Man Who Fell To Earth, The (DVD)
Criterion Voyager, Special Edition
APPROX. 139 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 1976 - MPA RATING: R
" At first his motives are pure, but Newton soon falls victim to the all-too human vices of money, alcohol, sex, and, worst of all, television.
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In addition, Roeg´s elliptical editing, while fascinating to watch, often seems downright silly. Some scenes are truly inspired, such as the sequence in which two motorcycle-helmeted government thugs try to throw Farnsworth out of a high-rise window. In others, though, Roeg simply seems to be riffing with no real plan in mind; he simply throws together any two images he can find merely because he can do it. All the gimmickry makes it difficult to feel a lot of sympathy for Bowie´s tragic hero.
"The Man Who Fell to Earth" is, in many ways, a film which is much more interesting to think about afterwards than it is to actually watch. Roeg has made some brilliant movies such as "Don´t Look Now" (1973) and "Walkabout" (1971). "The Man Who Fell to Earth" falls more into the "interesting but flawed experiment" category along with "Performance" (1970). However, I would recommend any of those films to the curious movie buff. Roeg´s editing style is unique, and any film he makes is interesting if only to watch some of the more esoteric visual connections he somehow finds in his material. Furthermore, Bowie´s performance is magnificent and natural, a wonderful physical performance that few actors could have matched.
Dippy and ponderous, "The Man Who Fell to Earth" is still beautiful to look at. It is also not a movie you are likely to forget.
Video
The film is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Roeg makes exceptional use of widescreen and the transfer does justice to his complex compositions. However, the image quality is not quite up to the usual Criterion standard. It is still a fine transfer, but the picture isn´t quite as razor-sharp as you would expect and the colors are just a bit drab.
Audio
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Stereo. Optional English language subtitles support the audio.
Extras
The Criterion edition of "The Man Who Fell to Earth" is a boxed set which includes 2-discs in a single keep case. The case fits into a larger sleeve which also includes the original novel, specially reprinted for this set, by Walter Tevis on which the film is based. This set goes out of its way to acknowledge Tevis´ contribution, a very welcome development indeed.
Disc One includes the restored film along with a feature-length commentary track by Nicholas Roeg, David Bowie, and Buck Henry.
Disc Two includes the following special features:
-An interview with screenwriter Paul Mayersberg (26 min.) recorded in May 2005.
-An audio interview with Walter Tevis recorded in 1984 from the CBS Radio program "Book Beat."
-"Performance" – interviews with actors Candy Clark and Rip Torn (25 min. total) recorded in May and June of 2005.
-Audio interviews with production designer Brian Eatwell and costumer designer Mary Routh. Eatwell and Routh are a married couple. This feature includes costume and production stills along with the audio.
-A whole passel of trailers, seven in total. The highlight is the first trailer which features a voice-over by two-time Emmy award winner William Shatner.
-Galleries upon galleries upon galleries. Holy cow, is there a lot, so much that I didn´t have time to look through them all. These galleries include production stills and a poster gallery of Nick Roeg´s films. Also included is "Nicholas Roeg´s Continuity Book," an ambitious but flawed feature. Roeg designed a truly complex and fascinating "bible" for the shoot, but it is difficult to preserve it in a series of stills like this.
Closing Thoughts
One of the most interesting aspects of "The Man Who Fell to Earth", and Roeg´s work in general, is its healthy respect for the human body. Roeg really knows how to shoot the naked body, and there´s an awful lot of nudity in this film, as in many Roeg films. Nudity is completely natural and sexuality a zesty, robust enterprise in "The Man Who Fell to Earth." In the seventies, this wasn´t that uncommon; directors like Roeg and Ken Russell could show nudity without getting all uptight about it or fetishizing it. This idea got lost somewhere on the way to the 80´s. Today, filmmakers seem ashamed to show a naked body, but are entirely unapologetic about creating piles and piles of dead bodies. What a strange and sorry development.
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