Insignificance

Directed by Nicolas Roeg and written by Terry Johnson that is based on the play by the latter, Insignificance is the story of a meeting between four famous figures in a hotel room in New York City in the year 1954 as they all deal with fame and such. The film is an exploration of four famous people who deal with their own celebrity as none of them are named by who they are as they all talk about their own world inside a hotel room. Starring Gary Busey, Michael Emil, Theresa Russell, Will Sampson, Patrick Kilpatrick, and Tony Curtis. Insignificance is a rapturous and enthralling film from Nicolas Roeg.

Set during a day at a hotel in New York City in 1954, the film revolves around four iconic figures who all meet at a hotel room as they all discuss themselves and their contributions to the world. It’s a film with a simple premise as it revolve around these four people as they would all meet at the hotel room of one of the film’s protagonists in the Professor (Michael Emil). Terry Johnson’s screenplay play into this period that spans nearly 24 hours as it has the Professor going over notes as he would meet with the Senator (Tony Curtis) while the Actress (Theresa Russell) is making a movie while her husband in the Ballplayer (Gary Busey) watches with disdain. Later on as the Senator goes into his room at the hotel after a discussion with the Professor doesn’t go well as he planned. The Actress would meet the Professor as it would lead to discussions of existence as the Ballplayer and the Senator would later join in as the script has these four characters plus an elevator attendant known as the Indian (Will Sampson) be part of this sociological experience on existence.

Nicolas Roeg’s direction is definitely stylish in the fact that much of the action takes place inside a hotel and a hotel room as much of the film is shot inside a studio soundstage in Wembley. While there are some exterior shots of New York City, the film is more about four people often engaging in conversations in a hotel room with recurring flashbacks appearing every now and then as it play to these people and who they are. There are some wide shots in the film including in a few of the locations as it relates to some of the flashbacks that the Professor is thinking about that also include these dark images as it relates to his own guilt. Much of Roeg’s direction is intimate in its usage of medium shots and close-ups to get the characters to talk with one another as there’s also a lot of close-ups relating to the Actress and her beauty that also feature flashbacks of how she became this icon through extreme close-ups of her ass and breasts.

There are also a lot of symbolism in the imagery whether it’s the Actress in how she’s seen by the world or images of clocks and watches as it relates to time where the Professor carries a stopwatch with the time 8:15 as if it means something. Roeg also maintains this air of tension once the Ballplayer appears at the Professor’s room while there are also these chilling images of the Actress dealing with her insecurities. Even as she is trying to prove that she’s not this dim-witted beauty as she does know things yet her husband doesn’t get it as he’s kind of a raging buffoon who does mean well. It also play into this air of foreshadowing and the growing sense of fear in all four of these characters whether it’s from their past or what is to come. Most notably its ending as it relates to time and the guilt that looms from the Professor into what he’s created as well as what the Senator wanted from him and the Ballplayer pleading to have another chance with the Actress. Overall, Roeg creates a provocative yet captivating film about four popular figures in the 1950s meeting in a hotel to deal with their fame and the world around them.

Cinematographer Peter Hannan does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its stylish usage of lighting and shadows for the scenes in the hotel room along with the way a bar is lit and the streets at night as it is a highlight of the film. Editor Tony Lawson does excellent work with the editing as it help play into the drama and emotional suspense as well as the stylish usage of jump cuts for some of the flashback scenes. Production designer David Brockhurst, with art directors Arthur Max and Celia Barnett, does amazing work with the look of the hotel room and other interiors as well as the bar and a few of the exteriors in the film. Costume designer Shauna Harwood does fantastic work with the costume from the suits that the Senator and the Ballplayer wear as well as the sweatshirt that the Professor wears and the white dress that the Actress wears.

Hair stylist Jan Archibald and makeup designer Christine Beveridge do terrific work with the look of the Professor with his hair and the Actress with her platinum blonde hair. The special effects work of Alan Whibley is wonderful for the film’s end sequence as it play into the horrors and fears of the characters involved in the film. The sound work of Paul LeMare is superb for the way things sound in and out of the hotel room as well as the sounds of things happening in the hallway and in some of the exterior settings outside of the hotel. The film’s music by Stanley Myers and Hans Zimmer is incredible for its mixture of jazz, lush orchestral music, hip-hop, and electronics to play into the sense of chaos and drama that occurs throughout the film that also features a soundtrack of music ranging from jazz, blues, and country that are performed by Roy Orbison, the trio of Will Jennings, Glenn Gregory, and Claudia Brucken on a song, and Theresa Russell.

The casting by Lucy Boulting and Margery Simkin is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Patrick Kilpatrick as the Actress’ driver, Raynor Scheine as an autograph hunter, and Will Sampson in a fantastic performance as the elevator attendant known as the Indian who is often in the elevator meeting the protagonists and have brief conversations with them while observing everything they’re thinking about. Gary Busey is excellent as the Ballplayer as a man driven with envy for his wife while trying to understand what she wants as he’s also a man with some knowledge despite the fact that he is a bit of buffoon that means well yet knows a lot about baseball. Tony Curtis is brilliant as the Senator as a man trying to uphold some idea of law and order as well as get some documents from the Professor and have him testify or else the Professor gets in trouble as Curtis brings a charm and a devious approach to the character.

Michael Emil is amazing as the Professor as a man trying to come up with answers about existence and the shape of the universe while dealing with his pasts and the horrors of what he had created as it would haunt him as he’s also looking at his stopwatch. Finally, there’s Theresa Russell in a phenomenal performance as the Actress as this woman who exudes immense beauty but is also insecure yet curious about the ideas of existence and the universe as Russell has this charm and exuberance in her character as well as selling the chaos that is her emotions as it is a career-defining performance from Russell.

