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There’s no doubt about it, the musical world is still mourning the loss of David Bowie. In fact, for hard core music fans, it’s been a rough few years as far as losing your heroes goes. But that’s what Bowie was to so many, a hero. Not just in music, but in life. He squeezed everything out of his existence he could. So, on the eve of the 40th anniversary release of his single Heroes, and it being re-released as a picture disc on the 22nd of September, I wanted to mix a couple of mine, and David’s passions, music, and movies. More directly, His music in movies. If you go through IMDB, you’ll find over 600 credits of his music in film and television. No mean feat. Here’s a few of my favourites.

A Knights Tale – Golden Years

How the hell does a Bowie tune fit into a comedy about a knight in medieval times? Simple, you create an old school dance scene and gradually add it in to make it a surreal world. I mean, where else can you get pan flute to segue into Golden Years and watch Heath Ledger become a double threat guy? It gives the movie that Romeo and Juliet feel, ya know when the one with Leo and Claire. Check it out.

Labyrinth – Magic Dance

Now this might be one of my favourite movies of all time. Growing up, actually, to this day I am still a Muppets fan, thus anything Jime Henson did, I was into, I’d already discovered Bowie thanks to my older brother, it ticked boxes, and I was in. This song however, was great fun, silly, and just perfect for the movie.

Grosse Pointe High – Under Pressure w/Queen

Our hero is Martin Blank, a professional assassin who’s depressed with his work so visits his home town of Grosse Pointe to go his high school reunion with an old flame. Under Pressure works so beautifully with this scene, as the whole movie is revival themed, and Martin Blank (John Cusack) finds himself out of his element, holding a baby, and staring into the eyes of an innocent, while he spends so much time taking the lives of evil people. Ok, maybe I’ve thought about it too much. Just watch.

The Martian – Starman

Really, this was a no brainer for the creators of this sci fi hit. Old mate Matt Damon is an astronaut/botanist, stuck on MARS, alone. The lyrics “There’s a starman, waiting in the sky, he’d like to come and meet us, but he thinks he’d blow our minds” really play well with the fact that his colleagues think he’s dead, so to bring him back to Earth would really be something. Works on so many levels. Ya see, genius. Ok, not really, but c’mon, totally makes sense and actually adds a bit of levity to the situation.

The Wedding Singer – China Girl

This movie was a worldwide hit, and some say Adam Sandler’s best movie. What’s not to like? If you grew up in the 80’s it was chock full of every great reference and fashion you could imagine. Add to that a truly killer soundtrack and this just knocks it out of the park. If David Bowie’s music wasn’t featured in this 80’s revival (despite the song being released in ’77), people would have rioted. Thankfully not only does his music feature, it gets its own dialogue.

Almost Famous – I’m Waiting For The Man

Another great music throwback flick, a semi-autobiographical trip to the 70’s, Rolling Stone magazine, and life on the road of a rock and roll band, complete with groupies and wild times.
This is a cracking movie with a great cast, and like The Wedding Singer, features an outstanding soundtrack. Ok, technically this is a cover of Velvet Underground, but as Bowie mentions, he was the first to play it live. "I actually played 'Waiting for the Man' in Britain with my band before the album was even released in America. Talk about oneupsmanship. A friend of mine came over to the states to do some work with Andy Warhol at The Factory, and as he was leaving, Andy said, 'Oh, I just made this album with some people. Maybe you can take it back to England and see if you can get any interest over there.' And it was still the vinyl test pressing. It hadn't got a company or anything at the time. I still have it. There's a white label on it, and it says 'Warhol.' He signed it. My friend gave it to me and he said, 'This is crap. You like weird stuff, so maybe you'll enjoy it.' I played it and it was like 'Ah, this is the future of music!' I was in awe. It was serious and dangerous and I loved it. And I literally went into a band rehearsal the next day, put the album down and said, 'We're going to learn this song. It is unlike anything I've ever heard.' We learned 'Waiting for the Man' right then and there, and we were playing it on stage within a week. I told Lou that, and he loved it. I must have been the first person in the world to cover a Velvet Underground song."

Mr Deeds – Space Oddity

Ok, I didn’t mean to include another Adam Sandler movie (this one being quite terrible), however, this is a great rendition of a Bowie classic. Everyone loves a song-a-long of a classic, and in the moment, I wish this had of gone on longer. I dig it. Sandler being funny, Bowie being Bowie, LIFTS the whole thing. P.S. Don’t worry about watching the movie, just this bit, at the :46 second mark

Clueless – Fashion

I confess, I absolutely had a crush on Alicia Silverstone and may have watched this movie way too many times. There are many highlights though, Paul Rudd is in it, so are The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and.. erm.. Alicia.. ANYWAY. Our man David Bowie turns up on the soundtrack that of course fits the bill when you’re dealing with a rich Beverley Hills kid stereotype who obsesses over FASHION. (skip to 1min mark)

So there you have it, just a taste of what Bowie brings to film, and I’m sure you have your own favourite ‘Bowie songs in films’ so let us know in the comments.
Oh, and honourable mention must go to Charlie Murphy’s War and their use of Let’s Dance. GREAT bloody movie, I highly recommend it, you’ll hear Bowie in a bar scene where some young ladies are dancing. Ah Bowie, is there any movie you couldn’t make better?