Absolute Beginners

What a Corker of a movie which moves at a lightning pace of youth in the 1950's based on the youth culture book by Colin McInnes. We see the birth of the teenager in Britain wiping away the grey cobwebs of post war Britain and revitalising it with a kaleidoscope of colour. Eddie O'Donnell is the spunky immaculately dressed hedonist who wants to dance and carouse the night away in Swinging London and Patsy Kensit's film debut is superb as Colin'ns(O'Donnel's) sex kitten who's a real temptress. The music score is excellent which interwines with the plot very well and some of London's well known honey pots are featured, like The Wag Club which is sadly no more. Ray Davies actually appears in the film, as does David Bowie and Sade.Not forgetting the great songs by The Style Council and Smiley Culture with an underlying jazz groove by Gil Evans. The Introduction to this movie is one of the best ever and features a cast of thousands. Congratulations Julian Temple on this aesthetic musical delight.

Julien Temple's extravagant musical adaptation of the classic Colin MacInnes novel never reached the audience it deserved, but it could be that filmgoers of the 1980's weren't ready for the breathless bravado of Temple's vision. A hyped-up take on the classic Freed Unit musicals at MGM, with a rock/jazz score featuring David Bowie, Sade, Gil Evans, Slim Gaillard and other notables, this movie is a visual feast and a treat for the ears as well.

Sadly, you have to hope for a theatrical screening to take in the extraordinary cinematography (there's an opening extended-take through the crowded streets of London that rivals the opening of "Touch of Evil" in complexity and beauty) because there has never been a letterbox release of the film on video or disc. Where's the DVD with a Temple commentary?

The main attraction here is the score, which features the title song and "That's Motivation," performed and composed by rock icon David Bowie, as well as his version of the classic "Volare." In addition, you get "Killer Blow" performed by Sade and jazz tunes by Charles Mingus and Miles Davis performed by Gil Evans. This movie makes you believe that is David Bowie had been performing in the 1930s he would have been a sensation then too.

A fun musical with a lot of energy and great acting, 'Absolute Beginners' will win a place in your heart. This is the sharpest I've seen Bowie in a film, and Patsy Kensit was beautiful as Suzette. A political piece as well as a time piece, Temple captured the feel of a Broadway or West End musical perfectly. A great turnaround for Temple, who really had me worried after directing 'Mantrap'. It is a musical, so liberties have to be allowed, but for fans of the musical this is a great one to check out. Rating: 27/40

when you remove aliens and flying space ships from battlefield earth and put god awful music scores and terrible acting in it what do you have? a stupid musical that stars david bowie and some other actors in it that do a terrible job of acting stupid and crummy in a musical that should have been called absolute bummed out.