The Legend of Leigh Bowery

May 15 2002 N/A 1h 23m
Documentary

Welcome to the over-the-top, extravagant world of Leigh Bowery, a key figure in New Romanticism and London nightlife in the 1980s. With his bizarre outfits, a mix of kitsch and fetish, and his eccentric performances, he influenced artists, musicians and stylists like Boy George, Lucian Freud (of whom he became the muse), Vivienne Westwood, Anthony and the Johnsons, John Galliano and David LaChapelle. Born in Australia into an intensely religious family and brought up in a Melbourne suburb, Leigh moved to London where he worked as a fashion designer and a promoter, and started the legendary disco club night "Taboo", the first outrageous polysexual party in London. The documentary offers a fully rounded portrait of this artist, including interviews with the people who knew him, who describe a complex, extreme, and ironic personality, a performer, actor and designer ahead of his time, from his difficult early life to international success, up to his death in 1994.

Plot

This documentary explores the life and times of artist/designer/performer/provocateur Leigh Bowery. He designed costumes and performed with the enfante terrible of British dance Michael Clark, designed one of a kind outrageous costumes and creations for himself, ran one of the most outrageous clubs of 1980s London club scene Taboo (later immortalized in Boy George's Broadway musical, and was the muse of the great British painter Lucian Freud. The film includes interviews with Damien Hirst, Bella Freud, Cerith Wyn Evans, Boy George, and his widow Nicola Bowery. The sound score is by Richard Torrey, who performed with Bowery in their band Minty.

Written by

N/A

Directed by

Charles Atlas

Cast

Rachel Auburn, Lee Benjamin, Steve Blame

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

France, Denmark, United States of America, United Kingdom

Production Companies

Atlas Films, ARTE, One Canvas Productions

Languages

English

Awards

N/A

Scores
# of Votes
249
Average Rating
7.4 out of 10
Metascore
65
Popularity
NA