It’s hard to know where to start whenever you talk about Nicolas
Roeg’s 1976 masterpiece The Man Who Fell To Earth. Adapted from the 1963 novel
by Walter Tevis (who, incidentally, wrote another all-time great masterpiece of
science-fiction, 1980’s Mockingbird), though the author’s influence is there,
this is a definitively Nic Roeg film. Working from Paul Mayersberg’s highly
ambitious screenplay, the former DP Roeg applies his understanding of the power
that images have upon the workings of the mind, full of cryptic details and
ellipsis, beautifully shot by Anthony B. Richmond and immaculately edited by
Graham Clifford. As such, even with its relatively lengthy running time, the
viewer is always occupied with attempting to piece together and make sense of
the overall picture. On repeat viewing, every single time I’ve noticed another
little detail which throws up my previous understanding of the film. The
soundscape is equally kaleidoscopic, if such a term can be used to describe
music. Co-ordinated by John Philips of The Mamas And The Papas, whose music
crew included the likes of Mick Taylor on guitar, the full soundtrack features
songs written for the film by Philips, heavy, emotive use of Stomu Yamashta’s
work, stock music, and others such as Louis Armstrong, Roy Orbison, Steely Dan,
Joni Mitchell and Bing Crosby. Finally, though the supporting players, even in
small capacities, are uniformly strong (specifically Candy Clark, Rip Torn and
Buck Henry), the film is anchored by the central performance of David Bowie. In
one of my personal favorite screen performances, you’d think from the natural
way in which he carries himself that Bowie had been doing this his whole life, and
yet it’s his first screen role. Utterly dedicated, charming, mysterious and
ultimately devastating, it’s another testament to the talents of the lately
lamented genius. Being the first UK film made in the States with entirely
American funding, even Roger Ebert who was originally sniffy about it, admitted
in the 2011 re-release, “projects this ambitious are no longer possible in the
mainstream movie industry.” It’s a fantastic treasure of a film, and you’ll
enjoy yourselves figuring it out.
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