Have you watched The Man Who Fell to Earth? Do you want to find out where was The Man Who Fell to Earth filmed? Today, I am going to let you in on the filming locations of this intense drama movie. Furthermore, I’ll also share other intriguing details of The Man Who Fell to Earth.
The British sci-fi flick, The Man Who Fell to Earth was released in the second week of April 1976. This dystopian movie was actually based on Walter Tevis’ novel of the same name, published almost 13 years prior to the movie.
Nicolas Roeg directed this fantastical movie, however, Paul Mayersberg wrote the entire screenplay for this project. David Bowie, Candy Clark, and Buck Henry featured in the lead roles, while Rip Torn played the supporting character.
The basic premise of The Man Who Fell to Earth revolves around Thomas Jerome Newton, an extraterrestrial being posing as a human. The story gets interesting when Newton tries to save his planet and other creatures like him by completing a secret mission on Earth.
The production budget of The Man Who Fell to Earth was north of $1.5 million. However, the total box office collection of this amazing movie was almost double the amount of the production budget. There are so many other intriguing details about this special movie.
But before I share other details of The Man Who Fell to Earth, let’s take a closer look at where was The Man Who Fell to Earth filmed.
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Where Was The Man Who Fell To Earth Filmed? Let’s Know This Sci-Fi Drama Film Closely!
The story of The Man Who Fell to Earth is set in America, specifically in and around the states of New Mexico and Arizona. The outdoor scenes of this incredible movie were filmed in and around the same state in America. But the interior scenes of The Man Who Fell to Earth were filmed in England. The major reason why Nicolas Roeg couldn’t shoot the entire movie in England was because of the production budget.
The director wholeheartedly tried really hard to increase the shooting budget but apparently failed in doing so. He could either select top actors to play the lead role in his movie or choose expensive shooting locations. Roeg was pretty confident with the premise of The Man Who Fell to Earth and his style of direction. So, he thought of using filming locations that were less expensive than losing the opportunity to cast famous actors for this project.
So, after the main shooting locations in The Man Who Fell to Earth were decided, the production members started preparing for the shooting process. The principal photography of The Man Who Fell to Earth began in the first week of June 1975 and continued for the next 2 months. The first phase of shooting was done in America, the majority of the outdoor shots were captured in New Mexico and Arizona.
The second phase of filming, however, didn’t take place in America. The director asked the production members to capture all the outdoor scenes in America and then move to the UK. The remaining interior scenes of The Man Who Fell to Earth were then filmed in England.
Let us now discuss in detail where was The Man Who Fell to Earth filmed.
New Mexico, Arizona | USA
The opening scene of the film, where we see the character of Jerome Newton for the first time, was filmed in New Mexico, America. The production members selected a sparsely populated area located near White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, to capture the sequence of the rocket.
Other important scenes from the first quarter of the movie were filmed on the foothills of Manzano Mountains and Sandia Mountains in New Mexico. The sequences depicting the desert were filmed near Belen.
The outdoor scenes of the town shown in the movie were filmed in Artesia. In fact, the sequences of the church were also filmed in Artesia. The production members took special shooting permission from First Presbyterian Church, located at 402 West Grand Avenue, Artesia, to capture this particular sequence.
Additional outdoor scenes in New Mexico were shot near Fenton Lake State Park and Willcox Playa. After all these shots were captured, the production members moved to Arizona and filmed the remaining outdoor scenes.
Other Filming Locations
After all the outdoor shots of The Man Who Fell to Earth were filmed in America, the production members took a break from the shooting process for one week or so. The second phase of shooting was done in England.
However, during this time, the production members only capture interior shots of The Man Who Fell to Earth inside Shepperton Studios, located in Surrey, England.
Let us now discuss in detail where was The Man Who Fell to Earth film. In the meantime, you can also read Chaos Walking and Silo.
Plot Of The Man Who Fell To Earth | What’s It About
The story of The Man Who Fell to Earth revolves around the character of Jerome Newton, an extraterrestrial being posing as a human. At the very beginning of the movie, the lead actor lands on Earth to complete a special mission.
As the story progresses further, the lead actor makes special discoveries about the planet and explores different areas in a small American town. But, when the lead actor is just about to complete his main mission, he runs into a cunning woman that almost destroys his plan.
Watch The Man Who Fell to Earth and find out the full story.
Final Words
I’ve mentioned all the filming locations of The Man Who Fell to Earth. Plus I’ve also added a number of other facts of this sci-fi film in this article. But, if you still have other questions regarding where was The Man Who Fell to Earth filmed, then let us know in the comments section below.
But, if you’d like us to cover any other title of your choice, then you can mention the title in the comments section as well.
