The Man Who Fell to Earth Movie Review

Enigmatic, visionary cult pic about a man from another planet (David Bowie, in a bit of typecasting) who ventures to Earth in hopes of finding water to save his drought-stricken planet. Instead he becomes a successful American inventor and businessman, discovering the human vices of booze, sex, TV, and apathy. Full of eccentric performances and odd moments that seem to portend non-linear timelines and parallel universes. Based on the relatively straightforward Walter Tevis novel, but with an apparent influence from Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land (an oft-discussed and oft-aborted film project itself). Also available in a considerably better restored version at 138 minutes. Remade for television in 1987.

1976 (R) 118m/C GB David Bowie, Candy Clark, Rip Torn, Buck Henry, Bernie Casey; D: Nicolas Roeg. VHS, Beta, LV COL