Insignificance is a tremendous film from Nicolas Roeg. Featuring a great ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, studies of fame and existence through these famous cultural figures of the 1950s, incredible art direction, and a sumptuous music score. The film is definitely a unique look into the world from the viewpoint of four famous figures along with the events that haunt them. In the end, Insignificance is a spectacular film from Nicolas Roeg.

Nicolas Roeg Films: Performance - Walkabout - (Glastonbury Fayre) – Don't Look Now - The Man Who Fell to Earth - (Bad Timing) – (Eureka) – (Castaway) – (Aria-Un ballo in maschera) – (Track 29) – (The Witches (1990 film)) – (Heart of Darkness (1993 film)) – (Two Deaths) – (Full Body Massage) – (Samson and Delilah) – (Puffball)

© thevoid99 2020

2018 Blind Spot Series: Don't Look Now

Based on the short story by Daphne du Maurier, Don’t Look Now is the story of a couple traveling to Venice as they deal with the recent death of their daughter where they start to encounter strange things that they see or is around them. Directed by Nicolas Roeg and screenplay by Allan Scott and Chris Bryant, the film is an unconventional suspense-drama that play into a couple’s grief as they encounter strange events during their trip to Venice. Starring Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania, Massimo Serato, and Renato Scarpa. Don’t Look Now is a haunting and evocative film from Nicolas Roeg.

Following the death of their daughter at a small pond in their backyard, the film follows a couple as they go to Venice to deal with their loss while the husband works in restoring an ancient church as he would see strange things as it relates to his grief. It’s a film that play into the ideas of death where a couple both have different ideas of coping as they also deal with things that are unexplained. The film’s screenplay by Allan Scott and Chris Bryant follow John Baxter (Donald Sutherland) and his wife Laura (Julie Christie) as they’re in Venice for the former’s work while the latter meet two elderly sisters in Heather (Hilary Mason) and Wendy (Clelia Matania) as the former is blind but is also a psychic. While Laura is still reeling from the loss of her daughter, she finds solace through Wendy’s psychic contacts believing that the Baxters’ daughter Christine (Sharon Williams) is trying to contact them.

Laura believes it is true but John is skeptical although he would see strange things involving someone wearing a red coat similar to what Christine wore on the day she died as well as things that Laura believes is Christine trying to contact them. John focuses on his work while accepting that his daughter had died but the mysterious encounters and near-death experiences have him wondering if there is something going on. Even when Laura briefly leaves Venice to return to England to check on their son Johnny (Nicholas Satler) who had been injured in school where John stays behind as he becomes befuddled by what he believes is real.

Nicolas Roeg’s direction is stylish from the film’s opening sequence that starts off innocently with two kids playing in the backyard while John and Laura are at home doing their usual activities until John notices something and runs to the pond to find his daughter drowning. Shot largely on location in Venice with the scenes in England shot at Hertfordshire, Roeg would use some wide shots to establish the locations but also to maintain that air of intrigue in what John sees as it relates to the mysterious figure in the red raincoat in scenes at the canal bridges in the city. Roeg would also use medium shots and close-ups for some of these moments as the latter would play into ideas of symbolism as if they’re signs of what is to come. Roeg would slowly build up the ideas of suspense while maintaining an atmosphere that does play into grief with Laura turning to Wendy and Heather for help as she is convinced that something isn’t right and that she and John should leave Venice.

With this air of grief and loss, the film would include this intense sex scene that is shot with some hand-held cameras and is cut in a montage of the John and Laura getting ready for a night on the town. There is an air of realism into the sex scene as it play into their love for each other and the need to cope with their loss. Yet, the strange events that occur including one near-death experience for John would play into what is happening and why. Notably in the third act as the ideas of reality and fantasy begin to blur as recurring images of Christine’s drowning would also emerge as Roeg would also include this strange subplot about a series of mysterious murders in Venice. Particularly as it would collide with the main story that has John wondering if everything he sees is real or is it all a fantasy. Overall, Roeg crafts a rapturous yet eerie film about a couple’s grief manifesting into strange events in Venice.

Cinematographer Anthony Richmond does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its low-key approach to lighting for many of the exterior scenes at night along with the usage of lighting for some of the interior sets in the film. Editor Graeme Clifford does excellent work with the editing as it has these stylish usage of montages such as the sex scene as well as other stylish moments that play into the suspense and blur between reality and fantasy. Art director Giovanni Soccol and set decorator Francesco Chianese do amazing work with the look of the hotel room the Baxters were staying at as well as some of the interiors of the church that John is restoring.

Sound editor Rodney Holland does fantastic work with the sound as it help play into the suspense and drama as well as creating moments that add to locations. The film’s music by Pino Donaggio is incredible for its rich and hypnotic score with its usage of piano, flutes, and string instruments to maintain that chilling approach to suspense and drama as it’s a highlight of the film.

The casting by Miriam Brickman and Ugo Mariotti is wonderful as it include some notable small roles from Nicholas Satler as the Baxters’ young son Johnny, Sharon Williams as their daughter Christine, David Tree and Ann Rye as a couple who run Johnny’s school, Leopoldo Trieste as the hotel manager, Renato Scarpa as a police investigator in Inspector Longhi, Bruno Cattaneo as a detective in Sabbione, and Massimo Serato as Bishop Barbarrigo as a man who is concerned about John’s state of mind while wondering if what he’s seeing is true. The performances of Hilary Mason and Clelia Matania are amazing in their respective roles as the sisters Heather and Wendy with the former being a blind psychic who believes something would happen to the Baxters while the latter is this warm person that is sort of Heather’s spokesperson as she is also aware something isn’t right.

Finally, there’s the duo of Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Laura and John Baxter. Christie plays up the sense of grief of a woman still dealing with the loss of her daughter where she is seeking answers for her grief as well as believing that their daughter is warning them about something. Sutherland provides a performance that is based on man accepting what had happened yet is dealing with all of these strange things he is seeing as well as the fact that he might be repressing something about himself. Christie and Sutherland together are a joy to watch as they play up to their loss and need for each other but also deal with the fact that they lost a child and haven’t really done much to confront that loss.

