Blu-ray review
Directed by Nicolas Roeg
Starring: David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark, Buck Henry
Release date Out now

Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie) is an enigma; a reclusive oddball character who has built one of the planet’s greatest business empires… But where did he come from?

Would Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth have been possible without the otherworldly presence of David Bowie? This non-actor performer is at the centre of the film, and Bowie was, in the mid-1970s, so unearthly anyway that playing the alien Newton, corrupted by earthly influence, seemed to come to him naturally. Imagine Roeg’s first choice, the 6’9” writer/filmmaker/ doctor and non-actor Michael Crichton, in the starring role!

Though we don’t discover this until halfway through the film, Newton is on Earth using his advanced technology patents to fund a space programme intended to bring relief to his dying planet. It’s a film that demands attention, otherwise its non-linear narrative is likely to confuse. This depth makes it ideal for re-viewing. It’s packed with astounding images and moments, like when Newton briefly sees a pioneer family in the past from his car, but they also see him…

Everyone in the film ages except for Newton. Much of the information about what’s going on is visual, rather than in expositional dialogue. Roeg shows, he doesn’t tell; and even then, he doesn’t show everything. It’s up to the viewer to make connections.

The film is well presented in a sharp widescreen transfer, and the Blu-ray comes with some essential extras (some new, some available on previous DVD editions). There’s the 25-minute 2002 documentary 'Watching the Alien', featuring most of the significant, almost all-British crew members, plus interviews with Roeg (interesting, if somewhat rambling), cinematographer Tony Richmond, screenwriter Paul Mayersberg, and an unchanged, still beautiful Candy Clark. The only omission is an interview with the “cracked actor” Bowie himself.

There’s also a trailer and a brief audio interview with Walter Tevis, who wrote the novel on which the film is loosely based. Brian J Robb

VERDICT: 9/10
A good package of extras supports a wonderful film that rewards repeat viewing.