The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

Release date: 1976-04-08
Country: UK
Language: English
Director: Nicolas Roeg
Production Co: British Lion Film Corporation, Cinema 5
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction
Rating: 6.7/10
Length: 2h 19min

Storyline

Thomas Jerome Newton is a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet. He starts a high technology company to get the billions of dollars he needs to build a return spacecraft, and meets Mary-Lou, a girl who falls in love with him. He does not count on the greed and ruthlessness of business here on Earth, however.

Plot Keywords

sex scene, female nudity, based on novel, male nudity, oral sex, urinating in fear, cult film, alien, independent film, drought, hallucination, surrealism, alcoholism, bare chested male, gin, spaceship crash, nonlinear timeline, gun, murder, outer space

Short Review

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.