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The Man Who Fell to Earth

  • 1976
  • R
  • 2h 19m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
30K
YOUR RATING
David Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Trailer for The Man Who Fell to Earth: 35th Anniversary
Play trailer1:45
1 Video
99+ Photos
DramaSci-Fi

An alien must pose as a human to save his dying planet, but a woman and greed of other men create complications.An alien must pose as a human to save his dying planet, but a woman and greed of other men create complications.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
    • Walter Tevis
  • Stars
    • David Bowie
    • Rip Torn
    • Candy Clark
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    30K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Nicolas Roeg
    • Writers
      • Paul Mayersberg
      • Walter Tevis
    • Stars
      • David Bowie
      • Rip Torn
      • Candy Clark
    • 173User reviews
    • 147Critic reviews
    • 81Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Man Who Fell to Earth: 35th Anniversary
    Trailer 1:45
    The Man Who Fell to Earth: 35th Anniversary

    Photos114

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    Top cast22

    Edit
    David Bowie
    David Bowie
    • Thomas Jerome Newton
    Rip Torn
    Rip Torn
    • Nathan Bryce
    Candy Clark
    Candy Clark
    • Mary-Lou
    Buck Henry
    Buck Henry
    • Oliver Farnsworth
    Bernie Casey
    Bernie Casey
    • Peters
    Jackson D. Kane
    • Professor Canutti
    Rick Riccardo
    • Trevor
    Tony Mascia
    Tony Mascia
    • Arthur
    Linda Hutton
    • Elaine
    Hilary Holland
    • Jill
    Adrienne Larussa
    Adrienne Larussa
    • Helen
    Lilybelle Crawford
    • Jewellery Store Owner
    Richard Breeding
    • Receptionist
    Albert Nelson
    • Waiter
    Peter Prouse
    • Peters' Associate
    Jim Lovell
    Jim Lovell
    • Capt. James Lovell, Commander of Apollo 13
    • (as Capt. James Lovell)
    Preacher & Congregation of Presbyterian Church
    • Preacher & Congregation of Presbyterian Church Artesia NM
    Dort Clark
    Dort Clark
    • Waiter
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Nicolas Roeg
    • Writers
      • Paul Mayersberg
      • Walter Tevis
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews173

    6.630K
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    Featured reviews

    7gershomgale

    Bowie as prophet and martyr

    Several things about this film make it worth watching... beginning with the premise that Earth's abundant water is what makes it rare in the galaxy.

    But more intriguing is how the alien visitor, landing with absolutely nothing but the clothes on his back and a gold wedding ring, and knowing absolutely nothing about Earth culture, "gets up to speed" with astonishing, ruthless, clear-sighted rapidity...within days raising the $10,000 he offers a patent attorney for one hour of the latter's time. In that hour, Bowie's character outlines three basic patents -- including two which we can recognize today as digital cameras and music.

    A particularly fascinating scene has our newly rich and already bored alien watching about 20 TV sets at once, while holding a small, battery-powered propeller. Repeated viewings will reveal that the disparate programs (presumably actual images of television shows) occasionally "come together" to form coherent messages... at which time our hero spins the propeller.
    7Red-Barracuda

    Obtuse and frustrating sci-fi art film

    The Man Who Fell To Earth is ultimately a frustrating film. The phrase 'the sum of its parts is greater than the whole' definitely applies. At times it's brilliant and original, but it's effectively brought down by its overlong running time and relentlessly obtuse presentation. It begins very promisingly but falls away in the final third, where it just loses focus and direction. Visually, as can be expected from Nicolas Roeg, it's often quite excellent, with his usual bold editing techniques in place too. The cinematography is very good and David Bowie certainly looks the part. Roeg certainly had a thing for using singers in lead roles. He also utilized Mick Jagger in Performance and Art Garfunkel in Bad Timing, and Bowie like those other two is used to good effect. He doesn't really need to act very much; Bowie in the mid 70's was an almost alien-like creature to begin with. I thought Candy Clark was very good as Mary-Lou. She brought some warmth to the proceedings which was appreciated.

