jazz, pop and rock together create one of his most awarded albums. In 2017, Bowie posthumously won five grammy’s for the album in the categories of: Best Rock Performance, Best Alternative Music Album, Best Recording Package, Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and Best Rock Song.
The illuminating documentary gives fans an inside look into Bowie’s world through interviews with some of his top collaborators such as his producer Tony Visconti, his graphic designer Jonathan Barnbrook, music video director Johan Renck, Lazarus’s producer Robert Fox, and musicians and cast members who worked with him in his final years. The documentary showcases both notable live performances and fascinating music videos which showcased Bowie’s one-of-a-kind ability to transform himself into many different personas.
In addition to directing the documentary, Francis Whately produced it with the help of executive producer, Phil Dolling. The film was produced by BBC Film productions and will be released exclusively with HBO. Fans can check it out though HBO On Demand, HBO NOW, HBO GO and any other HBO affiliated sites. The film will be aired on Monday January 8th from 8:00 to 9:35 PM ET/PT. Be sure to tune in and honor Bowie’s 71st birthday.
Leave a Comment