Don’t Look Now is a tremendous film from Nicolas Roeg that features great performances from Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland. Along with its ensemble cast, entrancing visuals, eerie music score, and chilling setting, it’s a film that play into the ideas of grief as well as mysterious events that link to loss. Even as it’s a film that isn’t a conventional horror film but rather a suspense-drama that has elements of horror to showcase a couple’s encounter with grief. In the end, Don’t Look Now is a magnificent film from Nicolas Roeg.

Nicolas Roeg Films: Performance - Walkabout - (Glastonbury Fayre) – The Man Who Fell to Earth - (Bad Timing) – (Eureka) – Insignificance – (Castaway) – (Aria-Un ballo in maschera) – (Track 29) – (The Witches (1990 film)) – (Heart of Darkness (1993 film)) – (Two Deaths) – (Full Body Massage) – (Samson and Delilah) – (Puffball)

© thevoid99 2018

Performance

Directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg and written by Cammell, Performance is the story of a gangster who goes into hiding following a botched assassination attempt on his life where he stays at the home of a reclusive rock star. The film is an exploration of a man dealing with the life he’s been as he’s looking for a change as he meets someone who is also in need of a change in his life. Starring James Fox, Mick Jagger, and Anita Pallenberg. Performance is a stylish and whimsical film from Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg.

The film is a simple story of a gangster who survives an assassination attempt by thugs over a dispute with his boss as he finds himself at the home of a reclusive rock singer where things get weird. It’s a film that plays into not just identity but also the need to change things when a certain lifestyle has taken its toll where this gangster had nearly been killed and wants to do something different. Donald Cammell’s screenplay starts off with the world that Chas (James Fox) is in where he works for a mob boss in collecting money owed to his boss where he makes a great living. Yet, when his boss wants to do business with a betting shop owner that Chas has an unfortunate history with. Things go sour where Chas is attacked in his home and ends up killing the man his boss wants to do business with as he goes on the run.

Upon staying at the apartment building owned by this reclusive rock singer in Turner (Mick Jagger), he finds himself in this strange world where Turner is living with two women in Pherber (Anita Pallenberg) and Lucy (Michele Breton) plus a child maid in Lorraine (Laraine Wickens). Chas finds himself in this strange world where fantasy and reality blur as it relates to the idea of masculinity and identity as Turner is coping with writer’s block as well as dealing with his own identity where he finds inspiration in Turner and vice versa.

The film’s direction by Cammell and cinematographer Nicolas Roeg is definitely stylish in the way they would present the film as it was shot in 1967-1968 at a time when Swingin’ London and the flower power era was in full swing. Shot on location in London as well as various locations in the city, the film showcases the air of different cultures which play into the different personalities and ideas of masculinity of both Chas and Turner. The gangster culture is very gritty in its presentation while Cammell and Roeg would infuse it with some style including some different film stocks to play into the air of fantasy that Chas is craving for through Roeg’s high-octane cinematography as it show a world that is grey but also dangerous. When the film is set at Turner’s apartment, it is more colorful with an array of different styles where Cammell and Roeg would create some unique compositions in the close-ups and medium shots. 

There are also these moments that are quite extreme in terms of the sexual content, by standards of the late 60s/early 70s, as it relates to Turner’s own interest in his femininity as well as the fact that he’s sleeping with two women. Once Chas begins to embrace other sides of himself in the hope that it would get him out of Britain, it does become a film about identity as its ending is about the blur of fantasy and reality into what these two men want. Overall, Cammell and Roeg create a surreal yet exhilarating film about a gangster who hides out at the home of a reclusive rock star in the hopes to create a new identity.

Editors Anthony Gibbs, Brian Smedley-Aston, Frank Mazzola, and Tony Palmer do excellent work with the editing as it is very stylized in its approach to jump-cuts, dissolves, and fast-cuts to play into something that feels manic but also wild in the spirit of the 1960s. Art director John Clark does brilliant work with the look of the spacious home of Chas in the film’s first half to the arty and sort of claustrophobic home of Turner that is quite dirty and filled with lots of art and recording equipment. Sound recordist Ron Barron and sound editor Alan Patillo do superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere at Turner’s house as well as the clubs and places that Chas goes to as a gangster. The film’s music by Jack Nitzsche is terrific as it is this mixture of blues and jazz that play into the period of the times as the soundtrack also feature contributions from Mick Jagger including a scene where he sings as a gangster as well as pieces from Randy Newman, Ry Cooder, and Buffy Sainte-Marie.

The film’s fantastic cast feature some notable small roles from John Sterland as a chauffeur that Chas was beating up for money, John Bindon as a thug, Johnny Shannon as Chas’ boss Harry Flowers, Laraine Wickens as a young girl who is a maid for Turner in Lorraine, Kenneth Colley as a friend of Chas who would be his only contact in hiding, and Anthony Valentine as a betting shop owner in Joey Maddocks whom Chas dislikes as he would later try to kill him in a botched assassination attempt. Michele Breton is wonderful as Lucy as an androgynous woman whose look is boyish yet she seems to connect with Chas who would also have a liking towards her. Anita Pallenberg is excellent as Pherber as a secretary-of-sorts for Turner as well as a lover who takes an interest in Chas as she thinks he can get helpful for Turner.

Mick Jagger is brilliant as Turner where he provides that sense of energy but also a pretentiousness that is expected in a rock star where Jagger is definitely enjoying himself where he pretends to be a gangster as well as provide some humor as the rock star. Finally, there’s James Fox in an amazing performance as Chas as a tough gangster who deals with an attempt on his life as he struggles to find a life outside of crime as well as become this unlikely muse for a rock singer as he deals with the drawbacks of his own masculinity.

Performance is a marvelous film from Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg. It’s a very stylish film that explore male identity and the need to change it as it also feature some dazzling visuals and a killer soundtrack. In the end, Performance is a remarkable film from Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg.

