The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

An alien must pose as a human to save his dying planet, but a woman and greed of other men create complications.

Director:

Nicolas Roeg

Writers:

Paul Mayersberg (screenplay), Walter Tevis (from the novel by)

Stars:

David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Thomas Jerome Newton is a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet. He starts a high technology company to get the billions of dollars he needs to build a return spacecraft, and meets Mary-Lou, a girl who falls in love with him. He does not count on the greed and ruthlessness of business here on Earth, however.

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Plot Keywords:

sex scene | female nudity | based on novel | alien | dying planet | 

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Taglines:

You're only welcome if it's beneficial to us

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Reportedly, according to the DVD doc Watching the Alien (2003), David Bowie's fee for the soundtrack was US $250,000.

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Goofs

The blanks that Newton and Mary-Lou fire at each other for fun, don't seem to have any effect. In reality, blanks can cause serious injury, especially when fired at such close range. (In the making of the film, they probably used a special theatre gun, which doesn't emit anything at all. Or the gun was unloaded and the sound and smoke were added later. Anyway, in the story, it's a real gun loaded with blanks.)

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Quotes

Mary-Lou: Are you married?
Thomas Jerome Newton: Yes.
Mary-Lou: I thought so. What's she like, your wife? Is she like me?
Thomas Jerome Newton: No.
Mary-Lou: I didn't think so. Well, I guess I'll do for now, won't I?

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Alternate Versions

In the original U.S. theatrical release, the "Hello Mary Lou" sequence with the gun was missing. It was restored when the movie was broadcast on pay cable.

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Connections

Features End of the Road (1970)

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Soundtracks

One Way
Written & Performed by Stomu Yamashta

User Reviews

Bowie's entire idea of himself?

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

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 April 1976 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Man Who Fell to Earth

Filming Locations:

Willcox Playa, Willcox, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,922, 26 June 2011

Gross USA:

$100,072

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$162,862

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Lion Film Corporation, Houtsnede Maatschappij N.V., Cinema 5

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min 119 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1