David Bowie: Finding Fame

This doco about a rock superstar is quite slavish in unearthing interesting footage, people and music from David Bowie's early years in the business. It's fascinating to learn that Bowie spent years releasing quite pedestrian songs and playing at minor clubs and with obscure bands, before he was famous. Some of the songs are not very good at all Most other people probably would have given up and got a straight job. But as one friend says, Bowie always had a lot of self confidence. He doesn't come across as arrogant, though, just quietly determined. His love of experimenting with things like make/up and genres later perhaps made him more resilient in finding more fans, adapting to trends and setting him apart from other music acts. He was a sensitive boy from an average London suburb who rose to the top. He inspired a lot of people and according to this film, was a nice bloke, too.

David Jones, better known by his stage name David Bowie, is often considered the last word in cool, with his musical innovations, ambiguous sexuality, and varied constructed public personas. But an interesting feature of his early career was just how uncool it was. Bowie wanted to be a star, was interested in all forms of art, but as a performer, essentially made novelty records. Even his breakout hit, "Space Oddity", was really just one such novelty, albeit one he built upon (and even then not instantaneously) to provide the platform for his ultimate fame. This intriguing documentary gives us a glimpse of the young Bowie, ambitious but gauche, and scratching around as he tries to make a living on the outer fringes of the musical scene. It's interesting, even if you don't particularly appreciate his music: we often praise artists for being "authentic", and Bowie was authentic in the sense that he wanted to perform, but it's clear that we got from him were performances, and in the early cases, not very good ones. And in an age where stars are scouted, trained and marketed from earliest youth, it's intriguing to look back on a misfit's rather unlikely path to global fame.

Quite interesting and heartwarming! I didn't know so much of a lot stuff they talk about which is great and inspirational. I don't know why something like this would get hate, it is very intriguing. Glad this is available on showtime, it's not as bad as some say.

Arguably one of the best documentaries, on any subject, ever.

Rarely has there been an opportunity to enjoy journalistic work dig so deep and so unbiased. Completely mind blowing. No sensationalism, no flirting with the audience - just pure journalistic excellence. Francis Whateley I commend you; you are a scholar, a gentleman and an extraordinarily rare creature - a true journalist.

David Bowie: Finding Fame delves deep and shows much. It does so and presents, in earnest, what it finds. There is so "seducing the masses", no bias and no pointing of fingers. It is a delicacy of a documentary not only when it comes to documenting David Bowie's early career - but, also, in how any documentary should approach any subjec.

Looking next to the obvious and putting great effort in depicting the subtle truth restores faith in the documentary format.

This documentary is an easy look back into the life and artistic climb of David Bowie to the level of international fame.

It is informative without giving you too much information. Plus it is interesting in how it shows David Bowie and his focused artistic drive on is music dreams and how he made it all come true.

His personal life is left in the shadows and not dwelled upon.