Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Executscan Expected more

Parker Lewis I only learned that Briton Peter Collinson, the director of The Earthling, tragically died of lung cancer in the same year The Earthling was released. Peter was famous as the director of the 1969 movie The Italian Job, and here he gives the Aussie touch to a movie with two famous Americans, William Holden and Rick "NYPD Blue" Schroder in the lead.The two Aussie actors, Jack "Petersen" Thompson and Olivia Hamnett (actually British, but migrated to Australia in 1971) tragically get short shrift in the famous campervan scene which goes off the cliff. Credit to the special effects team for this scene which I still remember to this day. I can only imagine the couple's final words and thoughts as they headed down the cliff in the campervan. It reminds me of the scene from a Knight Rider episode where Michael Knight's evil twin and his beau go off a cliff in their car, and also Thelma and Louise.

mittenkg This is a lost classic and a great family movie and I hope hope hope that it is released onto DVD soon. (Studios, are you listening?) I was 9 or 10 when I saw it and would love to share it with the young kids in my family today. The performances are beautiful (Ricky Schroeder is so underrated, even today)and William Holden does a heartbreaking, amazing job. If you thought Ricky was exceptional in The Champ, he tops that performance with The Earthling. It's kind of amazing Schroeder wasn't further typecast into a River Phoenix or early Leonardo DiCaprio kind of actor because he is so tapped into his emotions and his acting is so fresh and vital that he easily steals scenes from the amazing, adult actors he has been cast with. Looking at his childhood performances coupled with NYPD Blue and Lonesome Dove--he should be grouped with the young indie actors of current films. I don't like some of the movies Rick is doing today but even in those films he delivers such alive, powerful performances. I think he's just great.

fyremawth I'm rarely moved to comment on a movie, but the Earthling is one of my favorites. I like thought-provoking and heart-touching movies, this film aims right at my emotional core and gets me in the breadbasket.It's not a family film in the Disney sense, but it's a true family film in the spiritual sense. Sometimes the happy ending teaches that life is hard, suffering has a cause and an end, and within us lies the answer to the cessation of suffering: We can endure and find happiness, so long as we remember to find love.Holden's performance was right-on, playing the embittered but compassionate mentor to Shroeder's traumatized child. The cinematography was outstanding, the Australian landscape was full of color and the story line quite refreshing.

dtucker86 I like The Earthling. This was the first film Ricky Schroder made after The Last Flight Of Noah's Ark (now there is a real classic). He does a wonderful job appearing with one of Hollywood's legends. I read a biography of Bill Holden's and it said that he and Ricky had a ball working together and it surely shows in this fine film. The chemistry between them is sensational. This man teaches the boy how to survive and he teaches the man how to love. Yes it is dark and depressing, but I feel that makes it a better movie because it is not typical Hollywood schmaltz. Peter Collinson, the director of the film was dying of cancer as it was being made and less then a year after the film was released, William Holden died in a drunken fall in his home. He fell and gashed his head on a nightstand and bled to death his body not being found for several days. Holden is truly one of Hollywood's most tragic fatalities. This man was loved by all who knew him, but he just didn't love himself. I don't think the Earthling has ever been shown on Tv and I think that is a real shame. It is not a happy film to watch yes, but it is an example of fine filmaking. A sort of film noir if you will. A possible spoiler here, Holden's character dies and I always wondered if Ricky made it back to civilization in the end.