I’m excited to see that a new series based on Walter Tevis’s novel The Man Who Fell to Earth is coming to Showtime in 2022. Chiwetel Ejiofor is a brilliant choice to star in it.
I went to the theater in 1976 to see the David Bowie version. It was a big occasion in my small town, because films like that didn’t often play in our theaters.
The film stays with you, but after reading Tevis’s novel, I realized the book is better.
I’m in awe of Tevis. His novels have translated exceptionally well to film and TV. He wrote The Queen’s Gambit, a huge hit on Netflix this year; The Hustler, a classic movie starring Paul Newman, Piper Laurie, and Jackie Gleason; and, of course, The Man Who Fell to Earth, starring David Bowie.
Not many artists can create such diverse characters. Tevis is one, and so is David Bowie. I’m inspired by their creativity.
Here are a few passages about Bowie and The Man Who Fell to Earth from the essay “Bowie and the Berlin Wall” in my book Mysteries of Game Theory and Other Oddities:
“Before Bowie came to Berlin, he played Thomas Jerome Newton in his first feature film, The Man Who Fell to Earth, a role that fit him better than any other he played. He captured Newton’s superior knowledge and intellect, and the essence of a man from the planet Anthea who had come to Earth to build a spaceship to carry water back to his drought-plagued planet, which had destroyed itself through war. Newton feared the same madness was likely to happen on Earth.
Whether it was director Nicolas Roeg’s vision, the editing, or the added sex scenes, the film didn’t allow the tragedy of Thomas Jerome Newton to unfold as clearly and poignantly as it does in the book. However, Bowie’s and Candy Clark’s performances were terrific, and the film is memorable.
Bowie used photos taken during the filming of The Man Who Fell to Earth as the cover art for both Station to Station and Low. A video from his final album, Blackstar, referenced Thomas Jerome Newton, and his final project, the musical Lazarus, featured Newton as its protagonist. The character obviously meant something to Bowie.
Newton also recorded an album, The Visitor, in the Anthean language for his family, who would soon be dead because of his failure to build a spacecraft that could save them and his fellow Antheans. Bowie was supposed to produce the film’s soundtrack, but it never materialized; instead, he brought what he had written to Berlin and played it for his band. They were impressed. At least one song, “Subterraneans,” ended up on Low.”
Read more about Walter Tevis in The New York Times. Check out the Best Science Fiction Books.
Listen or read Walter Tevis on Audiobooks, Amazon/Audible, and Bookstores who are not Amazon.
You’ll love David Bowie’s Favorite Books Categorized. You might also enjoy Just Kids by Pattie Smith.
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