The Man Who Fell To Earth review (Blu-ray) ★

You can never go back. In the case of the teenage me and my previous admiration for The Man Who Fell To Earth that’s probably no bad thing. After indulging Roeg’s deliberately disjointed act of art house masturbation for the first time in over 20 years , I can only conclude that the teenage me was, frankly, a bit of a tosser.

The story here is actually a good one. It’s trite, yes, and boils down to a rather obvious analogy about corruption, but at the time – 1976 – it was pretty cutting edge. The narrative structure gives it all a dream like quality and, surprisingly, Bowie’s performance still stands up. It’s just all a bit earnest and art studenty.

Thomas Jerome Newton (Bowie) is the gravity-influenced chap of the title and, actually, not a man at all. He’s an alien who fled his dying planet and crash landed on Earth where his superior intelligence and knowledge sees him build a vast business empire. Money and world domination are not his driving forces - he’s attempting to save his home planet from drought – but, perhaps inevitably, as the business grows, Newton falls prey to the temptations modern life and wealth throw up.

According to the blurb, this is a “bitingly caustic indictment of the modern world” and also “a poignant commentary on the loneliness of the outsider.” Hmm. Maybe. But it’s also borderline unwatchable and hilariously pretentious. In fact it’s only the curiosity value and performances – although Bowie’s “cold fish” might not be acting per se – that make the 148 minutes vaguely bearable, particularly Rip Torn’s seat-of-the-pants method / madness turn.