The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)
| The Man Who Fell to Earth | |
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Original British release poster
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| Directed by | Nicolas Roeg |
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by | Paul Mayersberg |
| Based on |
The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis |
| Starring | |
| Music by | |
| Cinematography | Anthony B. Richmond |
| Edited by | Graeme Clifford |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | British Lion Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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138 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.5 million |
The Man Who Fell to Earth is a 1976 British science fiction drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and written by Paul Mayersberg, based on Walter Tevis' 1963 novel of the same name, about an extraterrestrial who crash lands on Earth seeking a way to ship water to his planet, which is suffering from a severe drought. The film maintains a strong cult following for its use of surreal imagery and its performances by David Bowie (in his first starring film role), Candy Clark, and Hollywood veteran Rip Torn. The same novel was later remade as a less successful 1987 television adaptation.
The film was produced by Michael Deeley and Barry Spikings, who reunited two years later to work on The Deer Hunter.
Thomas Jerome Newton is a humanoid alien who comes to Earth from a distant planet on a mission to take water back to his home planet, which is experiencing a catastrophic drought.
Newton uses the advanced technology of his home planet to patent many inventions on Earth, and acquires incredible wealth as the head of a technology-based conglomerate, World Enterprises Corporation, aided by leading patent attorney Oliver Farnsworth. His wealth is needed to construct his own space vehicle with the intention of shipping water back to his planet. While revisiting New Mexico, he meets Mary-Lou, a lonely, unloved, and simple girl who works as a maid, bell-hop, and elevator operator in a small hotel; he tells her he is English. Mary-Lou introduces Newton to many customs of Earth, including church-going, alcohol, and sex. She and Newton live together, eventually in a house Newton has had built near where he initially landed in New Mexico.
Meanwhile, Dr. Nathan Bryce, a former womaniser and college professor, has landed a job as a fuel technician with World Enterprises and slowly becomes Newton's confidant. Bryce senses Newton's alienness and arranges a meeting with Newton at his home where he has hidden a special X-ray camera. When he steals a picture of Newton with the camera, it reveals Newton's alien physiology. Newton's appetite for alcohol and television (he watches multiple televisions at once) becomes crippling and he and Mary-Lou fight. Realizing that Bryce has learnt his secret, Newton reveals his alien form to Mary-Lou, and her resulting reaction is one of pure shock and horror. He leaves her.
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