The Man Who Fell to Earth Blu-ray

The Man Who Fell to Earth

 (1976)

Drama | Sci-Fi



The Man Who Fell to Earth is a daring exploration of science fiction as an art form. The story of an alien on an elaborate rescue mission provides the launching pad for Nicolas Roeg’s visual tour de force, a formally adventurous examination of alienation in contemporary life. Rock legend David Bowie, in his acting debut, completely embodies the title role, while Candy Clark, Buck Henry, and Rip Torn turn in pitch-perfect supporting performances. The film’s hallucinatory vision was obscured in the American theatrical release, which deleted nearly twenty minutes of crucial scenes and details. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Roeg’s full uncut version, in this exclusive new director-approved high-­definition widescreen transfer

For more details about The Man Who Fell to Earth on Blu-ray, see The Man Who Fell to Earth Blu-ray Review

Starring: David Bowie, Candy Clark, Rip Torn, Buck Henry, Bernie Casey
Director: Nicolas Roeg

The Man Who Fell to Earth Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC, and granted a 1080p transfer Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

If you love this film, I am certain you must have gone through a fair share of different SDVD editions. The old Anchor Bay disc, the initial Criterion release, the rerelease, perhaps even the UK disc, all of these were considered a good buy at a certain point during DVD's boom. As one of my dear friends likes to say though: it is time to retire them all!

The Man Who Fell To Earth has been granted a terrific treatment with this new Blu-ray release. The contrast, as expected, is incredibly strong. In fact, the Blu-ray transfer impressively outdoes the SDVD version with its strong and very detailed visuals where Anthony B. Richmond's cinematography simply shines. The panoramic vistas from America's countryside are exceptionally strong and, as far as I am concerned, way more impressive than anything we have previously seen on SDVD. The color-scheme on the other hand differs significantly from what the Anchor Bay disc showed us. Here, the greenish tint from the Anchor Bay release is replaced by red-er hues which appear to be affecting the entire composition of the film. I looked at the back cover for the Criterion disc to see whether or not this release has been supervised by the director and, as expected, I see that in fact the high-definition transfer has been approved by Nicolas Roeg. With other words, this means that what we see on this Blu-ray transfer is indeed what the director intended. Furthermore, The Man Who Fell To Earth also reveals a healthy dose of film grain which film purists will surely appreciate. In fact, blown through a digital projector The Man Who Fell To Earth looks exceptionally strong and probably as film-like as possible. This being said, I did not see any examples of DNR manipulation to report here, just pure film imagery. Dust, debris, and scratches have also been eliminated and, again, I must conclude that this is the best possible presentation of Nicolas Roeg's film that you could get on a media format. (Note: As announced by Criterion, this is indeed a Region-A only release, which you will not be able to play on your Region-B hardware).

The Man Who Fell to Earth Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


The Man Who Fell To Earth arrives on Blu-ray with an English uncompressed stereo track. The clarity of sound here is exceptional. The dialog in particular is crystal clear and very easy to follow. One could easily tell that serious restoration work has been done as the audio quality is hardly something I would describe as typical for a 32-year old film. This being said, the lovely music score is also very strong and perfectly blended with the dialog. Those of you who have seen The Man Who Fell To Earth know perfectly well that the film boasts a very delicate soundtrack with memorable retro-ambient overtones, which the uncompressed stereo track treats magnificently. I don't want to spoil the film for those who are yet to see it, but there is a large lovemaking scene during the second half, right after an important revelation is made at the lake house, where the music has a very specific role. Suffice to say, the delicate ambient tunes I heard from my speakers were of quality I am having a difficult time describing with simple words. Great job Criterion! Finally, I must note that I did not detect any hissings, pop-ups, or cracks. English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The Man Who Fell to Earth Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Today on Blu-ray - December 16th - December 16, 2008


• Criterion Titles Get Delayed - November 17, 2008

The Man Who Fell to Earth Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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