Nicolas Roeg Films: Walkabout - (Glastonbury Fayre) – Don’t Look Now – The Man Who Fell to Earth - (Bad Timing) – (Eureka) – Insignificance – (Castaway) – (Aria-Un ballo in maschera) – (Track 29) – (The Witches (1990 film)) – (Heart of Darkness (1993 film)) – (Two Deaths) – (Full Body Massage) – (Samson and Delilah) – (Puffball)

© thevoid99 2017

Walkabout

Based on the novel by James Vance Marshall, Walkabout is the story about a teenage girl and her younger brother who find themselves in the Australian Outback unsure of how they will survive only to meet a young Aboriginal boy who helps them. Directed by Nicolas Roeg and screenplay by Edward Bond, the film is an exploration into a world outside of the city and into the unforgiving world that is the Australian Outback. Starring Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg, and David Gulpilil. Walkabout is a majestic film from Nicolas Roeg.

For the Aborigine, a walkabout is rite of passage they must once they reach past the age of adolescence by walking into the Australian desert for six months. In this film, it is about this Aborigine (David Gulpilil) who encounters a teenage girl (Jenny Agutter) and her younger brother (Luc Roeg) who are lost in the desert just after their father had gone insane and killed himself. For this young woman and her little brother, they have to endure a world that is completely outside of civilization only to get help from this Aborigine to trek through the Outback to return to civilization. Though the two Australians and Aborigine don’t understand each other, the journey they all take would be something that none of them would forget.

Edward Bond’s screenplay doesn’t feature much of a plot since it is about these two Australians who live in the city as they encounter a young Aborigine who helps them trek through the Outback. Yet, the script offers something much more where these two young Australians encounter a world that is out of their comfort zone as they have to deal with the harsh world of nature. With the help of this young Aborigine, they manage to survive the world of nature while discovering something that is very different from civilization. Still, there are elements of that civilized world that is prevalent as the one link the girl and her brother have is a radio.

Nicolas Roeg’s direction is very stylized in some of the presentation that he creates yet he keeps things simple and naturalistic in the way many of the scenes in the Outback are presented. A lot of it includes some very intense close-ups of the characters as well as striking shots of the locations in the wide shots to capture the beauty of the Outback. While there are elements in nature that is cruel, it is still nothing compared to the chaotic world of civilization. Still, Roeg isn’t interesting in fleshing out any kind of visual exposition on what world is better but rather showcase something that is different from what the civilized world have to endure. Even in moments of violence where this young Aborigine has to kill animals to survive where Roeg uses some grainy close-ups to capture this violence yet it is presented with more brutality when the Aborigine sees a couple of hunters do it with rifles as opposed to a spear.

With Roeg also serving as the film’s cinematographer, with some additional work from Tony Richmond, there is a naturalist look to many of the film’s Outback scenes as it is presented with an elegance that feels real. Since the film is also about a meeting of two different worlds, there is also an element of sexual discovery as it concerns the young girl and the Aborigine since there’s a scene of the girl swimming naked in a watering hole while the Aborigine later catches a glimpse of the girl dressing. They’re intrigued by each other but neither of them really know how to express one another. Even as they continue their journey with the little boy as there’s a lot around them that could take the girl and her brother back to civilization. Roeg’s direction also has this element of dreaminess in his montages to play out a world that seemed to have lost some innocence as it does add to a sense of melancholia towards its ending. Overall, Roeg creates a very exotic and hypnotic film about a journey into the world outside of civilization.

Editor Antony Gibbs and Alan Pattillo do amazing work with the editing by creating dazzling rhythmic cuts and stylish montages to play out the contrast between the civilized world and nature as well as some inspiring use of montages and freeze-frames to establish some key moments in the film. Production designer Brian Eatwell and art director Terry Gough do brilliant work with some of the film‘s minimal set pieces from the abandoned home the trio encounter to some of the villages nearby in their journey.

Location sound mixer Barry Brown does excellent work with the editing in creating some unique collages between the differing worlds of civilization and the natural world as well as scenes with the radio. The film’s music by John Barry is fantastic for its mixture of lush orchestral music to play out some of the film’s beauty as well as some intense moments for the drama as well as the use of didgeridoos to establish that harsh world that is nature. The film’s music also includes some pop music of the times including a song by Rod Stewart that is played on the radio.

The film’s cast includes some memorable small roles from John Meillon as the girl and boy’s father as well as Barry Donnelly, Noeline Brown, and Carlo Manchini as a group of scientists doing research in the Outback. The performances of David Gulpilil, Luc Roeg, and Jenny Agutter are truly extraordinary for their naturalistic performances with Gulpilil as the more ambiguous of the three while Roeg is the more innocent of the three since he is a child. In Agutter, she displays a radiance to her character as a teenage girl in transition into becoming a woman while facing the reality that is brought upon her.

Walkabout is an outstanding film from Nicolas Roeg that features mesmerizing performances from Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg, and David Gulpilil. The film is definitely one of the most entrancing features that displays a world in which two young people have to grow up to encounter the harsh world of nature while getting help from a young Aborigine who has no understanding of the civilized world. For audiences new to Nicolas Roeg, the film is definitely one of his most essential works in the way he captures the beauty that is the Outback. In the end, Walkabout is an incredible film from Nicolas Roeg.

Nicolas Roeg Films: Performance - (Glastonbury Fayre) - Don’t Look Now - The Man Who Fell to Earth - (Bad Timing) - (Eureka) - Insignificance - (Castaway (1986 film)) - (Aria-Un ballo in maschera) - (Track 29) - (The Witches) - (Heart of Darkness (1993 film)) - (Two Deaths) - (Full Body Massage) - (Samson and Delilah (1996 film)) - (Puffball)

© thevoid99 2013

The Man Who Fell to Earth

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 7/29/07.

