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| distributor = Sony Home Video, EMI/Picture Music International, Pioneer Artists
| distributor = Sony Home Video, EMI/Picture Music International, Pioneer Artists
| released = 1984
| released = 1984
| runtime = 22 minutes
| runtime = 20 minutes
| country =
| country =
| language =
| language =
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'''''Jazzin' for Blue Jean''''' is a 22-minute short film (20 minute video release) featuring [[David Bowie]] and directed by [[Julien Temple]].<ref>[[Nicholas Pegg]], ''The Complete David Bowie'', page 525, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2004, ISBN 1-903111-73-0</ref> It was created to promote Bowie's single "[[Blue Jean]]" in 1984<ref>[http://www.dvdmg.com/bestofbowie.shtml David Bowie: Best of Bowie (2002)]</ref> and released as a [[VHS#VHS_single|video single]].
'''''Jazzin' for Blue Jean''''' is a 20-minute short film featuring [[David Bowie]] and directed by [[Julien Temple]].<ref>[[Nicholas Pegg]], ''The Complete David Bowie'', page 525, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2004, ISBN 1-903111-73-0</ref> It was created to promote Bowie's single "[[Blue Jean]]" in 1984<ref>[http://www.dvdmg.com/bestofbowie.shtml David Bowie: Best of Bowie (2002)]</ref> and released as a [[VHS#VHS_single|video single]].


The film won the [[Grammy Award]] for "[[Grammy Award for Best Music Video|Best Video, Short form]]" (Later renamed "Best Music Video"), which proved to be Bowie's only competitive Grammy Award during his career.
The film won the [[Grammy Award]] for "[[Grammy Award for Best Music Video|Best Video, Short form]]" (Later renamed "Best Music Video"), which proved to be Bowie's only competitive Grammy Award during his career.
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Bowie takes the opportunity at several points in this film to poke fun at himself and his career – particularly his history of drug abuse, his relationships with groupies, and the commercialization of his music ("You conniving, randy, bogus-Oriental old queen! Your record sleeves are better than your songs!"). Kinder self-references are also present, such as the song "Warszawa" being played backstage to soothe Mr. Screaming while he's applying his makeup.
Bowie takes the opportunity at several points in this film to poke fun at himself and his career – particularly his history of drug abuse, his relationships with groupies, and the commercialization of his music ("You conniving, randy, bogus-Oriental old queen! Your record sleeves are better than your songs!"). Kinder self-references are also present, such as the song "Warszawa" being played backstage to soothe Mr. Screaming while he's applying his makeup.

{{Disputed-section|date=April 2016}}
While many sources including [[Internet Movie Database|IMDb]] list the video's run time as 20 minutes, Bowie's website<ref name=http://www.davidbowie.com/news/jazzin-blue-jean-47691>{{Citation | title=Jazzin' For Blue Jean| year=1996}}</ref> clocks in at 22 minutes. Shot on film at 24 frames per second, the film runs 22 minutes, but with [[Television_standards_conversion|conversion]] to 25 frame per second [[PAL]] video format, the pitch increases and the running time shortens to 20 minutes. [[NTSC]] format versions would have been done by conversion from the PAL video source. Watching the video at the film's original speed presents the song's performance (as well as all other aspects of the film's audio) at a pitch and tempo matching the original studio recording.


==Releases==
==Releases==

Revision as of 15:45, 10 April 2016

Jazzin' for Blue Jean
The cover of the VHS video box, showing 1984-era Bowie singing in character make-up as "Screaming Lord Byron"
North American VHS Video Cover
Directed byJulien Temple
Screenplay byTerry Johnson
Story byDavid Bowie
Produced byLana Topham & Paul Flattery
StarringDavid Bowie
Louise Scott
Music byDavid Bowie
Production
company
Nitrate Film Production Limited (Nitrate Films)
Distributed bySony Home Video, EMI/Picture Music International, Pioneer Artists
Release date
1984
Running time
20 minutes

Jazzin' for Blue Jean is a 20-minute short film featuring David Bowie and directed by Julien Temple.[1] It was created to promote Bowie's single "Blue Jean" in 1984[2] and released as a video single.

The film won the Grammy Award for "Best Video, Short form" (Later renamed "Best Music Video"), which proved to be Bowie's only competitive Grammy Award during his career.

Plot

The film depicts the adventures of the socially incompetent Vic (played by Bowie) as he tries to win the affections of a beautiful girl by claiming to personally know her favourite rock star, Screaming Lord Byron (also played by Bowie). Rightfully disbelieving him, she challenges Vic to introduce her to him. They make a date for a Screaming Lord Byron show, where Vic attempts to sneak backstage to convince Mr. Screaming to come say hello to him and the girl after the show.

Screaming does come to Vic's table after the show and says hello to him and the girl, but the girl and Screaming Lord Byron have already met (in Peru), and she leaves with the rock star instead of Vic. As they drive off, Bowie breaks the fourth wall and asks the director why the story changed from his concept.

Track listing

  1. "Jazzin for Blue Jean (Video)" - 20:00

Cast and crew

Cast[3]

  • Screaming Lord Byron / Vic - David Bowie
  • "The Dream" - Louise Scott
  • Screaming's Band - Paul Ridgeley, Richard Fairbrass, Daryl Humpries
  • Bowie's stand-in - Ian Ellis

Crew[3]

Production notes

Three different Bowie songs are played during the video, namely "Don't Look Down," (from Tonight), "Warszawa" (from Low) and "Blue Jean" (also from Tonight).[3] The video footage playing in the pub is from the performance in the club at the conclusion of the film.

Bowie takes the opportunity at several points in this film to poke fun at himself and his career – particularly his history of drug abuse, his relationships with groupies, and the commercialization of his music ("You conniving, randy, bogus-Oriental old queen! Your record sleeves are better than your songs!"). Kinder self-references are also present, such as the song "Warszawa" being played backstage to soothe Mr. Screaming while he's applying his makeup.

Releases

The film was released on home video on VHS and Betamax formats by Sony Home Video in North America, EMI/Picture Music International in the UK, and on Laserdisc by Pioneer Artists in Japan (12" and 8", with analog stereo sound) and North America (12", digital and analog sound)

The video later appears as an easter egg hidden on the Best of Bowie DVDs. It is slightly modified: in the club where the girl is watching a Screaming Lord Byron video, the screen originally showed footage of the very same concert she and Vic would later attend. On the DVD version, a different promotional video for the song is overlaid on the screen – this is also the trigger for another easter egg, which is itself that alternate video.

The portion of the movie where Screaming Lord Byron performs the song "Blue Jean" in front of the crowd was used as the standard-length music video and clocks in at just over three minutes. This short music video is a straight edit out of Jazzin' For Blue Jean and later appeared on 1993's David Bowie - The Video Collection.

References

  1. ^ Nicholas Pegg, The Complete David Bowie, page 525, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2004, ISBN 1-903111-73-0
  2. ^ David Bowie: Best of Bowie (2002)
  3. ^ a b c Kamp, Thomas (1985), David Bowie: The Wild-Eyed Boy 1964-1984 (1st ed.), O'Sullivan, Woodside & Co.
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