Dundead: The Man Who Fell to Earth (50th Anniversary)

David Bowie is perfectly cast as an alien visitor to earth in this 1976 cult classic.

The BFI once said “no director better epitomised the risk-taking mood of 1970s British cinema than Nicolas Roeg.” Who better then, to direct David Bowie in his first cinematic role, starring as an extraterrestrial visiting Earth? 

Bowie plays Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien who has come to Earth to take precious water back to his home planet and becomes a reclusive millionaire. Rip Torn and Candy Clark co-star, but other than Bowie, the dominant creative force in the film is Roeg’s direction, which is typically far-out and filled with the kind of non-linear, experimental editing he is known for.

Bowie claimed to not really remember making the film due to his drug use at the time, but it hardly needs saying that he was perfectly cast. As Bowie himself said “My one snapshot memory of that film is not having to act. Just being me was perfectly adequate for the role. I wasn't of this earth at that particular time.” The film is also an important touchstone in Bowie’s career as Bowie would go on to use images from the production for two of his album covers, 1976’s Station to Station (released just a couple of months before the film) and 1977’s Low.