David Bowie sadly left us this year, but the immensely talented artist worked right up until the end, with his album Blackstar released only two days before he died. But that’s not the only project he had waiting in the wings. Bowie also brought his skill and personality to the movie world, starring in a strong handful of pictures, with Nicolas Roeg‘s “The Man Who Fell To Earth” among his finest efforts. And now Bowie returns to Earth, even if just on film, in a new 4K restored, 40th anniversary release of the movie.
One of his quintessential performances, in a role that it’s hard to imagine anybody else doing, Bowie plays an alien who arrives with plans to bring Earth’s water back to his home planet, only to find his mission compromised. And told through the unique eye of Roeg, with a mesmerizing turn from Bowie, there are really few sci-fi films like it. Here’s the official synopsis:
Travelling from his home planet that is gripped by a catastrophic drought, a humanoid alien named Thomas Jerome Newton comes to Earth on a mission to take water home. Using the advanced technology at his disposal to patent several inventions on Earth, Newton acquires incredible wealth as the head of a technology-based conglomerate that he intends to use to finance the construction of a space vehicle to ship water back to his planet. But Newton soon finds his true identity at risk due to the actions of an unscrupulous business colleague.
The newly restored “The Man Who Fell To Earth” opens in theaters in the UK on September 9th, and will be followed by a collector’s edition DVD/Blu-ray release on October 10th. Fingers crossed it gets a stateside run, and let’s hope The Criterion Collection brings the movie back into print with this newly cleaned up version.
