The Man Who Fell to Earth

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The Man Who Fell to Earth

R

Released May 28, 1976

1h 58m

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

79%

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70 Reviews

69%

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10,000+ Ratings

Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie) is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth (Buck Henry), Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou (Candy Clark), a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.

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Critics Consensus

Filled with stunning imagery, The Man Who Fell to Earth is a calm, meditative film that profoundly explores our culture's values and desires.

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Penelope Gilliatt

The New Yorker

[Roeg's] great talent is for expressing pity for the fragmentary nature of modern life, but this film arouses no feeling for any figure in it.

Mar 4, 2024

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Adam Nayman

The Ringer

As a meditation on encroaching spiritual emptiness, set in a society hypnotized by materialism and mass media-Roeg's film is so rich and lucid that it could be an essay.

Nov 26, 2018

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Kate Muir

The Times (UK)

The real story is less about the sci-fi and more about the weirdness on Earth, a woozy dream of greed and alcohol and betrayal, as the gentle Newton is preyed upon by hucksters and the American government.

Rated: 5/5

Sep 9, 2016

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

A pretentious puzzle. [Full review in Spanish]

Aug 11, 2023

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Ray Pride

Newcity

Roeg, a time-slipping editor who began as a cinematographer, knows red from blue, red sand from blue sky from green water from red blood, knows the difference between Bowie’s milk torso and Rip Torn’s fishbelly-white gut.

Rated: 10/10

Jun 2, 2023

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A key cult offering of its decade.

Rated: 3/4

May 13, 2023

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Dave S

Other than Don’t Look Now and possibly Walkabout, I’ve never really understood the appeal of Nicolas Roeg movies. The Man Who Fell to Earth, one of his most beloved films, is a good example. The story is pretty straightforward – an alien (David Bowie) travels to Earth in order to investigate the possibility of transporting water to his home planet, which has been ravaged by a drought, an interesting enough premise. However, Roeg insists on forcing his directorial genius on the audience (the constant use of pointless zooms, for example) and fills the movie with scenes that add nothing to either the story or the development of the characters. Despite good efforts from the interesting cast (Bowie, Candy Clark, Buck Henry, Rip Torn, etc.), the characters are painfully dull, to the point where when things finally start to wind down, it’s hard to care about what happens to any of them.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/27/25

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alan g

A very confusing and uneven movie. Strange plot. Hard to follow. David Bowie is great but the rest of the cast is uneven. Why Bernie Casey? Why an interracial porn plot? Candy is cute but still can't act.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/09/25

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David O

Still Bowie’s greatest screen role .

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/02/25

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Piper W

A one star rating is kind. This was an over 2 hour slog of a tired, old science fiction premise (aliens looking for a way out of their dying planet), graphic sex with penis obsessions, and disjointed plots and images. I wish I’d been sleepy enough to have fallen asleep during this torture. I guess for David Bowie fans it was Nirvana, but if you’re not, skip this self absorbed, psychedelic 70s mess. Those were over 2 hours I will never have back!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/16/24

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Kyla G

The movie was honestly a jumbled mess of plotholes and s*x 😭 I hate this movie so much other than the fact David Bowie was great

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/04/24

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Julian S

Its brilliance emerges only in fragments, yet the moment Bowie’s character unveils his true self to the audience is masterful and undeniably chilling.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/18/24

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Nicolas Roeg

Director

David Bowie

Thomas Jerome Newton

Candy Clark

Mary-Lou

Buck Henry

Oliver Farnsworth

Rip Torn

Nathan Bryce

Bernie Casey

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Synopsis

Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie) is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth (Buck Henry), Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou (Candy Clark), a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.

Director: Nicolas Roeg
Producer: Michael Deeley, Barry Spikings
Screenwriter: Paul Mayersberg, Walter Tevis
Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment, Warner Home Vídeo
Production Co: British Lion Film Corporation, Houtsnede Maatschappij N.V.
Rating: R
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 28, 1976, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jun 24, 2011
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 1, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $81.8K
Runtime: 1h 58m

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