This 1976 British existential science fiction films was music star David Bowie's first major screen role and indeed much of the film's weirdness is a result of Bowie's brilliant performance. He plays an extraterrestrial being who crashes to Earth looking for a way to ship water back to his home planet which is experiencing a severe drought. A novel concept (the film was based on the 1963 book of the same name by Walter Tevis) for sure. Bowie's inherent androgyny (and his burgeoning cocaine addiction) really add to the weirdness of his performance but so to does Nicolas Roeg's expert direction. The scene where Bowie removes his human eye contact lenses to reveal a set of strange, reptile-looking peepers is one of many scenes that has made the film a cult classic. The Man Who Fell To Earth is filled with gaps in logic and is implausible in places but, if you can look past this, you'll see that it's one of the most underrated science fiction films of all time.
