The Man Who Fell to Earth 
Starring David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton
The Man Who Fell to Earth is my personal favourite when it comes to David Bowie films. It is also what I consider to be one of the greatest films ever made. However, The Man Who Fell to Earth is somewhat difficult to understand, so I'll explain a little of the plot. WARNING: This is a bit of a spoiler, so don't read this if you want to watch the movie for yourself!
An alien from a planet far, far away called Anthea is sent to Earth to gather natural resources for his own dying planet. With him, he brings a number of basic patents so he can accumulate lots of money in a short amount of time. He also has a fake passport that reads Thomas Jerome Newton, from England. This alien has false eyebrows, nipples, and hair, not to mention contact lenses that disguise his alien eyes. Antheans had none of these human appendages.
Before Thomas gathers millions of dollars, he happens to stumble upon a young girl named Mary Lou (played by Candy Clark). Mary Lou eventually becomes his mistress for a while and innocently introduces him to such things as alcohol, sex, and other corrupting devices. Because he is corrupted by money, alcohol, and earthly things, he is unable to return to his home planet to save it. Mary Lou did not mean any harm at all, yet she prevented Thomas from saving his home.
TMWFTE FAQ
Why do all the people around Thomas age but Thomas appears to keep his youth?
Albert Einstein once said that a person who travels faster than the speed of light will never age. Because Thomas had to have travelled much faster than the speed of light in order to reach Earth, Thomas did not age in the film.
What is the span of time the film covers?
The film covers about 30 years. This is illustrated by the character Mary Lou's aging: from about 15 years old to about 45 years old.
Why didn't Thomas just jump on the spaceship and fly back to Anthea?
As explained already, he was corrupted by earthly feelings and possessions. Also, when the doctors were holding him hostage and examining him, they stuck his contact lenses on his eyes using the "flash" of an x-ray.
The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis
The film was made after its predecessing novel. I have read and reviewed the book and have found that they are quite alike and quite different. In the novel, Mary Lou is called Betty Jo. Thomas has a broken leg for quite some time in the novel but in the film he just gets a little sick. Also, there is a lot more sex in the film; in the novel it is taboo. The Man Who Fell to Earth is one of my favourite books. 1984 will always remain as my favourite novel.
The Man Who Fell to Earth Pictures
Thomas Jerome Newton, Anthean Extraordinaire
A really bizarre collage
Some sort of cover for something
An interesting photo...we look a little tipsy, don't we? Touch your nose now, walk the line...
A movie poster (An interesting story--my dad saw TMWFTE in 1976 in a theatre where there were about two other people watching it with him. The movie stayed in town for two days and then left. Hmmm...)
Strange...I don't remember this picture from the movie...
Watching many televisions at once
After being sick in the hotel room
When he first arrived at the small town in Kentucky
Get mwfte now on DVD at www.amazon.com
this page created by StardustGrrl -last update 11/19/99
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