Interstellar: 10 Superior Philosophical Sci-Fi Films
2. The Man Who Fell To Earth
The obvious joke about Nicolas Roegs 1976 film is that it wasn't much of a stretch for its star - little-known musician David Bowie - to play a paranoid, fragile and skeletal alien being from another world. Thats basically what he was like at the time, being well into his phase of consuming only milk, red peppers and copious amounts of cocaine, a state that Roeg took full advantage in crafting the character of Thomas Jerome Newton, an extraterrestrial who quite literally fell to Earth. The Man Who Fell To Earth is, essentially, a flipped version of Interstellar. Here Newton is an alien from a planet that is suffering a terrible drought, sent to our planet to find out if its a suitable place for his race to emigrate to. Where the astronauts of Interstellar find hope amongst the stars, however, Newtons naive and pure self is hopelessly corrupted by human society, as he falls to alcoholism, drug addiction, abusive relationships and eventual kidnap and experimentation by the US government. Theres also some stuff in there about time dilation and aging, but ultimately, The Man Who Fell To Earth is like a pessimistic counterpoint to Nolans film. Plus it has David Bowie, which is a pretty great selling point.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
