Metrograph

David Bowie gets the role he was born to play in Roeg’s free interpretation of Walter Tevis’s novel of the same name, an imagist feast for the eyes featuring the aristocratic Starman as a humanoid extraterrestrial who, upon arrival on Earth, sets out to create a business empire (and private space fleet) with the intention of saving his drought-parched home planet, only to find his efforts thwarted by sinister forces of opposition and his own all-too-human weaknesses. A cult item whose reputation has consistently risen in stature in the years since its initial release—Time Out called it “the most intellectually provocative genre film of the 1970s”—with the Thin White Duke backed by a formidable supporting cast that includes Rip Torn, Buck Henry, and Clark as Mary-Lou, the small-town Oklahoma girl who introduces Bowie’s extraterrestrial to boozin’, churchin’, and makin’ love. (Years later, Clark would do the film one more good turn, helping to locate the original negative and restore Roeg’s director’s cut!)

“When we first met, David was in LA making the record that became Station To Station. He had rented a house on Doheny and Nic and I went to see him regarding The Man Who Fell To Earth. He had the orange hair and was at his all-time skinniest. He looked like a spider, all spindly. Before he cast him in the lead, Nic made him promise to not do cocaine during the production.” —Candy Clark, Tight Heads

Restoration of The Man Who Fell to Earth is based on a 4K scan of the original camera negative, followed by a full 4K workflow, with the approval of cinematographer Anthony Richmond.

Introduction by Candy Clark on Saturday, May 10th