The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) on Netflix
Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien, lands in New Mexico to bring water back to his dying planet. Aided by patent lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, he builds a fortune from his world's technology.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb6.6/1031,621 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes81%
Trailer
Plot summary
His home world is dying of drought, so Thomas Jerome Newton comes to Earth and lands in New Mexico, passing as an Englishman. He patents the advanced technology of his planet, and with patent attorney Oliver Farnsworth he runs World Enterprises Corporation, an Arizona conglomerate that makes him hugely rich. The fortune is meant to pay for the rocket that will carry the water home. Back in New Mexico he meets Mary-Lou, a hotel clerk from Oklahoma who works part-time jobs. She introduces him to Earth customs such as churchgoing, alcohol and sex, and they move into a house he has built near the place where he landed. Nathan Bryce, a former college professor, joins World Enterprises as a fuel technician.
Cast
- Hilary Hollandas Jill
- Linda Huttonas Elaine
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Bowie's role in the film led to his casting as Nikola Tesla in The Prestige, with director Christopher Nolan saying "Tesla was this other-worldly, ahead-of-his-time figure, and at some point it occurred to me he was the original Man Who Fell to Earth".
- Iron Maiden's founder Steve Harris used the font on the film poster to come up with the band's iconic name design.
- Bowie was using cocaine during production and was in a fragile state of mind, saying in 1983: "My one snapshot memory of that film is not having to act. Just being me was perfectly adequate for the role. I wasn't of this earth at that particular time."
- Co-star Candy Clark remembers it differently: "David vowed to Nic, 'No drug use'," she says, and he was a man of his word, "clear as a bell, focused, friendly and professional and leading the team."
- Bowie brought a personal library to the shoot: "I took 400 books down to that film shoot. I was dead scared of leaving them in New York because I was knocking around with some pretty dodgy people and I didn't want any of them nicking my books."
- According to Michael Deeley, when Barry Diller of Paramount saw the finished film he refused to pay for it, claiming it was different from the film the studio wanted; British Lion sued Paramount and received a small settlement.
- A creative and contractual dispute between Roeg and the studio meant no official soundtrack was released, even though the 1976 Pan Books paperback of the novel stated on its back cover that it was available on RCA Records; the music finally appeared on CD and LP in 2016.
- Roeg originally considered casting the author Michael Crichton and the actor Peter O'Toole in the role of Newton, before Bowie took it.
