Feb. 02--A month after his death, many of us are still thinking about the breadth of David Bowie's work, which included the 1976 sci-fi cult hit "The Man Who Fell to Earth," which was the Bowie's first starring film role. It screens Friday at the Vic Theatre courtesy of Brew View.
The movie (which is also available via streaming on Amazon and iTunes) features Bowie as a humanoid alien who crash lands on Earth in search of water for his own planet. It also stars Rip Torn, Buck Henry and a cameo from real-life astronaut Jim Lovell.
In a 1992 interview with MovieLine, Bowie said that his performance shouldn't be described as acting. "I just threw my real self into that movie as I was at that time," he told the reporter. "It was the first thing I'd ever done (in the movie business). I was virtually ignorant of the established procedure, so I was going a lot on instinct, and my instinct was pretty dissipated. I just learned the lines for that day and did them the way I was feeling. It wasn't that far off. I actually was feeling as alienated as that character was. It was a pretty natural performance. What you see there is David Bowie."
The film screens 9 p.m. Friday at The Vic Theatre. Bowie tribute band Cracked Actors will be performing live before after the movie.
nmetz@tribpub.com