***Very Special Thanks to the People at Disc-Go Round for Attaining this DVD just before its demise***

When the name David Bowie is uttered in a conversation. The first thing everyone comes to mind is him as an icon in the world of pop music. Whether it's the personas of Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, the Thin White Duke, or the superstar of the 1980s, he's beloved by millions for his music. To fans, he is known more than just an accomplished pop icon as he's ventured into the world of art as an accomplished painter and a board of director in Modern Arts magazine. Then there's another part of Bowie that relates to his brand of performance art since he was a trained mime under the tutorship of Lindsay Kemp.

In 1975, at the time of his commercial success in the U.S. with Young Americans and the #1 smash hit Fame. Bowie was asked by British director Nicolas Roeg to star in his next film. Roeg, whose previous films were 1970's Performance with Mick Jagger and James Fox, 1971's Walkabout with Jenny Agutter, and the 1973 thriller Don't Look Now with Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland, was embarking on his most ambitious project to date. The film would called The Man Who Fell to Earth with David Bowie playing the title role in his feature-film debut.

Based on the novel by Walter Tevis, The Man Who Fell to Earth is a story about an alien who travels to Earth to get water for his drought-surrounding home planet. Upon his trip, he carries patents for inventions that would revolutionize the world as he would be rich with the help of a businessman while meeting a simple-minded small town woman and a cynical professor where his stay would lead to corruptive substances, betrayal, and alienation.

With a screenplay by Paul Mayersberg, Roeg explores the world of an alien who falls into the temptations of Earth as his desperation to save his own family in his home planet would falter by the forces that are trying to stop him. Also starring Candy Clark, Buck Henry, Bernie Casey, Jackson D. Kane, Rick Riccardo, and Rip Torn. The Man Who Fell to Earth is a sprawling, complex sci-fi masterpiece from one of Britain's great directors led by a superb performance from the legendary David Bowie.

Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie) falls down to Earth as he walks down a mountain and later into a small town. Claiming to be from England and selling his wedding ring for $20, Newton later finds himself with loads of money as he is drawn by a river as he drinks its water. Newton then comes to New York City where he meets a business lawyer named Oliver Farnsworth (Buck Henry). Newton reveals to Farnsworth several patents that would revolutionize the world. Reluctantly, Farnsworth takes Newton's patents and immediately, the world is shocked by the new innovations that Newton and Farnsworth's new company World Enterprises has been making. One of those people amazed by a camera with film that is developed after its shot (a precursor to digital cameras) is a cynical, college professor named Nathan Bryce (Rip Torn).

Bryce is intrigued by the new technology World Enterprises is making while his own days as a college professor who sleeps with young students are almost done. After a meeting with Professor Canutti (Jackson D. Kane), Bryce leaves college as he successfully attains a job working for Farnsworth. Newton meanwhile, moves to New Mexico only to contact Farnsworth while being accompanied by his driver Arthur (Tony Mascia). Upon arriving to a hotel, Newton meets a simple-minded hotel maid named Mary-Lou (Candy Clark) who carries him to his hotel room after passing out due to the speed of the hotel elevator. They become friends as Newton's newfound attraction towards television increases his clairvoyant mind as he is haunted by the images of his home planet with his family dying from a drought. His friendship with Mary-Lou also introduces Newton to alcohol, which he is now consuming to distract himself from his haunted mind.

With World Enterprises' business and stock booming, Farnsworth is wondering what Newton is planning. Newton moves to a lake house near the place he landed as he and Mary-Lou live quietly despite Newton's newfound madness as he's consumed by alcohol and television. Bryce is sent to Newton's base to work on a space project Newton has been planning. The two meet as Bryce is baffled by Newton's intentions for the project. After learning the truth on who he is, Bryce learns of his intentions. With their own relationship becoming fragile, Mary-Lou learns who Newton really is and is shocked by the outcome.

The success of World Enterprises has captured the attention of the government as Farnsworth finds himself being investigated by Mr. Peters (Bernie Casey). Farnsworth suddenly feels more and more detached by Newton's plans as he and his partner Trevor (Rick Riccardo) are wondering what's going to happen. Finally, after all the money is made and the plans for a spaceship built, Newton is finally on his way to save his dying planet. Unfortunately, betrayal and murder occurs as Newton has become a captive by the government and is forced to learn of the fragile bond he has with Bryce and Mary-Lou.

The novel by Walter Tevis is described in an allegory of Jesus Christ coming down to Earth to be the Savior. The premise of both Tevis' novel and the film version of The Man Who Fell to Earth is similar to Christ's struggle with doing what's right for the world. In the case of its protagonist Thomas Jerome Newton, here's an alien who comes to Earth hoping to bring water back to his dying planet of Anthea. Using his own patents to create new technological innovation for Earth, he hopes to give humans some new wonders. Instead, he becomes corrupted by the planet itself with all of its vices as well as the people around him despite the fact that they have a good heart.

The screenplay by Paul Mayersberg shows a man who is trying to understand Earth itself while seeing the good and bad in the planet he hopes to take some of their water to help his own. Unfortunately, he doesn't expect the bad side of the planet and its in large part by its humanity and some of the technology they had created. Newton's interaction with the likes of Farnsworth, Bryce, and Mary-Lou are all different in how he engages them. The character of Newton is one full of caution. He doesn't like to ride in fast speed, he is somewhat anti-social, he isn't the kind of person who's really into any kind of conversation. Yet, he's an alien. Not just in the physical sense but also emotionally and mentally.

The other characters like Farnsworth, Bryce, and Mary-Lou each have their own role in the plot of the story. Farnsworth is a man who starts off living privately is intrigued by Newton while having to live a secret life as a gay man. Once money and power comes in, he starts to like everything while maintaining his own personal life. Yet, when he and Newton detach themselves, he turns to his lover Trevor for comfort as he hopes to use his own share for personal means. The character of Bryce is particularly complex for the fact that here's a man who is on the way down and is forced to live a life as a college professor who sleeps with very young women. When he stumbles upon World Enterprises, his life changes as he hopes to become the man he aspires to be while befriending Newton.

