Movie · 1976 · Science Fiction, Drama, Fantasy · 2h 19m · R · English
Curator score: 5.7/10 (90.7K ratings)
Power, space, time and a visitor.
Overview
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.7/10
IMDb: 6.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.47/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Metacritic: 81
TMDB: 6.5/10
Director
Nicolas Roeg
Production
British Lion Films, Houtsnede Maatschappij
Cast
David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark, Tony Mascia, Buck Henry, Bernie Casey, Adrienne La Russa, Claudia Jennings, Rick Riccardo, Jim Lovell, Hilary Holland, Linda Hutton, Jackson D. Kane, Lilybelle Crawford, Richard Breeding, Albert Nelson, Peter Prouse
Curator Review
Verdict
A surreal, melancholy sci-fi art film with striking imagery and a deeply alienated central performance. It’s more about mood, corruption, and loneliness than plot mechanics, so it rewards viewers open to an experimental, dreamlike pace.
Best for
fans of 1970s art-house science fiction
viewers drawn to alienation and identity stories
people who like psychedelic, nontraditional editing and imagery
audiences interested in Bowie’s screen presence and androgynous iconography
Skip if
you want a tight, conventional sci-fi narrative
you dislike slow, elliptical, or intentionally disorienting films
you need clear worldbuilding and tidy explanations
you prefer action-forward genre movies
Overview
Nicolas Roeg turns a simple premise into a feverish study of displacement, appetite, and decay. The film’s power comes less from its plot than from its atmosphere: a drifting, uneasy sense that Earth itself is a trap, and that human systems are as alien as anything in space. David Bowie’s casting is perfect for that idea, giving Newton a beauty that feels fragile, remote, and strangely tragic.
Worth noting
The movie is at its best when it lets images and fragments do the work. Roeg’s editing, the glassy surfaces, the sexual unease, and the constant sense of consumption all build a portrait of a being slowly absorbed by the culture he hoped to exploit. It can feel shaggy and opaque, but that looseness is part of its spell.
Bottom line
This is not a crowd-pleasing sci-fi adventure. It’s a haunting, sometimes abrasive mood piece that lingers because it treats alien contact as a story about addiction, loneliness, and the failure of transcendence. If you’re in the right frame of mind, it’s unforgettable.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Graham Williamson (5★) · 1545 likes
"Look up here, I'm in danger."
It is 1976, and David Bowie is in trouble. The record company is hammering on his door for Young Americans 2, and all the songs he's writing are lengthy, bleak, and fixated on occult and religious symbolism. He is subsisting on a diet of milk, peppers and cocaine, and preserves his chalk-coloured complexion by never opening the curtains of his house. He has recently completed a film - his first major feature - and… more
fiend4mojitos (4★) · 1180 likes
I don't know what they were on in that editing room but I want some
Cinemonster (5★) · 1088 likes
The stars look very different today.
Lola Landekić (2★) · 961 likes
I wish there was a way to watch this movie without watching this movie.
Nea Ching(y) (4.5★) · 768 likes
if david bowie touched me, i would also pee myself