There are some films in a performer’s career that they would rather just forget entirely. In the case of David Bowie, that film for him would be the messy 1978 black comedy Just A Gigolo from director David Hemmings. The iconic musician had just made quite a mark in the film world with his lauded performance in The Man Who Fell To Earth, which landed him a Saturn Award for Best Actor. This follow up was set to tap into Bowie’s interest in pre-World War II Berlin that developed during his time recording his “Berlin Trilogy” which included one of his most beloved albums, “Heroes.” Just A Gigolo was intended to be a tongue-in-cheek look at the city in the lead-up to the Nazi uprising. Although the film is notable for bringing screen legend Marlene Dietrich (The Woman One Longs For) out of retirement for one final performance, the feature was considered a debacle by most that has mostly been relegated to an oddball rarity. While the film is not great, it is pleasing to see it getting a proper release where a new generation of fans can evaluate for themselves.
Bowie plays Paul Ambrosius von Przygodski, a Prussian officer wounded in the waning days of The Great War who returns home to Berlin to find a city that has lost its identity and fallen into a depression. Bowie puts on a very stoic, reserved performance as this stiff-upper-lip gentleman who still believes in honor in a place that does not best exemplify the best of what he believes the country has to offer. Upon his return home he finds his father in a catatonic state, his mother working in the Turkish bathhouses, and his family home turned into a boarding house. There is also Cilly (Sydne Rome), the housekeeper’s socialist daughter who has a thing for Paul but rarely does anything to showcase much in the way of complex thought. Paul was thought to have died in the war, and his return does not seem the immense call for celebration he may have expected. He is a man without a purpose, and he does not want to join his former commander (David Hemmings) in what will become the Nazi party. As he floats aimlessly throughout the city, he meets a variety of peculiar people who inform his world.
When Just A Gigolo was first released, it clocked in at nearly two-and-a-half hours before it was yanked from theaters and recut to the 105 minute version we get here. Even with the different cuts of the film, it is difficult to imagine this film truly working in any capacity thanks to its wildly inconsistent tone. The movie is never funny enough to be the acerbic comedy it aims to be, and it is entirely too silly to be a straightforward drama. The movie succeeds what little it does on the strength of its performers. Marlene Dietrich makes out well in her small but pivotal role as the Baroness running the male brothel that recruits Paul to their ranks. Hearing her sing on screen one last time brings about a feeling of nostalgia that fans of classic Hollywood will appreciate. It is also nice to see Kim Novak (Vertigo) return to the screen after an absence as a wealthy widow who teaches Paul a thing or two about his profession. These two screen legends along with Bowie ground this picture in something tangible as the rest of the story spins out into space.
The movie is wildly ambitious but it never knows what it needs to do with its premise. There is something funny about taking the wind out of the sails of the Nazi party, but it fails to do so as deftly as something as The Producers or even Jojo Rabbit. Hemmings does wring some laughs out of the Nazis basically being bumbling idiots who hold their meetings in a sewer, but this feels out of step with the remainder of the film. As what amounts to a love interest, Sydne Rome never feels like more than a pretty face who conveniently seems to pop in and out of Paul’s life with no real connection to speak of. It is difficult to even criticize this film because it is so bizarre in its trajectory. It is a piece steeped in irony but no real sense of how to harness it. Those who check it out as a curiosity in the career of Bowie or any of these other famous figures will probably find moments to enjoy, but as a cohesive picture you will struggle to classify it as a hidden masterpiece.
Video Quality
Just A Gigolo gets an upgrade on Blu-Ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with a 1080p master derived from a new restoration. While not perfect, this disc looks pretty great throughout most of the runtime. This disc does not digitally manipulate the pleasing natural film grain that is present without being overly clumpy in the grain field. There are some nuanced, vibrant colors that make the film pop in a visually exciting way, even if the film primarily has a depressed palette. The skin tones look natural, but the presentation does not have the deepest blacks I have ever seen. The shadow detail sometimes falters with blacks presenting with a bit of a milky appearance. Some of the denser scenes such as the foggy steam room does give way to some digital artifacting. The presentation rarely lacks the fine detail that you would hope for from a Blu-Ray upgrade. There are still the occasional nicks and scratches, but for the most part the damage has been cleaned up immensely. This film has not been the most widely available feature, so it is a minor miracle that this has received a Blu-Ray. The fact that it is mostly pleasing is all the better.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a reserved DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio lossless soundtrack that sonically represents the film in a straightforward manner. The activity is primarily contained to the center channel with not much of an opening up with various elements. The lovely music that is key to certain moments sounds good, but lacks the raw power that you feel it could possibly achieve. While music is vital to the story, it never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. The dialogue lacks a bit of crispness and the dubbing from the source material can be a bit distracting at times. The track also showcases a minor bit of age related wear and hiss. This track is good, but never quite reaches the level of greatness.
Special Features
The Shout! Factory Blu-Ray of Just A Gigolo includes a booklet featuring “Just A Gigolo Production Notes” by producer/writer Joshua Sinclair in which he details his story of getting Marlene Dietrich in the film among other obstacles. There is also the essay “David Bowie and Just A Gigolo ‘My 32 Elvis Presley Movies Contained In One’” by Graham Rinaldi which explores the reputation of the film. Both of these pieces go toward providing historical context and interesting anecdotes that put the film in perspective. The on-disc special features are as follows:
- Audio Commentary: Assistant to director David Hemmings, Rory MacLean, delivers a very entertaining commentary filled with anecdotes from the production. The great part about this is that MacLean is not afraid to address some of the shortcomings of the production while sharing his memories. This is well worth a listen to get a better sense of what was happening with this film.
- The Making of Gigolo: A fascinating 29-minute featurette in which writer Joshua Sinclair and Rory MacLean provide some on-camera anecdotes from their time on the film. MacLean covers a lot of the material he discussed in the commentary track and Sinclair recounts some of his notes in the booklet, but both offer some exclusive insights that make this a wonderful supplement.
- Trailer: A four-and-a-half-minute trailer which gives away a ton of the film while a narrator takes you through the various elements of the story.
Final Thoughts
Just A Gigolo is a bizarre entry into the career of David Bowie, but it is not one that is entirely unentertaining. It is a flawed mess of a film, but there is something very watchable about trying to see if this story can hold all of its conflicting ideas and tones together (it cannot). The performances from the more famous names are strong, but far from the best they have delivered thanks to a weak script. It is not something I can recommend to general audiences, but those who think it may be an interesting oddity may enjoy it in the trainwreck way I did. Shout! Factory and Fabulous Films have released a Blu-ray with a pretty admirable A/V presentation and some worthwhile special features.
Just A Gigolo will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on June 29, 2021.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Shout! Factory has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
