The Image

Shot in black and white over three days in London, this short film—one of the few to receive an “X certificate” in the UK at the time, restricting it to adult audiences—features a silent and shadowy David Bowie in his very first screen role, already channeling presences that blur the line between reality and illusion. The Image, which marked Bowie’s cinematic debut, draws clear parallels to Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, one of his key literary influences.