Keswick Film Festival

Synopsis

David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark, Buck Henry.
Roeg's venture into science fiction is of course much more than the simple tale of a man who came to seek help for his parched planet. Capitalising on lucrative inventions and heading up an international conglomerate, he seems well on his way; but earthly temptations (sex, booze and TV!) endanger the ultimate objective. The depiction of the alienating effects of an over-commercialised society must be intended to warn us earthlings, just as much as the extraterrestrial Bowie character - he of the anorexic frame, pale skin, orange hair and mismatching coloured eyes - who becomes the battleground of an innocent, alien culture pitted against our tainted, Westernised existence.
Berlin Film Festival 1976: Nom. Golden Bear
Academy of SF,Fantasy & Horror Films: Winner, David Bowie, Best Actor