The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Nicolas Roeg

Writers:

Paul Mayersberg (writer)
Walter Tevis (novel)

Release Date:

26 May 1976 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Drama

Tagline:

You have to believe it to see it

Plot:

Thomas Jerome Newton is a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet. He starts...

Plot Keywords:

Dying Planet | Alien | Water | Surrealism | Oral Sex

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

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
Jim Lovell	...	Himself (Commander of Apollo 13) (as Captain James Lovell)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Claudia Jennings	...	Peters' Wife (uncredited)
Debbie Letteau	...	Professor's (Nathan Bryce's) Daughter (uncredited)
Terry Southern	...	Reporter at space launch (uncredited)

Directed by
Nicolas Roeg

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Paul Mayersberg		writer
Walter Tevis		novel

Produced by
Michael Deeley	....	producer
Si Litvinoff	....	executive producer
John Peverall	....	associate producer
Barry Spikings	....	producer

Original Music by
John Phillips
Stomu Yamashta

Cinematography by
Anthony B. Richmond

Film Editing by
Graeme Clifford

Production Design by
Brian Eatwell

Set Decoration by
Simon Wakefield		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
May Routh

Makeup Department
Ellis Burman Jr.	....	special makeup effects artist
Linda DeVetta	....	makeup artist
Martin Samuel	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Roy Stevens	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kip Gowans	....	assistant director

Art Department
Ron Downing	....	stand-by prop
Tom Raeburn	....	property master (as Tommy Raeburn)

Sound Department
Alan Bell	....	dubbing editor
Desmond Briscoe	....	electronic sound effects
Robin Gregory	....	sound recordist
Bob Jones	....	dubbing mixer
Colin Miller	....	dubbing editor
Terry Sharratt	....	boom operator
Michael Ellis	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Harrison Ellenshaw	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Richard Graydon	....	stunt coordinator (as Dickie Graydon)

Camera and Electrical Department
Martin Evans	....	gaffer
Gordon Hayman	....	camera operator
Harry Jackson	....	best boy
David James	....	still photographer
Derek Suter	....	electrician
Michael Thomas	....	electrician

Casting Department
Jeanne Swain	....	casting: New Mexico
Alan Swain	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ola Hudson	....	suits of Mr.Bowie
Mike Jarvis	....	wardrobe master
Janet Tebrooke	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Rodney Glenn	....	first assistant editor: film
Melinda Rees	....	assistant editor

Music Department
John Phillips	....	musical director

Other crew
Gregg Champion	....	production assistant
Terence Churcher	....	location manager
Marilyn Clarke	....	production coordinator (as Sue Merry)
Ronald Cook	....	production accountant
Susanna Merry	....	continuity

Production Companies

• British Lion Film Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment (1980) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Other Companies

• Houtsnede Maatschappij N.V.  copyright holder
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

Czlowiek który spadl na ziemie (Poland) [pl]
Dünyaya düsen adam (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Der Mann, der vom Himmel fiel (West Germany) [de]
El hombre que cayó a la tierra (Argentina) (festival title) [es]
L'homme qui venait d'ailleurs (France) [fr]
L'uomo che cadde sulla Terra (Italy) [it]
Mannen utan ansikte (Sweden) [sv]
Mies toisesta maailmasta (Finland) (video title) [fi]
Muukalaisen kasvot (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
O Homem Que Veio do Espaço (Portugal) [pt]
O anthropos pou epese sti gi (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

139 min | Sweden:119 min (cut version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

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-16

Filming Locations:

Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA

Company:

British Lion Film Corporation

Trivia:

Candy Clark, with a large black hat strategically pulled low over her face, played Thomas Jerome Newton in one scene while David Bowie was ill and unavailable to work the day it was shot.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Newton opens the cabinet mirror in the bathroom we can briefly see the reflection of a crew member.

Quotes:

Thomas Jerome Newton: We'd have probably done the same to you, if you'd come 'round our place.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Flyerman (2003)

Soundtrack:

Thirty-Three And A Third

Alive and breathing!

A classic to be viewed perhaps once every ten years. Due to its somewhat convoluted, at times even incommunicable plot, it will always promise new layers of interpretation. Another such film that comes to mind is obviously Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY - after seeing it at least fifteen times I still haven't gotten to the bottom of it all. I am always surprised by it, discover a new hidden passage, a different shade of meaning or lack of it. Ditto with Roeg. In TMWFTE there are some shots, some moments in the story, some twists and turns that seem as if one has not seen them before. And even though, intellectually, they are all memorized and categorized - emotionally they manage to touch a slightly changed angle & offer a fresher key to already familiar. David Bowie is a splendid choice for Roeg's hermetic Sci-Fi hero and 25-years later this film is as refreshing and thought-provoking as when it was first released. American cinema was, I believe, at its best and highest precisely in the seemingly boring decade of the 70's: half disco and half punk how could it have been any different! Since then things have only gotten worse. Way worse.