Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

The highlights of David Bowie's long and successful career have a certain poignance now that we now there will be no more. D.A. Pennebaker's documentary Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars caught Bowie at the end of his first big splash. His Ziggy Stardust persona captured the imaginations of a new generation and helped set the scene for glam rock, but little did anyone know that Ziggy was only the initial salvo in a career that would span four decades. The concert film preserves the final show Bowie performed as Ziggy, and also the mania that surrounded him even then (the shrieks of the crowd when he announces that this is the last show for the group are painful). Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars screens at 8 p.m. tonight at the Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Avenue; 314-241-2337). Admission is $5.