Jawbone Press Earthbound: David Bowie and The Man Who Fell To Earth

I took this book with me to New Mexico so I could visit all of the sites where "The Man Who Fell to Earth" was filmed. It was very helpful and I loved all of the anecdotes about Bowie, the locals and the crew. Cool photos, too.

Loving the Alien BowieBowie was always like the man who fell to earth to me: Space Oddity is one of the first songs I ever remember as a little kid, I loved floating up into space and drifting away with the lonely spaceman, but felt sad he was never going to make it home. Then he was back as a Starman, on Top of the Pops. As I lived in a soot stained, black and white world in a mining village, I looked in wonder at the screen of our new colour TV, at this extraordinary looking Bowie being dressed in ‘glam’ spacesuits and thought he could only have possibly come from another world. So, who else but Bowie could have possibly played the spaceman Newton in the film The Man Who Fell to Earth? How about Robert Redford (Paramount studios choice), Peter O’Toole, Mick Jagger or even a 6ft 8 doctor director Nicholes Roeg met at a party? All were possibilities for the role, Susan Compo informs us near the beginning of her compelling and brilliantly crafted book Earthbound: David Bowie and The Man Who Fell to Earth. Compo’s research and dissection of the film and main character is so thorough that it’s like Newton is being examined on an autopsy slab in a hangar in the alien HQ of Roswell, New Mexico, where scenes from the film would be shot. A few years ago, I drove through the otherworldly landscapes of New Mexio with Bowie’s Straman songs on the stereo, scenes from the film in my mind, and you get the same feeling by reading this book; Compo lands you down in the alien White Sands landscape of New Mexico, takes you onto the set of The Man Who Fell to Earth, you drop into conversations of director Nick Roeg and the film crew and all the time you feel the enigmatic alien presence of Bowie, and a glimpse of his human persona when we find him in his hotel room with co-star Candy Clark. The book doesn't just focus on the film, though, Compo goes back to its origins with detailed account of the 1963 novel and author Walter Tevis. And at the end of the book, it moves on to the end of Bowie’s life - you can never get over the extraordinary way he went out, it's like he finally did become a Starman and his soul drifted up into space, leaving a parting gift and music mystery behind. Doubt any other human will ever go out with such style. I’d highly recommend this book to fans of Bowie, cult UK cinema, 70’s culture and sci-fi.

本文は英語なので、全く内容はわかりませんが、所々の写真がワクワクします！

Susan Compo has crafted an exhaustive,comprehensive, and always fascinating behind the scenes look at the making of the cult film,THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. This book is a must read for fans of the film, its' director Nicolas Roeg, and its'star music icon David Bowie.

Simply one of the best books on the film that I’ve ever read. Its a great snapshot of filming in the 70’s and the creative process. Itsnot just about the film, its about the original book and its author Walter Tevis.