While the character of Mary-Lou might seem to be this whiny, corruptive individual. She's actually a lot more than that since she's a very simple, lonely young woman who hasn’t seen a lot of the outside world and becomes an unlikely companion for Newton despite what she brings him.

The direction of Nicolas Roeg is amazing in all of its images. Shot mostly on location in New Mexico, the film doesn’t look or act like a science-fiction film but rather a contemporary drama that features sci-fi elements. While the film features some special effects that might seem dated by today’s standards, it does work in bringing the idea of space and technology. There’s no time-line or any idea of where the film takes place. It doesn't really matter since Roeg is more concerned with the story as well as the journey he gives the audience.

It's not an easy journey but it is revealed into the troubled mind of Newton. Roeg's compositions of the Anthea sequences, Newton’s captivity, as well as everything that makes the whole film feel alien really brings a distinctive tone that is rarely seen in a lot of sci-fi related films. Though what Roeg does in his resulting vision isn't easy to watch, the result after the film does leave audiences thinking about not just the idea of alienation but ourselves into the idea of interacting with alien-beings.

Cinematographer Anthony Richmond brings a unique look to some of the film's scenes by using somewhat, grainy and dream-like images for the Anthea scenes while the use of blue lights in some of the nighttime scenes at the lake-house including Oriental lanterns for the archway port at the house. Editor Graeme Clifford brings a wonderfully stylistic, elliptical-paced approach to the editing to convey the clairvoyant mind of Newton as he sees things in his own life as well as others that also includes jump-cuts in some sequences. Production designer Brian Eatwell create some unique sets for the entire film such as the boat-like ship Newton traveled from Anthea to Earth, the home he and Mary-Lou lived in that includes a wall of 12 TVs in three by-four stacks, and fake autumn-like rooms for Newton's captive mansion.

Costume designer Mary Routh creates some wonderful, 70s-like clothing for the film's entire cast, notably the dresses and clothes that Candy Clark wears to convey her transition from small-town girl to a woman living in a rich life style. Some of the suits David Bowie wears are wonderfully designed by Ola Hudson, the mother of ex-Guns N' Roses/Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash. Make-up artist Linda DeVetta creates a unique-look to the alien look that Bowie wears when he reveals his true identity with Clark playing his alien wife as well as the aging Mary-Lou in the third act. Sound editor Michael Ellis helps create unique sounds to convey the film's sci-fi feel as well as to emphasize Newton’s adjustment to his new world.

The film's music and soundtrack is directed by the late John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas. Phillips creates a unique score that includes moments of rag-tag country banjos, hypnotic rock-like tracks, and other styles of music to convey the sense of alienation. Japanese composer Stomu Yamashta brings some moody jazz scores that also features the synthesizer on some cuts to give that spacey-feel. The rest of the soundtrack features cuts by Roy Orbison, Bing Crosby with Grace Kelly, Jim Reeves, Hank Snow, Louis Armstrong, Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, the Kingston Trio, and a cover of the Gene Pitney-composed, Rick Nelson classic Hello Mary-Lou performed by John Phillips and ex-Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor.

The film's cast features some notable cameos from Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell as himself, satirist/screenwriter Terry Southern as a reporter, and late Playboy model Claudia Jennings as Peters' wife. Bernie Casey is good as the shady government agent Mr. Peters while Rick Riccardo is also good as Farnsworth body-building lover Trevor. Jackson D. Kane is excellent in his role as Bryce's former superior Professor Canutti, who despises Bryce while appearing later on in the film as a scholar on corporations. The late Tony Mascia is also good as Newton's driver Arthur where in real-life, he actually is Bowie's driver/security chief in the 70s and throughout the 80s.

Buck Henry is wonderfully low-key in his performance as Oliver Farnsworth. A gay lawyer who hopes to use his newfound wealth to attain more freedom for his lifestyle. Henry is very subdued throughout the film and does an amazing job in playing a man who craves power and tries to evade the attention of the government. Rip Torn is in brilliant form as the cynical, skirt-chasing Nathan Bryce. Torn brings the kind of realism and sympathy to a man who has just been given another chance at greatness only to succumb from pressure by the government. Torn's performance is wonderful to watch as a man who goes up close to see Newton self-destruct. Candy Clark is phenomenal as Mary-Lou with her sweet, caring personality but inside is someone who is lonely and in need of help. Clark sells the despair of her character from the young woman who is seen wearing wigs and such to an old lady who realized how much that relationship has destroyed her emotionally.

Finally, there's David Bowie in his feature film debut and in a role that was supposed to be given to Peter O'Toole. It's no doubt that O'Toole is a great actor but in playing an alien that comes down to Earth and succumb to its vices. Only someone like David Bowie can play that character right from its awkwardness to his own detachment from everyone and everything around him. Bowie plays it straight from the restraint he gives as well as his physicality in being this very thin young man (and it should be noted that he had a terrible cocaine addiction during this time). Bowie brings a maturity in terms of business and economics while being naive in some ways about the Earth and humanity itself. It's a fantastic yet eerie performance from the Thin White Duke.

When the film was issued on DVD for the first time in 1998 by Fox Lorber, it was released with a poor film transfer in its widescreen format along with Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. That DVD was considered a disappointment to fans, even to those who bought the laserdisc version back in 1994. In 2003, Anchor Bay released a more superior version of the film with different audio mixes in stereo for 5.1 Dolby Digital and 6.1 DTS. The DVD also included a special feature which was a 24-minute featurette on the film along with its original screenplay as a DVD-rom feature. Then in 2005, The Man Who Fell to Earth was finally given the DVD treatment it truly deserve to both fans of the films and those who yearned to discover its brilliance.

