Stories Behind The Man Who Fell To Earth

By | May 23, 2022

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David Bowie in "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (Photo by Steve Schapiro/Corbis via Getty Images) David Bowie in "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (Photo by Steve Schapiro/Corbis via Getty Images) David Bowie in "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (Photo by Steve Schapiro/C

In 1976, The Man Who Fell to Earth was released, the same year as several other films that challenged authority and tradition were released, including Network, All the President’s Men, and Taxi Driver. Like these other films, The Man Who Fell to Earth tackled some issues of the time, including alienation, conservation, and capitalism.

The film, which was filmed in New Mexico, using an entirely British crew was based on Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel of the same title. Directed by Nicolas Roeg, the story is about an extraterrestrial named Thomas Jerome Newton who is from a planet that is suffering from extreme drought. His spacecraft crashes in New Mexico in the midst of his mission to find a way to ship water back to his planet. He patents inventions using advanced technology from his planet and becomes extremely wealthy. As the head of an Arizona company, World Enterprises Corporation, he works to build a vehicle to transport water to his planet. He returns to New Mexico, where he meets Mary-Lou, who introduces him to churchgoing, alcohol, and sex. Newton and Mary-Lou fight when his appetite for television and alcohol overwhelms him, so he reveals his true form to her; she is horrified and flees. After completing work on his spaceship, he is captured just as he attempts to take off, and is held in a luxury apartment, where they keep him sedated with alcohol. Mary-Lou visits him near the end of his years of captivity, but they no longer love each other. He discovers his “prison” is unlocked, so he leaves, but is unable to return home.

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Source: (IMDb).

David Bowie Played The Title Character

David Bowie played the starring role in the film, his first. Bowie was not Roeg’s first choice for the role, however, as he considered Michael Crichton (author of Jurassic Park) as well as Peter O’Toole, and Mick Jagger. However, he noticed Bowie had the other-worldly presence for the role. Bowie originally was supposed to have an additional role in the film, providing music, but had to withdraw because of contract issues. He did, however, use stills from the film for two album covers. John Phillips coordinated the music in the film, and Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones helped to develop ideas for the soundtrack. Another side note about Bowie: he was an obsessive reader and brought 400 books with him because he was scared of leaving them in New York.

Bowie Was Not The Only One To Behave Strangely

Bowie was reportedly using cocaine during production and has said “I just learned the lines for that day and did them the way I was feeling…I was stoned out of my mine from beginning to end.” Bowie’s co-star, Candy Clark, who played Mary-Lou, has said that Bowie vowed “no drug use,” and that he was “focused, friendly and professional.” David Bowie thought he saw some sort of yellow substance in his milk and thought he had been poisoned and had to go to the hospital. After they cleared him, Bowie was back to filming. Bowie was not the only one to act a bit strange on set though, as Rip Torn wandered off one day to go fishing, and then the Director of Photography discovered he was keeping his catch in the bath.