Moviedrome Introduction
Film Details
Release Date: 1976
Stars:
Rip Torn as Nathan Bryce
Candy Clark as Mary-Lou
Plot Summary:
"The Man Who Fell to Earth" follows Thomas Jerome Newton, an extraterrestrial being who arrives on Earth to secure water for his drought-stricken home planet. Taking on a human guise, he embarks on a mission to amass wealth and power to fund his technology to transport water back to his planet. However, as he becomes entangled in the complex and corrupt world of Earth, Thomas faces numerous challenges. He builds a successful business empire but struggles with the human experience, including loneliness, addiction, and societal expectations.
The film explores profound themes such as the alienation of the outsider, the corrosive nature of power, and the human cost of pursuing one's goals. Thomas Jerome Newton's journey becomes a metaphor for the impact of human society on individuals who are different or detached. The narrative unfolds in a non-linear fashion, incorporating dreamlike sequences and fragmented storytelling, adding to the film's enigmatic and otherworldly atmosphere.
David Bowie's iconic performance as Thomas adds a layer of complexity and vulnerability to the character, contributing to the film's lasting impact. "The Man Who Fell to Earth" is renowned for its unconventional narrative style, striking visuals, and thought-provoking exploration of existential and societal themes, making it a cult classic in the science fiction genre.
He loses interest in his mission. Sinister men come and do tests on him. If you are still paying attention at this point, people are thrown off tall buildings.
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.
The film explores profound themes such as the alienation of the outsider, the corrosive nature of power, and the human cost of pursuing one's goals. Thomas Jerome Newton's journey becomes a metaphor for the impact of human society on individuals who are different or detached. The narrative unfolds in a non-linear fashion, incorporating dreamlike sequences and fragmented storytelling, adding to the film's enigmatic and otherworldly atmosphere.
David Bowie's iconic performance as Thomas adds a layer of complexity and vulnerability to the character, contributing to the film's lasting impact. "The Man Who Fell to Earth" is renowned for its unconventional narrative style, striking visuals, and thought-provoking exploration of existential and societal themes, making it a cult classic in the science fiction genre.
Personal History
I've never made it past the first 15 minutes. There's a good reason for this, which shows early taste on my part.
Current Review
A first for Moviedrome, I had to stop the film to take a nap. This is not linear story telling. This is not story telling that makes any sense at all. At a basic level. David Bowie, an alien who crash lands in New Mexico, then checks into a motel. He claims to be British. Even producing a brexit-blue passport.
Cutting to the chase of the story - he needs to ship water back to his home planet. Quite how he will achieve this transportation is beyond the rationale of the story.
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| Home Unsweet Home - Images randomly inserted into the narrative |
For finance (do Aliens need to worry about finance?), he patents a series of inventions and teams up with lawyers to create a multi-national company. Bizarrely, he shacks up with a motel worker - Mary Lou - whose main premise of the film is to be annoyingly drunk. There is a parallel story with a middle aged Professor sleeping with his 18 year old students relentlessly.
Bowie's character succumbs to human vices and temptation - mainly television and alcohol. Although the film would also benefit from not having to see his scrawny arse so frequently.
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| 150 Channels and nothing is on |
He loses interest in his mission. Sinister men come and do tests on him. If you are still paying attention at this point, people are thrown off tall buildings.
There's a lot going on. It's unique. It has a message. It is not entertainment.
A shame, as I was rather looking forward to seeing if my appreciation of this had improved.
Quirky Facts
- Still shots from the production were used as the cover art for two David Bowie albums - 1976's 'Station to Station' and 1977's 'Low'.
- Candy Clark also played the wife on the other planet.
- Novelist Walter Tevis described this story as very disguised autobiography. Three features of Tevis' life influence this film: his long periods of sickness during his childhood which confined him to bed, his battle with alcoholism, and his family's move from urban San Francisco to rural Kentucky.
Quotes
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.
Thomas Jerome Newton: Television. The strange thing about television is that it - doesn't *tell* you everything. It *shows* you everything about life on Earth, but the true mysteries remain. Perhaps it's in the nature of television. Just waves in space.
Sustenance
Easy one here - forget AI, you can't watch this film without fancying a Gin and Tonic.
Future Inspiration
I do have "Don't Look Now" - also directed by Nicholas Roeg - on my Sky Planner.
Listening to Bowie would be rather obvious. AI draws an interesting line to Radiohead;
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