The Man Who Fell to Earth

Film Info

United States
1976
139 minutes
Color
2.35:1
English
Spine #304

The Man Who Fell to Earth is a daring exploration of science fiction as an art form. The story of an alien on an elaborate rescue mission provides the launching pad for Nicolas Roeg’s visual tour de force, a formally adventurous examination of alienation in contemporary life. Rock legend David Bowie, in his acting debut, completely embodies the title role, while Candy Clark, Buck Henry, and Rip Torn turn in pitch-perfect supporting performances. The film’s hallucinatory vision was obscured in the American theatrical release, which deleted nearly twenty minutes of crucial scenes and details. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Roeg’s full uncut version, in this exclusive new director-approved high-definition widescreen transfer.

Cast

Thomas Jerome Newton	David Bowie
Nathan Bryce	Rip Torn
Mary-Lou	Candy Clark
Oliver Farnsworth	Buck Henry
Peters	Bernie Casey
Professor Canutti	Jackson D. Kane
Trevor	Rick Riccardo
Arthur	Tony Mascia

Credits

Director	Nicolas Roeg
Producer	Michael Deeley and Barry Spikings
Executive producer	Si Litvinoff
Screenplay	Paul Mayersberg
From the novel by	Walter Tevis
Associate producer	John Peverall
Editing	Graeme Clifford
Cinematography	Anthony Richmond
Production design	Brian Eatwell
Musical director	John Phillips
Costume designer	May Routh

Disc Features

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION

New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Nicolas Roeg, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
Audio commentary by Roeg and actors David Bowie and Buck Henry
New video interview with screenwriter Paul Mayersberg
Performance, new video interview with actors Candy Clark and Rip Torn
Audio interviews with costume designer May Routh and production designer Brian Eatwell
Audio interview from 1984 with author Walter Tevis, conducted by Don Swaim
Multiple stills galleries, including Routh’s costume sketches; behind-the-scenes photos; and production and publicity stills, introduced by set photographer David James
Gallery of posters from Roeg’s films
Trailers
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: A new essay on the film by critic Graham Fuller (DVD and Blu-ray); Walter Tevis’s original novel, reprinted specially for this release, and an appreciation of Tevis by novelist Jack Matthews (DVD only)