Brett Morgen on Many Lives of David Bowie: A POV Interview
OVER A RENOWNED CAREER, David Bowie was famous for never standing still. From his early, twee folk-rock period to the alien adventures of Ziggy Stardust and on to the Thin White Duke phase, pop superstardom, and the mercurial theatrics of Blackstar, Bowie was constantly hungry for new modes of expression.
The same sense of discovery can be found in the films of Brett Morgen. From his groundbreaking incorporation of animated elements in the Robert Evans doc The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002) through his kinetic editing strategy with found footage for the extraordinary O.J. Simpson film June 17th, 1994 (2010), to award-winning projects about iconic characters like Kurt Cobain and Jane Goodall, he has developed a unique way of incorporating sound and vision into his film work. His documentaries constantly shift expectations and challenge viewers to go along for the ride.
Morgen’s latest film, nearly a decade in the making, is Moonage Daydream. It’s a perfect culmination of form and function, with an artist exploring the work of another iconic talent. Morgen takes Bowie’s own output and uses it as a mirror to explore both the music and the man, resulting in a film that’s a sensory onslaught while being intellectually and emotionally profound.
POV spoke to Morgen while he was at Karlovy Vary, a few months after his dramatic Cannes premiere, and prior to Moonage Daydream’s TIFF premiere and international roll-out on IMAX screens.
POV: Jason Gorber
BM: Brett Morgen
POV: What is your favourite Bowie record, and why?
The easy answer because it’s traveled with me through so many decades. It’s my favourite Sunday morning album. But through the process and experience of working on this film, I’d probably say 1995’s has become a really essential album for me. If I have a regret about , it’s that the film and the arc did not afford me the opportunity to do a deeper dive into the mythology about .