    Like Roeg's work in general, there is hardly any humour here. He was primarily a visionary auteur and The Man Who Fell To Earth is undoubtedly a work that allows him to express himself in a highly personal way. But unlike in Performance, Walkabout, Don't Look Now and even Bad Timing the technique never seemed to achieve an overall whole. My feeling is that I would need to re-watch this movie in order to develop a better appreciation of it. On first impressions, it's a collection of great moments within an impenetrable whole. A very strange film though.
    9michaelf

    Don't bother seeing this film unless it is the director's cut

    I first saw "The Man Who Fell to Earth" when it was first released, and found it to be a jumbled mess. There were plot holes galore, and scenes that went nowhere or had no connection to anything.

    A few years back, I saw the director's cut, and it was an entirely different film. The plot holes were filled and all the scenes fit together perfectly. As bad as the original release version was, the director's cut is great and worth seeing.
    7carolynvargas

    Surreal galore in this sci-fi.

    Nicholas Roeg is a maverick filmmaker and The man who fell to Earth is one of the many reasons why. Bowie is an alien who lands on earth in search of water. This was the legendary singer's first starring role and he more than owns the role of a strange human trying to mix with humans. The surreal imagery by noted director Nicholas Roeg is a highlight and although the film wasn't a big hit either critically or commercially back when it was released, it has a huge following today. If you are a fan of science fiction you should check this out. 7/10 (Surreal galore in this sci-fi).
    5Pi72

    Much better if you've read the book

    That is sadly the truth behind this quite interesting adaptation of the book. If you've read the book, and you liked it, then you'll love the movie. If not, then bad luck. Because the weakest point in this movie is the lack of explanations and logic behind the main character's actions. In the book, it's all beautifully described as the blue transformation of the alien into a human, and his loss of motivation to rescue his planet from a severe draught. In the movie, you just see an alien doing things without much reason or thought about them. This lack of understanding of the main character makes the movie kinda dull and void. However, having read the book, you'll understand what and why is he doing. That's not much help because the majority of the viewers will be lost...

    That said, it's a nice movie, maybe a bit on the surrealist side, it has an oniric touch (or maybe the daze of a hang-over after too much booze) which goes well with the atmosphere of the book and story. David Bowie, the obvious star, does very well on the skin of an alien, clearly helped by his quite particular lookings. The supporting actors do well too, but in the end it's just an above-average movie. Not bad, but thousand light-years of the quality and depth of story which the book has.

    In short: could have been great if the script was at least decent. Worth a watch, still.

    More like this

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    7.1
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    6.7
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    7.8
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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The picture was temporarily scored with music from Pink Floyd's album "The Dark Side of the Moon".
    • Goofs
      When Mary-Lou takes Thomas to the hotel's fifth floor in the elevator instead of allowing him to use the stairs, she says, "It's five flights." This would be correct in the UK, but not in America; from the ground floor to the fifth floor of an American building is four flights.
    • Quotes

      Thomas Jerome Newton: Ask me...

      Nathan Bryce: What?

      Thomas Jerome Newton: The question you've been wanting to ask ever since we met.

      Nathan Bryce: Are you Lithuanian?

      Thomas Jerome Newton: [grins] I come from England.

      Nathan Bryce: Ah, that's not so terrible.

    • Alternate versions
      The US theatrical release of the film was drastically altered. Not only were 20 minutes cut (including the gun sequence) but some scenes were rearranged and a few scenes had different camera angles.
    • Connections
      Edited into We Are the Robots (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Poker Dice
      Written by Stomu Yamashta

      Recorded by Stomu Yamashta

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    FAQ20

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 8, 1976 (Italy)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El hombre que cayó a la Tierra
    • Filming locations
      • White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA(rocket)
    • Production companies
      • British Lion Film Corporation
      • Houtsnede Maatschappij N.V.
      • Cinema 5
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $100,072
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $5,922
      • Jun 26, 2011
    • Gross worldwide
      • $167,072
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 19 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • 4-Track Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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