The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

I remember watching it in the late Nineties, when I was 20 or so. I never really got the film back then, feeling that the film made sense up to a point about two thirds of the way through and then seems to lose focus and narrative structure.Having watched it again recently I still feel the same, only now I realise why the film gets so confusing. I won't go to far into it, only to say that there is a jump forward in time towards the end of the film but the world still looks like the mid Seventies. So this passage of time passed me by the first time I watched.Anyway, I digress. The Man Who Fell to Earth features a great turn by David Bowie, who was beginning his coke fueled Thin White Duke period. This really plays into his performance and it's hard to tell where Bowie ends and Thomas Jerome Newton begins.In fact I rate all of the performances in the film highly. I also like the how the film looks. The opening 20 minutes of the film are very atmospheric and really portray how isolated Bowie's alien is.Overall I would recommend the film, with the caveat that this is really science fiction that is particular to the time, as in just before Star Wars came out. It is slow, weird and confusing, and all the better for it

I don't think anyone who has seen this flick can argue with this.... Without the intriguing presence of the androgynous, chameleon-like David Bowie in the title role as The Man Who Fell To Earth (TMWFTE), this flick would have never worked half as well as it did.This would be Bowie's first venture into the realm of movie stardom and TMWFTE was a perfect vehicle for him to be showcased in. Bowie was at the absolute height of his musical career as a Pop Idol when he starred in TMWFTE. Needless to say, Bowie's popularity soared to the absolute heavens with his appearance as an extraterrestrial in this flick.TMWFTE is definitely a strange Sci-Fi flick. It doesn't follow the standard formula which most Sci-Fi flicks are based on. There are no alien attacks. No attempts of an alien take-over. No battles (in the physical sense) to be fought. No mass destruction or laser-gun blasting. I know it's hard to imagine any Sci-Fi flick working successfully without at least a few of these standard Sci-Fi elements thrown in for good measure, but TMWFTE works exceptionally well without them.*Note* - On Jan. 10, 2016, David Bowie died, at the age of 69, from liver cancer.

Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell To Earth is a bit of a trippy viewing experience full of layered themes of isolation and loneliness excellently portrayed through main star David Bowie's performance to which he later re-counted was the perfect role as to what he was experiencing personally at that time in his life (The Thin White Duke era) . The film aims high in terms of its ideas but doesn't always hit the target, it ends up being a mixed bag.It's a not so complex plot and one we have seen many times before and since, An Alien Thomas Jerome Newton (Bowie) falls into earth in order to gather what he needs (in this case water) to collect and bring it back in order to save his dying planet (Which remains unnamed). We end up with a film that seems to go nowhere further in terms of plot which I think is the intention. Newton after establishing his plan to get what he needs to get back home hooks up with a passive alcoholic named Mary-Lou (Candy Clark) which leads him on a path of alcohol abuse and internal corruption. It is this theme which is the focal point of the movie.There is a rather grainy look to the film with dated effects which only add to the charm of the movie. The soundtrack is odd at times has I nice beat of jazz score at the beginning and moves on to campy soft porn vibe during the also camp love/sex scenes which is off-putting. Nothing From Bowie himself but after listening again to his album Low (which has tracks rejected for the film soundtrack utilized in the album) it inspired me to watch it.It is well acted for the most part although the perfect role in his first outing on the big screen for Bowie, you couldn't think of anyone else possibly playing this part as naturally as he does his elegant and sexual nature really adds to the film. There is also a role for Rip Torn who gives a good performance as a science professor who's life seems to be stale and bored with his sexual exploits with students. Candy Clark is possibly the weakest point in terms of acting although she does a decent job portraying a damaged soul dependent on drink and Newton, it's her more hysterical scenes that get slightly irritating.Roeg goes for an evocative style in terms of his direction it's like he's out to shock with soft porn sex scenes featuring male and female full frontal nudity. The pacing is a bit dis-jointed with some unnecessary and confusing scenes that lead nowhere and at a running time of over 2 hours its slightly overlong. Some of the dialog only adds to the confusion but I think it makes it more intriguing.A role that's made for bowie in a tale of corruption of an innocent mind through drink and an unforgiving environment. It has its ups and downs with plotting and editing all over the place, A strange one that I would certainly watch again it takes you out of your comfort zone in a good way.

How you feel about this movie depends on what you want out of it. I have two disclosures to make: first, I write reviews short and sweet, with the intention of countering those people who give mediocre films 9 stars out of ten because a film speaks to them in some way that it will not speak to others. Second, I am a die-hard Bowiephile.I watched this movie over and over and over again, for the sheer love of David Bowie. That said, I don't think this is a great film. In a few ways, its terrible. Most significantly, the screenplay and direction don't match well enough to make a very coherent or intelligible movie. It feels cheap and disjointed. If you haven't read the book, it will not make much of sense. As for performances, they are hit and miss. Bowie, many say, was exactly in his element doing this film in 75/76 when he was truly an alien living in L.A, wacked out on cocaine and out of touch with real life. How much he really acted was debatable-but if you like Bowie, seeing this film is a must. There are a few great visuals, including the cover shot used for the album LOW. This movie would have been better with a different director in my opinion, but it is what it is. A snapshot in time