The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

[madali]

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
IMDB Link


I always found sci-fi to be one of the hardest genres to capture correctly. While I enjoy reading sci-fi immensely, I have very few science fiction movie favorites. It is no surprise that The Man Who Fell to Earth is not one of them.

It works in parts, and fails mostly because it is outdated by now. I don’t mean the special effects (of which there are almost none anyway), but its way of conveying art. Art in movies have changed throughout the years, and one the most obvious attributes of art in 70s movies is random images.

This movie's art does not enhance the movie, when it does not do that, I find it very little reason to have it there. The director has strong talent for setting up certain scenes, but like his "Don’t Look Now", I find his pacing, and more importantly, his cold approach to his films dull at times. The director always seems to place his characters far away from us, and does not seem to involve us in the picture.

The idea of an alien coming to earth, disguised as a man, trying to get large amounts of water for his desert home planet is a fun idea, but in this movie, that plot is basically buried deep inside the many layers of the movie. But that’s not what I want! I don’t want the many layers, give me the plot, which I think can be very entertaining, and that is why I am looking forward to a new adaptation of the book that the movie is based on.
 
I found "Don’t Look Now" to be a horror movie made by a director who is not a fan of the genre, for a segment of audience who similarly is not fan of the genre. Same with "The Man Who Fell to Earth". It is a movie by a director to an audience, who both think they are too clever for a normal sci-fi movie. Except sci-fi, lots of times, can be clever in its own unassuming way.

The main highlight for me, almost exclusively, was David Bowie. His role as an alien is exceptional, and I don’t think there has ever been a rock musician that has fit a role so perfectly. Pale, thin, and obviously out of place, David Bowie brings much more to the movie than the movie deserves. We don’t get any Bowie songs though, which is a shame.

3/5

[madali]

By the way, I dig that poster.

[X.]

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

“The Man Who Fell to Earth” is auteur Nicholas Roeg's 1976 masterpiece. It’s a provocative, convention defying, avant-garde film that is far more interested in human culture than the nuts and bolts of science fiction. In a way the film is a full frontal social satire. Love and/or sex are important aspects of our lives – nudged between the basic narrative is a tragic love story. But how can an alien and a human woman live as a couple for a lifetime (for instance, there’s the question of ageing and death, all things exclusive to the extraterrestrial)? The film has an interesting motif – David Bowie’s alien is gripped by human frailties and he begins to enjoy the booze, drugs, sex and love of a woman, so there’s the human-extraterrestrial angle; but Roeg takes it a step further, he builds meaning through pattern. Roeg gives us another interracial coupling – this time between a black federal agent and a white woman. Can love really conqueror all? There’s even great political subtext on neo-fascism in 70’s America. Look deeper enough and you’ll discover much more wonderful secrets in this great film.

Bowie's stilted performance as a homesick alien is pitch-perfect, as is Candy Clack's incredulous human girlfriend, probably the best woman any man (or alien) could wish for. I would also single out Rip Torn who is laugh-out-loud hilarious as the self-confessed "disillusioned scientist" and sex manic. Torn’s character’s approach to life is simple, and he tell us: “For a whole year I concentrated on only two things: Fucking and World Enterprises. It was neck-and-neck." This statement forms the basis of modern living (sex and power) and it is yet another reminder of the lure of materialism that keeps most of us prisoner.

“The Man Who Fell to Earth” is a kaleidoscopic epic, shot, edited and scored with Roeg’s signature aesthetic inventions. Roeg was one of the foremost proponents of non-linear editing (he invented what’s now referred to as the ‘cut-up technique’); he uses popular music and throws it against a wall of imagery, Roeg has firmly believed in the importance of the clash between visual and sound. And here, just like in "Don't Look Now," he intercuts both things to astounding impact. Reviled, misunderstood and heavily censored upon release, the film has since earned its rightful place in Roeg’s masterwork set of “The Walkabout,” “Don’t Look Now,” “Bad Timing” and, in my humble opinion, even the flawed “Eureka.” ak

Rating:
out of

[shariqq]

Paragraphs!! Rejoice, madali!

[madali]

I had watched the movie based on AK's exact review on the other forum. This is the power of paragraphs.

[moviemaniac]

I loved it. Great acting from Bowie, and the Special Effects are excellent.
5/5

[animatedude]

OPTIMUM will release this in the UK in January and it will include a new exclusive interview with Nicholas Roeg.

[X.]

Roeg's commentary on the new Optimum "Don't Look Now" has been getting bad rep. The old lion of cinema needs money so he'll agree to sleeptalk through anything now.

The Criterion set is one of the best produced DVDs. It also comes with the original Tevis novel.

A new Roeg interview is hardly anything.