Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Laemmle Royal, Los Angeles
A space alien (David Bowie) crash lands on Earth, seeking help for his drought-stricken planet. By securing patents to advanced technology, he becomes a fabulously wealthy industrialist. Money, however, and its attendant decadence ultimately exert a stronger gravitational pull. Bowie is perfectly cast as the space traveler, and the film cemented director Nicolas Roeg's status as one of the most distinctive filmmakers of the 1970's. Originally cut by 20 minutes in its 1976 U.S. release, this presentation is the complete version. “HUGELY AMBITIOUS AND IMAGINATIVE… Transforms a straightforward science fiction story into a rich kaleidoscope of contemporary America. Newton (Bowie) arrives on earth, builds the largest corporate empire in the States to further his mission, but becomes increasingly frustrated by human emotions. What follows is as much a love story as sci-fi: like other films of Roeg's, this explores private and public behavior…. Roeg, often using a dazzling technical skill, jettisons narrative in favor of thematic juxtapositions, working best when exploring the clichés of social and cultural ritual… VISUALLY A TREAT THROUGHOUT!” – Time Out (London). "ABSORBING AND BEAUTIFUL! Mr. Roeg has chosen the garish, translucent, androgynous-mannered rock-star, David Bowie, for his space visitor. The choice is inspired. Mr. Bowie gives an extraordinary performance. The details, the chemistry of this tall pale figure with black-rimmed eyes, are clearly not human. Yet he acquires a moving, tragic force as the stranger caught and destroyed in a strange land." – Richard Eder, The New York Time