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The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
26 May 1976 (Netherlands) moreTagline:
You have to believe it to see itPlot:
Thomas Jerome Newton is a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet. He starts... more | add synopsisAwards:
1 win & 3 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(7 articles)
Ground Control to Duncan Jones, Director of Moon (From Vanity Fair. 8 June 2009, 9:45 AM, PDT)
Blu-ray Review: The Man Who Fell to Earth (Criterion Collection)
(From Rope Of Silicon. 28 December 2008, 11:05 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Bowie's entire idea of himself? moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| David Bowie | ... | Thomas Jerome Newton | |
| Rip Torn | ... | Nathan Bryce | |
| Candy Clark | ... | Mary-Lou | |
| Buck Henry | ... | Oliver Farnsworth | |
| Bernie Casey | ... | Peters | |
| Jackson D. Kane | ... | Professor Canutti | |
| Rick Riccardo | ... | Trevor | |
| Tony Mascia | ... | Arthur | |
| Linda Hutton | ... | Elaine | |
| Hilary Holland | ... | Jill | |
| Adrienne Larussa | ... | Helen | |
| Lilybelle Crawford | ... | Jewelery Store Owner | |
| Richard Breeding | ... | Receptionist | |
| Albert Nelson | ... | Waiter | |
| Peter Prouse | ... | Peters' Associate |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
139 min | Sweden:119 min (cut version)Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreSound Mix:
4-Track StereoCertification:
Norway:18 (1976) | New Zealand:R18 | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-16Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The music that Oliver Farnsworth is listening to in the first scene we see him in and in one of the last is Gustav Holst's "The Planets". moreGoofs:
Continuity: When Newton lifts up the cookies in the desperate moment before the transformation, there were only twelve cookies on the plate, then, when they were shuffling in the air, it's easily possible to count at least sixteen of it. moreQuotes:
Mary-Lou: You know Tommy, you're a freak. I don't mean that unkindly. I like freaks. And that's why I like you. moreSoundtrack:
Star Dust moreFAQ
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I went into this film expecting something more like Walkabout, because that is all I had seen of Nicholas Roeg's work previously, and the thought of David Bowie being in it enticed me. Really, though, I had it backwards... It's David Bowie's creation with a little bit of Nicholas Roeg in it.
The whole "human alien" thing is very much Bowie's schtick, and to a degree I found it hard not to imagine that this was Bowie's entire idea of himself. A sort of silent tragedy encompasses his character, expressed mostly in the scene with the eye-test where Bowie says very smally and pathetically "Oh... now I'll never get them out." Bowie sees himself as an alien that just can't escape being human.
On a broader sense than this one artist's idea, however, this is a fascinating science fiction film because it points out a side of human nature not often developed very well in other science fiction films. Instead of dissecting the alien, which is what everyone always expects humans will do, the humans do everything in their power to make him more human. Where not actually working towards constructing this "other" as a human, they try to own him, via capitalism or politics or, yes, even love.
It's interesting then the space they put him in, with all of the various rooms like different human-empathetic places. On one hand, it's a self-reflective look at the "set" of the movie, showing that we are designing this alien to look human, but secondly a lot of it is surreally natural, as if to imply that even nature is forced to be human at our hands.
--PolarisDiB