The 2-disc Region 1 Criterion DVD of The Man Who Fell to Earth is one of the best highlights from the Criterion Collection. Presented in the anamorphic, widescreen format for 16x9 TVs and in the original theatrical ratio of 2:35:1 that is personally supervised by director Nicolas Roeg. The film is vastly superior in terms of its transfer and look thanks to Roeg and the DVD team. The film itself is in the first disc of the DVD in all of its uncut glory that included 20-minutes cut from the original American release. The film is also presented in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo that is also supervised by Roeg himself.

The only special feature in the first disc of the film is a commentary track by director Nicolas Roeg along with David Bowie and Buck Henry that was recorded in 1992 for the laserdisc version. While three of the tracks are recorded seperately, one by Roeg and another with Bowie and the other by Henry, they're presented in one full commentary that's a delight to hear. Bowie discusses with Roeg about his interest after seeing two of his films while Roeg wanted to cast him instead of Peter O'Toole through Alan Yentob's 1975 BBC documentary Cracked Actor. Roeg and Bowie talk about the ideas of the film and the locations they were in as Bowie tried to recall about his first arrival into New Mexico and meeting real-life cowboys. While Bowie admits that his own memory of 1974-1975 is hazy due to the fact that he was under the influence of drugs at the time, he does remember stuff about the filming as well as his own social interaction with Rip Torn, whom he enjoyed.

Buck Henry discusses about getting the part and when people asked about the film he was in and who was in it and directed by who. One person replied, "That's a dinner party, not a cast". Henry also discusses his own interaction with Bowie as with the themes of the film and the glasses he wore which he couldn't see in them. Henry emphasizes on the film's brilliance while discussing some of Roeg's work. He also understands why a general American audience will have a hard time watching this.

Roeg discusses a lot of the film's sense of paranoia and alienation while he and Bowie discussed the growing advent of technology and how it could play against man. Bowie briefly discusses about creating a soundtrack for the film that would eventually become some of the music for his 1976 classic album Station to Station but also his 1977 seminal album Low. The overall commentary is one of the most profound and intelligent commentaries by three of the film's prominent figure.

The second disc of the DVD includes a plethora of material and supplements that would be a must-have for any fan of the film. Including interviews, photo galleries, and trailers, it's a collection of material that emphasizes the film's influence. The first interview is with screenwriter Paul Mayersberg who discusses the novel, Roeg, novelist Walter Tevis, and his approach to the screenplay. The 26-minute interview is very informative about the film and why it didn't do well commercially when it was released. He says that it was a film and like the book itself, that didn't pertain to any kind of traditional genre.

He also compares the film and Tevis' novel to another novel that Tevis wrote, The Hustler that was also made into a film starring Paul Newman and Piper Laurie. The comparison emphasizes on the similarities of the protagonists and their relationship with women. Mayersberg also discusses in why a film and story like The Man Who Fell to Earth wouldn't register with a large audience, notably in America, because people want to cheer for winners. Mayersberg also briefly discusses the characters and the actors while giving his own take on the film itself and its legacy.

The second big interview is a 25-minute featurette called Performance that features new interviews with actors Rip Torn and Candy Clark. Featuring some old super-8 footage shot by Torn on location, the two actors discuss their own characters and memories of the film. Torn recalled about having a great time making the film and enjoyed Roeg’s approach to the film despite a lack of improvisation. Clark recalls on her own idea of the lack of improvisation and was due to the fact that the schedule went back and forth into shooting scenes in a non-continuous way. She also discussed about playing Bowie's character at one point because he was ill.

The two actors also discussed the film's American theatrical cut where 20 minutes of scenes from the film were cut by the studio losing some of the film's important plot points. Both actors seem very fond of the film though Clark admits that she and Bowie were not comfortable in their nude scenes and she could barely watch them today. Torn meanwhile, is amazed how much the film remains relevant since its release.

A third interview appears in an audio format with the film's novelist Walter Tevis in 1984. Conducted by Don Swaim for CBS radio, the 24-minute interview is separated into four different tracks. The first track reveals Tevis discussing his background living in Kentucky and his own reaction the success of his first novel The Hustler back in 1959 and the film itself while briefly mentioning the sequel, that would become Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money. The second track reveals Tevis' approach to science-fiction while discussing a novel he was completing at the time which also a sci-fi novel. He revealed his approach as more character driven as opposed to the sci-fi ideas of Star Wars.

The third track of the interview is where Tevis talks about becoming a full-time writing. He was a professor at the University of Ohio back in the early 60s and writing part-time. Yet, it made for a bad lifestyle that led him to alcoholism before finally sobering up in 1975. He also revealed that it was in 1961, he began to write the novel for The Man Who Fell to Earth. The fourth and final track reveals the themes that Tevis writes about, which is alienation, and how he wanted to stray from that in the future.

The fourth featurette of interviews is with the married collaborators of production designer Brian Eatwell and costume designer May Routh. Each individual has an interview where Eatwell's 24-minute interview discusses the locations and design of some of the sets. Eatwell in an audio interview that features stills and super 8 footage of the making of the film. Eatwell reveals stories behind the production such as the lake house that Newton and Mary-Lou lived that is filled with Japanese artifacts to create a sense of authenticity. The spaceship that Newton built that was also shown on the album cover of Bowie's Station to Station was actually filled with coffee cups stapled and the sprayed in black. The home were Newton was held captive was made with different sets to convey the emotion of Newton. The film was cheaper to make in some ways due to the fact that Eatwell and his team were all English and despite being on a limited budget were treated very well with the people of New Mexico.

Costume designer May Routh gives a 19-minute interview discussing the costumes she created for the film. Featuring photos and sketches by Routh, the designer reveals in the first half of the interview the collaboration she had with Bowie on the clothes. Bowie was up for anything as long as it related to the character where she created a lot of sketches. The most difficult that she created was the alien suit he and Candy Clark wore with the tubes, largely because of the material they had to use. With Clark's own clothing, it was mostly found in places like JC Penny's and other places as Routh wanted the clothes to convey her own development from this poor girl to a rich, unhappy woman. With Buck Henry, most of his clothes were bought at a wonderful men's suits store in Albuquerque while his jump-suit was the only thing designed. With Rip Torn and other characters, it was mostly straight-forward in what the character wanted.

