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Earthbound: David Bowie and The Man Who Fell To Earth Paperback – Illustrated, October 24, 2017

by Susan Compo (Author), Graeme Clifford (Foreword)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 54 ratings
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‘Before there was Star Wars … before there was Close Encounters … there was The Man Who Fell To Earth.’

Earthbound is the first book-length exploration of a true classic of twentieth-century science-fiction cinema, shot under the heavy, ethereal skies of New Mexico by the legendary British director Nicolas Roeg and starring David Bowie in a role he seemed born for as an extraterrestrial named Thomas Newton who comes to Earth in search of water. Based on a novel by the highly regarded American writer Walter Tevis, this dreamy, distressing, and visionary film resonates even more strongly in the twenty-first century than it did on its original release during the year of the US Bicentennial.

Drawing on extensive research and exclusive first-hand interviews with members of the cast and crew, Earthbound begins with a look at Tevis’s 1963 novel before moving into a detailed analysis of a film described by its director as ‘a sci-fi film without a lot of sci-fi tools’ and starring a group of actors—Bowie, Buck Henry, Candy Clark, Rip Torn—later described by one of them (Henry) as ‘not a cast but a dinner party.’ It also seeks to uncover the mysteries surrounding Bowie’s rejected soundtrack to the film (elements of which later ended up his groundbreaking 1977 album Low) and closes with a look at his return to the themes and characters of The Man Who Fell To Earth in one of his final works, the acclaimed musical production Lazarus.

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  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Jawbone Press
  4. Publication date
    October 24, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1911036254
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1911036258
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

‘Susan Compo has done a marvelous job of laying bare the intricacies, disappointments, and triumphs Nic Roeg faced in bringing The Man Who Fell To Earth to the screen. There have been many books written about movies and celebrities, but this one stands out. You are about to be taken on a fascinating ride.―Graeme Clifford, film editor on "The Man Who Fell To Earth"

"In Earthbound, Susan Compo delves deep into every aspect of the film’s making, from its Walter Tevis source novel, through the location shoot in New Mexico, to its stunning costumes and the circumstances surrounding Bowie’s rejected and never-finished soundtrack. Detailed and vivid, Earthbound is a riveting read for Bowie fans, Roeg fiends, and anybody interested in seventies cinema."―Simon Reynolds, author of "Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and its Legacy"

‘There’s more than enough in Earthbound for fans of the film to be satisfied [and] to give readers worthwhile insight into the 
crazy trip that Bowie, Roeg, and the cast and crew concocted in New Mexico back in that summer of ’75.’―Portland Mercury

‘The strands are interwoven with gleaming prose, the writer mining detail like a forensic scientist. No potentially illuminating interview is left unturned, no ego unruffled. She makes you want to watch the film again. Do so accompanied by this grounded masterpiece.’―Classic Rock Magazine

‘When a band of British filmmakers and crew decamped to New Mexico to make an art-house adaptation of an allegorical novel about alcoholism, they came out with a cult classic that baffles, enthrals and infuriates in equal measure. Untangling all the stages of its production, Compo makes film rights and editing battles a compelling read, with the New Mexico landscape—and a haunted leading man—its otherworldly centre.’―Record Collector

About the Author

Susan Compo is the author of Warren Oates: A Wild Life, as well as three works of fiction plus some music and sports journalism. A fanzine she did during punk's heyday is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She lives within running distance of Los Angeles.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Jawbone Press; Illustrated edition (October 24, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1911036254
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1911036258
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.25 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 54 ratings

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Susan Compo

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Kelly Campbell
    5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive account
    Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    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.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Keith Shockley
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read!!!!!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2019
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    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.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Mary E Cabral
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This is a well written, well researched book. If you are a fan of The Man Who Fell to Earth and David Bowie, you will definitely enjoy it. How anyone can give a one star rating to a book they haven't read is just inexplicable.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Scenic Psyche
    4.0 out of 5 stars For Bowie Fans Only
    Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Being a Bowie fanatic and recently having returned from New Mexico, this was of high interest to me. The book is a bit convoluted in the first half, but then gets better. I would describe the writing style as a bit stuffy and British, but lots of interesting details are provided. I did appreciate how the author declines to idealize the final product, 'The Man Who Fell to Earth', and instead assesses it as what it really was: a muddled, missed opportunity, though with a few redeeming attributes.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Michael Way
    5.0 out of 5 stars Such a story and such times. Any light shining ...
    Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2017
    Such a story and such times. Any light shining into the workings of David Bowie's extraordinary life is welcome but this story caught my eye for a very particular reason. In 1978 I wrote a comedy-drama, with live rock band, and staged it in the Y.M.C.A. Theatre just off Princes Street in Edinburgh as a part of the Fringe Festival - the Edinburgh Fringe is a home from home for us despite only having appeared there a small number of times. (I now front a Bowie project 'A Secret Life', which delves musically into his less well-known work and is woven into the story of a runaway on the streets of New York.) Although my play was nothing to do with The Man Who Fell To Earth, it was entitled 'Earthbound' I wish Susan Compo's book every success and hope to get back to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2018 with Riff Raff Theatre!
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Freeman64
    2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
    Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2019
    I have been a long time fan of the film and have numerous different cuts over the decades since first seeing. It is film that never fails to engage my imagination. It is not an easy film to watch or recommend. It is for a very niche audience. Being a great admirer of director Nicolas Roeg is engages me on an artistic and creative level. So I was happy to have stumbled upon this book. I approach these types of books with a degree of trepidation and wonder if it will spoil my own impressions and interpretation of the film. This book is a quick and superficial read. For novice fans of the film it may offer more information but I found it light on substance and deeper insight into the film, its characters, its origins, its legacy. I came out it with no greater piece of trivia or knowledge. It is not a bad read but it is one I would never read again. Thankfully it was available for free lending and I didn't waste money buying it.
    One person found this helpful
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  • mardy gayle goldberg
    1.0 out of 5 stars One Star
    Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2018
    Haven’t started it yet
    Mardy Goldberg
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  • Arclight
    5.0 out of 5 stars Loving the Alien Bowie Book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Loving the Alien Bowie
    Bowie 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.
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  • David Martin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful!
    Reviewed in Canada on May 26, 2019
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    A gem of a book with each chapter a pearl of wisdom into the making of this often dismissed sci-if film. Now off to load my Blu-Ray and watch this film, again, with a whole new perspective. Highly recommended for TMWFTE and David Bowie fanatics such as myself.
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  • ミッチー
    4.0 out of 5 stars 写真は素敵です！
    Reviewed in Japan on December 18, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    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！
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  • Mr. C Coulson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent account of a great cult movie
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 27, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    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.
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  • Music Fan
    5.0 out of 5 stars It’s Bowie. What’s not to like
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 20, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    A great read about one of Bowies most intriguing phases.
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