SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Andrew Huggett Aside from the vaguely intriguing start with Bowie's arrival (it's not clear where he got the clothes, the rings to sell and the British background, or indeed how long he'd been on earth – where did the car and the chauffeur suddenly come from?). This is a long disappointing mess of a film. I tried very hard to get into this and enjoy it but the narrative structure is confusing and disjointed. I think the film just tries to be clever and art-housy but I found it a complete bore and very frustrating to watch – the Emperor's New Clothes you might say. There is absolutely no chemistry or sex appeal between the two main characters. Visually, it's quite stylish, the best part is the first 30 minutes or so with the frailty of the alien character shown and the interesting and amusing idea (from a digital photography age perspective) of self-developing film.

Andy Howlett I first saw this film in the late 70's and haven't been able to decide to this day whether it is the noodlings of a rather Sixth-Form mentality or a genuine work of art. The story - such as it is - concerns 'Thomas Newton' (Bowie), who appears from nowhere (he's actually from a distant planet) and presents himself to a corporate lawyer with several ground-breaking ideas for new products, all of which earn a massive amount of money for Newton's new company. He needs this money to launch a space program in order to get back to his home planet where his family - and indeed the whole population - is dying from lack of water. SPOILERS FOLLOW. After a great start, his company falters and Newton falls victim to the same frailties that afflict the Humans around him - greed, sleaze, waste and sloth. In the end he has given up his grand scheme and lives his life as a sad drunk, surrounding himself with women, drink and the low morals that come along with them. So the question is - is this film high art or make-it-up-as-you-go-along junk? A deep and biting comment on the human condition or just aimless posturing? Plenty of each, I'd say. But one thing is for certain - it's a very mixed bag, some scenes looking like a million dollars, others like the work of a bored amateur. At least it ends poignantly with Artie Shaw's 'Stardust', which brings the whole thing to a perfect end.

sharky_55 Roeg's imagery has never been more abruptly disconcerting than in The Man Who Fell to Earth. See how the camera flies erratically over the mountains, through clouds and then suddenly exploding into a lake, and how Bowie's profile straggles over the first hilltop like an alien finding his first bearings and adjusting to the new environment. The associative editing that explores this alien mindset has eagerly pushed this film into cult territory. Roeg's sex scenes, which always have a naked vulnerability about them, become thrilling and grotesque as Newton envisions his own species' mating habits. And the frequent, dreamy cross-cutting to his home-world have a tragic spareness to them - the vignetted, home-video filming style fills them with nostalgia. The soundtrack too, buzzes in and out of focus like a broken radio, channelling Newton's own conscious disorientation. Roeg's heightens each scene and its sensations to dizzying lengths - a key scene is the first unveiling of the space vehicle, where the camera sits in the car as it approaches the great big research facility and then through the tunnel. This is accompanied by frenzied harp glissandos as it passes through this modern breach and into the vehicle itself with its luminous spherical centre; it becomes something as mesmerising as the stargate sequence in 2001. A less subtle moment is the sexual reconciliation of an ageing, ravaged Mary-Lou and a near-comatose Newton, set to a loud, overbearing rock song. It becomes a flashy, banging montage, no doubt to compensate for the shallow nature of their intimacy, but it overplays its hand and loses any semblance of its ironic potency. Bowie is of course perfectly cast. It was actually the second time that Roeg had cast a prominent music star in one of his films - Mick Jagger in Performance portrayed a former rock star gone to seed, drugged up and sexually enticing, blurring the gender boundaries within the characterisations. And Bowie's androgynous qualities do a similar thing here, dulling the orgasmic power of the human's sexual activities, like he has never really caught on to the strange act. Early on, Roeg juxtaposes the sexual energy and excitement of Bryce's college conquests with Bowie's piercing, analytical glare. There's a strange, sad irony here - he has amassed a fortune worth hundreds of millions, but his grasp of the human form and mind still infant-like, mimicking as he learns and stumbling into vices. Some might call such a film style over substance, a term I loathe. But the criticisms do have some weight behind them - there's a few tangents that are still confusing to this day, although no doubt a read of the source material could clear things up. Most frustrating is Roeg's lack of engagement with the theme despite his hypnotising visuals; Bowie's performance subscribes to less is more, and although his POV is distorted and snake-like like his true form, there's little to engage with beneath the surface. Roeg touches lightly on ideas that would be interesting from an alien perspective, but never expands on them. Bowie sings meekly in a church while Mary-Lou beams at him, and quickly falls into the vice of mainstream television and alcohol. Well, there's nothing too interesting about that. Millions of people are stuck in the same way.

pkwsbw-1 Just watched a big chunk of this movie on cable. When I was young, I thought it was hip and cool, but it was very disappointing this time around. The main idea is interesting: advanced alien tries to earn a fortune selling technology in order to return home, but there is no cohesion or flow to the plot. The acting is subpar. The female lead is painful to watch. Why was she cast? David Bowie is flat throughout. The feel is that of a couple of college kids who got a camera and talked their friends into improvising a script. Even the lighting and photography are poor. Don't believe the people giving this movie a high score. They'll change their minds in 40 years as I did.