The documentary includes a lot of David Bowie's unpublished personal material, including photos, home videos and some interviews on TV. Director Brett Morgen talked in person with Bowie's widow, top model Iman, for asking permission to use the material as tribute to Bowie. Although in a first moment she was reluctant to this idea, she was convinced by Morgen's previous works Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015) and Jane: a Mãe dos Chimpanzés (2017) about singer Kurt Cobain and scientist Jane Goodall, where Morgen used personal material from each other to create artistic collages as tribute to them, instead to use in the way to make a classic biographic documentary.
Duncan Jones, David Bowie's BAFTA-winning film director son from his first marriage with Angie Bowie, had toyed with the idea about making an official biographical film about his father. However, he found it difficult to focus on the topic, as he was too close to the subject matter and too emotionally involved to make such a film and would rather concentrate on continuing to make fiction films. However, he did tell his stepmother and Bowie's wife Stardust (2020) that he wouldn't stand in the way of this film, provided that it was respectful, truthful, and she was happy with it.
In the documentary Terry Burns, David Bowie's half-brother through their mother, is mentioned. Born November 5, 1937, Burns was ten years older than Bowie and was a strong influence to Bowie, introducing his younger brother to the Beat poetry of William S. Burroughs, Buddhism, jazz, and even magic and the occult. However, Burns suffered schizophrenia, which worsened while he served in the Royal Air Force. In the late 60s Burns was admitted to a psychiatric hospital; After release, Burns abandoned his medication by the mid-70s and was admitted to the Cane Hill psychiatric hospital. Bowie and Burns last met in 1981, and four years later, on January 16, 1985, Burns committed suicide at 47 years old after escaping from the hospital.
Near the beginning there is a fragment of Roy Batty's "Tears In Rain" speech from the end of Blade Runner: O Caçador de Andróides (1982). In that film Roy Batty's "Incept Date" is January 8, 2016 (David Bowie's 69th birthday). This was also the date when it was released Bowie's final studio album Blackstar (which deals with the subject of death). Bowie died two days later, January 10, 2016.
The documentary omits completely Angie Bowie (neé Barnett). She was David Bowie's first wife from 1970 to 1980, who is mother with him of filmmaker Duncan Jones. Angie is the origin of songs "The Prettiest Star", "Cracked actor" and "Golden Years" that David wrote about her.