Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
WSR Detailed DVD Review
Man Who Fell To Earth, The
Fox Lorber
Genre: Science Fiction

Reviewed In Issue 72 (May 2003) Of Widescreen Review®

Stars:
David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark & Buck Henry

WSR Review Scores
WSR Picture Rating: 2
DD Sound Rating: 2
DTS Sound Rating: NA
Download WSR Review
Reference Systems
Critics' Composite Score: 4
Internet Links


Special Features
Includes filmographies.


 DVD General Information

(Studio/Distributor): Fox Lorber Home Video
(Catalog Number): FLV5039
(MPAA Rating): R
(Rating Reason):

(Retail Price): $9.98
(DVD Type): Single Side, Dual Layer (DVD9)
(Widescreen Edition): Yes
(Full Screen Edition): No
(Anamorphic Widescreen): No
(Running Time In Minutes): 139
(Color Type): Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
(Closed Captioned): No
(Regional Coding): 1
(Theatrical Year): 1976
(Theatrical Release): Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release): No
(DVD Release Date): 08/25/98
(THX® Digitally Mastered): No

 Credits Information

(Director): Nicolas Roeg
(Screenplay/Written By): Subscribe Now!
(Story): Subscribe Now!
(Music): Subscribe Now!
(Director Of Photography): Subscribe Now!
(Production Designer): Subscribe Now!
(Visual Effects): Subscribe Now!
(Costume Designer): Subscribe Now!
(Editor): Subscribe Now!
(Supervising Sound Editors): Subscribe Now!
(Re-Recording Mixers): Subscribe Now!
(Executive Producers): Subscribe Now!
(Co-Producers): Subscribe Now!
(Producers): Subscribe Now!
(Academy Awards): Subscribe Now!

  DVD Picture Information

(Principal Photography): Subscribe Now!
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio): Subscribe Now!
(Measured DVD Anamorphic Aspect Ratio): Subscribe Now!
(Measured DVD Letterbox Aspect Ratio): Subscribe Now!

  DVD Sound Information

(DVD Soundtrack): Subscribe Now!
(Theatrical Sound): Subscribe Now!
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack): Subscribe Now!
(DTS Bit Rate): Subscribe Now!
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate): Subscribe Now!
(Additional Languages): Subscribe Now!
(Subtitles): Subscribe Now!
(WSR Superb Sound Qualities): Subscribe Now!

  WSR Narrative Review
Story Synopsis:
"The Man Who Fell To Earth" is a modern-day allegory and visual tour de force by Roeg. It loosely follows the adventures of a space traveler (Bowie) who comes to Earth seeking water for his drought-stricken planet but gets distracted by Earthly diversions. The film is a true hallucinatory vision and watershed of the 1970s, and is included here as the original full-length 139-minute version. (Gary Reber)

DVD Picture:
This new anamorphically enhanced DVD exhibits a picture that is clearly dated, but offering decent sharpness and detail, especially when compared to the 1998-released, non-anamorphic Fox Lorber DVD. Colors have a bit of a subdued appearance, but are consistent throughout, with accurate fleshtones and generally deep blacks. While the Fox Lorber edition has no shortage of distractions in the way of aliasing problems and pixelization, there is only some image breakup and limited edge enhancement on the Anchor Bay DVD. The source element is revealing of some grain and artifacts, but nothing that should seem excessive. Both versions are framed at 2.35:1, although the Fox Lorber version appears slightly zoomed-in when compared to the newer Anchor Bay version. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The DVD offers Dolby