THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH -- Nicholas Roeg, dir

©1976
studio: Fox Lorber
production company: British Lion Film Corporation
dir: Nicholas Roeg
cast: David Bowie, Buck Henry, Rip Torn, Candy Clark
screenplay: Paul Mayersberg
based on the novel by Walter Tevis

Thomas Jerome Newton is a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet. He starts a high technology company to get the billions of dollars he needs to build a return spacecraft, and meets Mary-Lou, a girl who falls in love with him. He does not count on the greed and ruthlessness of business here on Earth, however. [from IMDb]

#########

I can't believe the amount of positive reviews for this piece of trash.

I am a tremendous fan of science fiction, and I absolutely love art/entertainment that is considered "absurdist" or "off-beat" or just plain "weird," but even in this kind of work there HAS to be a coherent storyline (unless, of course, the point is that there is no storyline). This film makes no sense.

I have not read the book, so I am basing this strictly on the movie before me (which I attempted to watch twice [heaven help me] in order to try to clear things up).

I read the descriptions and how it is about an alien looking to get water for his dying planet, but I defy anyone to point to anywhere in the movie where this is evident. Yes, we understand early in the movie that he likes water, but later in the movie he likes gin.

Early in the movie it seems important that we know that he gets physically sick if he moves too quickly (from somebody who "fell" to earth from another planet!), but it never seems to come in to play later, and in fact he seems to get over it.

I totally understand the whole "stranger in a strange land" aspect, and I even understand how he misses his family on his own planet (are they the only ones who live on that planet?). I don't understand if he is actually seeing/communicating with them somehow, or if he is just remembering them. If so, how can he be remembering them dying and dead?

People make sudden appearances in the film, as if we should know who they are. And then, just as suddenly, characters disappear. Plots and storylines come and go , and the film is loaded with visual non-sequiters -- what the hell was the point of the whole gun-shooting-blanks-as-part-of-sex sequence?! And why did his captors give him a gun anyway, even if it was (over)loaded with blanks?!

I remember when this film came out, though I was too young to go see it at the time (lots and lots of nudity -- though nothing was particularly sexy or sensual), and I have been looking forward to it ever since. What an incredible let-down.

I know it's a cult favorite and that lots of people like it, and that's just fine. They can have it.

If you watch it, I suspect that the only way you'll really enjoy it is if you happen to be high at the time.