The Man Who Fell to Earth

“Mainly it is about exile, about being an alien. Its story of an extraterrestrial visitor from another planet is designed mainly to say something about life on this one.”—New York Times

A cult film if ever there was one, The Man Who Fell to Earth stars David Bowie as an alien who arrives on Earth seeking water for his drought-stricken planet. His advanced mind eventually proves no match for the lure of such terrestrial pleasures as booze and television. Nicolas Roeg’s Earth-bound space opera favors emotion, performance, and design over the special effects that would come to dominate the sci-fi genre soon after the film’s release. Rip Torn, Candy Clark, and Buck Henry also star. (139 mins., 35mm)