The Man Who Fell To Earth

Roeg's imaginative and edgy science fiction story is much more than that: it is also a commentary on contemporary America, a love story, and a brilliant set-piece to show off demonstrate Roeg's nervy directorial style.

This was the film that set off the real-life spaceman-obsession of lead actor David Bowie (aka 'Ziggy Stardust'), and it's easy to see why. Bowie apparently became obsessed with the character he played, Newton, the alien who comes to Earth in search of water for his planet - but his only knowledge of things here comes from remotely monitoring television, and he soon becomes embroiled in Earthly affairs, becoming a business tycoon. The soundtrack consists of pop music of the time, and this adds to the mixture of banality and surreality that characterises the world which Roeg portrays. The film is shot in a non-linear fashion, instead using typically Roeg-esque thematic cross-cutting to highlight relevant juxtapositions in the text. The film is both technically and photographically impressive, and is a marvel at all the levels on which it operates.

Review by Iain Lang
Taken from EUFS Programme 1995-96