The Man Who Fell To Earth

I'm wrapping up my look back at David Bowie's forgotten films with the one, other than Labyrinth, that he is best remembered for, 1976's The Man Who Fell To Earth. Even though it is well remembered, it has more of a cult following than mainstream appeal.

Bowie stars as Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien who comes to Earth on a mission, to bring water back to his drought ridden home planet. He uses his advanced knowledge to create many inventions that bring him wealth and a bit of a celebrity status on our planet. He needs to use his riches to build a ship to haul water back home. He meets Mary Lou, Candy Clark, a hotel maid that he hooks up with. She introduces him to a more decadant lifestyle of alcohol, sex, and television. All three he gets hooked to. His new lifestyle begins to fade his memories of his home planet. When he begins to show those around him his true identity, they alienate him, parden the pun, leaving Thomas an alcoholic mess of a man.

Directed by the great Nicolas Roeg, The Man Who Fell To Earth is an odd, visually stimulating flick. Bowie is terrific as the alien who gets sucked into life on Earth. Bowie admitted to being on cocaine through the production which probably enhanced his performance. He even said he didn't know what was going on around him while filming. The supporting cast, which includes Rip Torn and Buck Henry is also great.

The studio hated the movie and only gave it a limited release. Luckily good word of mouth got out and the film developed a cult following.

I'll admit, it's an odd movie that I probably wouldn't recommend to everybody. But if you're in the mood for some trippy, visually stunning sci fi, you should check it out.

It's available on dvd and blu ray.