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The Man Who Fell to Earth

Play trailer Poster for The Man Who Fell to Earth R 1976 1h 58m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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79% Tomatometer 70 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie) is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth (Buck Henry), Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou (Candy Clark), a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
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The Man Who Fell to Earth

The Man Who Fell to Earth

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Critics Consensus

Filled with stunning imagery, The Man Who Fell to Earth is a calm, meditative film that profoundly explores our culture's values and desires.

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Critics Reviews

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Penelope Gilliatt The New Yorker 03/04/2024
[Roeg's] great talent is for expressing pity for the fragmentary nature of modern life, but this film arouses no feeling for any figure in it. Go to Full Review Adam Nayman The Ringer 11/26/2018
As a meditation on encroaching spiritual emptiness, set in a society hypnotized by materialism and mass media-Roeg's film is so rich and lucid that it could be an essay. Go to Full Review Kate Muir The Times (UK) 09/09/2016
5/5
The real story is less about the sci-fi and more about the weirdness on Earth, a woozy dream of greed and alcohol and betrayal, as the gentle Newton is preyed upon by hucksters and the American government. Go to Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) 08/11/2023
A pretentious puzzle. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Ray Pride Newcity 06/02/2023
10/10
Roeg, a time-slipping editor who began as a cinematographer, knows red from blue, red sand from blue sky from green water from red blood, knows the difference between Bowie’s milk torso and Rip Torn’s fishbelly-white gut. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 05/13/2023
3/4
A key cult offering of its decade. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Blobbo X @Blobbo Nov 17 First date movie for Blobbo and future, now late and ex, wife. Blobbo and her both bored and confused. See more Dave S Aug 27 Other than Don’t Look Now and possibly Walkabout, I’ve never really understood the appeal of Nicolas Roeg movies. The Man Who Fell to Earth, one of his most beloved films, is a good example. The story is pretty straightforward – an alien (David Bowie) travels to Earth in order to investigate the possibility of transporting water to his home planet, which has been ravaged by a drought, an interesting enough premise. However, Roeg insists on forcing his directorial genius on the audience (the constant use of pointless zooms, for example) and fills the movie with scenes that add nothing to either the story or the development of the characters. Despite good efforts from the interesting cast (Bowie, Candy Clark, Buck Henry, Rip Torn, etc.), the characters are painfully dull, to the point where when things finally start to wind down, it’s hard to care about what happens to any of them. See more alan g @agenser Aug 9 A very confusing and uneven movie. Strange plot. Hard to follow. David Bowie is great but the rest of the cast is uneven. Why Bernie Casey? Why an interracial porn plot? Candy is cute but still can't act. See more David O 01/02/2025 Still Bowie’s greatest screen role . See more Piper W 12/16/2024 A one star rating is kind. This was an over 2 hour slog of a tired, old science fiction premise (aliens looking for a way out of their dying planet), graphic sex with penis obsessions, and disjointed plots and images. I wish I’d been sleepy enough to have fallen asleep during this torture. I guess for David Bowie fans it was Nirvana, but if you’re not, skip this self absorbed, psychedelic 70s mess. Those were over 2 hours I will never have back! See more Kyla G 12/04/2024 The movie was honestly a jumbled mess of plotholes and s*x 😭 I hate this movie so much other than the fact David Bowie was great See more Read all reviews
The Man Who Fell to Earth

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Cast & Crew

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Nicolas Roeg

Director

David Bowie

Thomas Jerome Newton

Candy Clark

Mary-Lou

Buck Henry

Oliver Farnsworth

Rip Torn

Nathan Bryce

Bernie Casey

Peters

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The Man Who Fell to Earth

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton in "The Man Who Fell to Earth." David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton in "The Man Who Fell to Earth." Buck Henry as Oliver Farnsworth in "The Man Who Fell to Earth." David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton in "The Man Who Fell to Earth." The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie) is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth (Buck Henry), Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou (Candy Clark), a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
Director
Nicolas Roeg
Producer
Michael Deeley, Barry Spikings
Screenwriter
Paul Mayersberg, Walter Tevis
Distributor
Anchor Bay Entertainment, Warner Home Vídeo
Production Co
British Lion Film Corporation, Houtsnede Maatschappij N.V.
Rating
R
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 28, 1976, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Jun 24, 2011
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 1, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA)
$81.8K
Runtime
1h 58m
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