Routh's interview is also followed by a gallery of her sketches of the costumes she's designed. There are four more photo galleries in the DVD. The first is from still photographer David James that is preceded by a seven-minute audio intro where James discusses taking the still photography job after a hiatus from trying to produce a German film project. James reveals his love for Bowie and the whole experience of being involved with the film. Most of the photos he reveal are in wonderful black-and-white and are some of the best still photography shown.

A posters film gallery unveils several international film posters of Roeg's work from Performance to 1980's Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession. Roeg contributes his own photos of his own shooting script filled with Polaroids and notes on the book. The final photo gallery comes from executive producer Si Litvinoff that features behind the scenes snapshots of cast and crew on location for the film that also includes Bowie's ex-wife Angela and his longtime assistant Coco Schwab.

Seven trailers appear in the DVD that features various U.S. and international trailers and teasers for The Man Who Fell to Earth that included one U.S. trailer with a voice-over by William Shatner. The two U.S. trailers and teaser definitely promoted the film as a typical sci-fi film that isn't like anything else at the time hyping it as something new. Two international teasers and a trailer definitely use Bowie's name to hype the film considering that he's a bigger star in the U.K. and Europe rather in the U.S. The footage also shows deleted footage featuring Candy Clark that never made it to the final cut. The 30-second TV spot also brings some ambiguity by also hyping the film with Bowie’s name.

Accompanying the entire DVD sets are two essays in a 28-page booklet. The first essay is by film critic Graham Fuller on the film itself. Entitled Loving The Alien after the famed David Bowie single from 1984's Tonight. The essay unveils the film's release back in 1976 where in England and parts of Europe, it was a success. In America however, 20 minutes of the film was cut by the studio that received mixed reviews by critics while not faring very well in the box office. The essay goes into detail about the film and its plot while revealing the 20-minutes that were cut that included an entire sequence to the song Hello, Mary-Lou, Nathan Bryce in a Santa Claus suit and cavorting with his students, a shot of Mary-Lou in shock over Newton in his alien form. The essay also explores the film's comparison with its actual novel and its allegory to Jesus Christ.

The second essay by University of Ohio English professor Jack Matthews entitled The Novels and Confessions of Walter Tevis is an appreciation on the late novelist. Matthews briefly discusses the life of Walter Tevis and the two famous novels that marked his prestige in literature, The Hustler and The Man Who Fell to Earth. Matthews compares both books while also comparing The Man Who Fell to Earth to Mark Twain's famed novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court that also featured similar ideas of new technology threatening the present world the protagonists are in.

Matthews also reveals his own friendship with Tevis as he sees him through good times and bad that included his alcoholism, which was often very private. The final accompaniment to the DVD is the novel itself by Walter Tevis. A book that is hard to find nowadays finally appears to those who've seen the film and have never read the book will finally see the source. The book is indeed a treasure for anyone who loved the film.

Since its release in 1976, The Man Who Fell to Earth has carried a legacy that is unparalleled with most films. In 1985, former Clash singer/guitarist Mick Jones and punk pioneer Don Letts created the group Big Audio Dynamite whose video for their single E=MC^2 featured footage from the film along with other films by Nicolas Roeg. In 1998, Stone Temple Pilots/Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland's single for Barbarella featured a video that had a similar premise to the film itself. Then in 2001, David Bowie did a spoof on the film's title by falling onto a building from space and to Earth exclaiming "I'll never get used to that" in a commercial for satellite radio.

With The Man Who Fell to Earth now considered one of the touchstones of 1970s cinema, the film's cult following and legacy has spurned upon the legacy of two of its individual. Nicolas Roeg remains a icon of sorts among film directors, including Ridley Scott and Francois Ozon as Roeg continued to make films before taking a hiatus following 1990's The Witches. While he worked on TV films for a brief period, Roeg returned to the cinema with 2006's Puffball starring Kelly Reilly, Miranda Richardson, and Donald Sutherland.

David Bowie meanwhile, continues to balance his highly-acclaimed music career with a string of diverse films. Ranging from cult movies like Tony Scott's The Hunger, Julien Temple's Absolute Beginners, Jim Henson's Labyrinth, and Ben Stiller's Zoolander as himself. While appearing in interesting, auteur-based films like Nagisa Oshima's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, Martin Scorsese's controversial film The Last Temptation of Christ as Pontius Pilate, David Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Julian Schnabel's Basquiat as Andy Warhol, and most recently, Christopher Nolan's The Prestige as Nikola Tesla. Bowie's acting career, unlike most pop stars has been filled with acclaim and admiration among not just actors and director but also his fellow artist and musicians.

The Man Who Fell to Earth is a must-see film from director Nicolas Roeg and his team along with a great cast led by the brilliant David Bowie. Fans of Bowie and Roeg will no doubt consider the film and the Criterion DVD as a must-have. Those new to the work of Nicolas Roeg will see this as a nice starting point. While for general audiences, it's a film that won't be easy to watch yet repeated viewing will make the film more understandable and appreciative. In the end, The Man Who Fell to Earth is a brilliant yet provocative, sci-fi film from director Nicolas Roeg and its star, David Bowie.

Nicolas Roeg Films: Performance - Walkabout - (Glastonbury Fayre) - Don't Look Now - (Bad Timing) - (Eureka) - Insignificance - (Castaway) - (Aria-Un ballo in maschera) - (Track 29) - (The Witches) - (Heart of Darkness) - (Two Deaths) - (Full Body Massage) - (Samson and Delilah) - (Puffball)

© thevoid99 2011