h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Wasn't he the one who appeared in The Labyrinth? I didn't like the music very much, but he made a good Goblin King.

Yes indeed he was...not one of his best moments, musically, really...

He was also the bloke buried up to his neck in 'Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence.'

I haven't seen that one, but I love Labyrinth. Fantastic movie. That's about the only 'contact' I have with Mr Bowie, although of course I know who he is.

Traveller in Time playing glass balls
"It took me ages to get them balls doing the he seems to do unnoticed.

I like the escher rooms in his castle. Hmm,got to see the movie again, it has been too long since."

Bowie was well cast in The Labyrinth, also in "The Man Who Fell to Earth" IMHO. The latter was apparently confusing to those who had not read the book ... ... especially since according to Amazon, " ... it's a highly contemplative, primarily visual experience that Roeg directs as an abstract treatise on (among other things) the alienating effects of an over-commercialized society"


but its been a long time for me for both ...

Traveller in Time browsing the WEB
"Sorry, but something in the discription does not really attract me."

I think I tried to watch that movie once, and gave up.

*possesses Labyrinth on VHS, and The Dark Crystal* .

Did you know that the 'flip' when Jareth goes from walking down stairs the right way up to 'upstairs' upside down was a physically achieved effect, using the spring loaded platform?

"I think I tried to watch that movie once, and gave up."

Yes, I think that is a common opinion, but surprisingly the 73 reviews at Amazon average to 4 stars out of 5. The 1963 novel by Walter Tevis gets 4.5 stars and rave reviews from the NY Times, Washington Post, etc. One book reviewer comments:

"Mr. Tevis' protagonist, a tall, slender, frail humanoid that calls itself 'Thomas Jerome Newton', is sent to Earth from Anthea, a planet where the only knowledge of our world is from the television broadcasts that reach it." [shudder] [OK, TV was a LITTLE better in '63, in a few spots]

Hence my opinion that Bowie is well cast, shared by this movie reviewer:

"I recommend this film, although a bit too "artsy-fartsy" for its good at times and certainly a bit too cerebral (it may have done well to learn a thing or two from Star Wars if it had been released just a year later). Sometimes simplicity works best and this story is anything but simple. Parts of it do work however, and Bowie gives a brilliant performance considering this was his first ever acting role in major motion picture. He looks better than he acts, but then this role needs a more interesting looking person than a well-acted one."

I didn't know that movie was based on a book, now I have to read it! I enjoyed the movie though, especially watching David Bowie. I also thought he was excellent in the Labyrinth and enjoyed the songs he wrote for it too. Incidentally, it wasn't him doing those nifty tricks with the crystal ball. It was a well known magician type. In some of the shots you can see that the arm is actually coming from behind David Bowie.

Walter Tevis wrote some very good books, in addition to "The Man Who Fell to Earth". "The Hustler", "The Color of Money" ... but my favorite is little known, "The Queen's Gambit". I had a cassette version laying in the back seat of my car when a friend with kids saw it, he said, "That's a great book!" He is right. From a reviewer:

" ... you don't have to know a thing about the game to enjoy the story. It's about Beth, a young orphan who discovers her chess genius by accident, nurtures it, uses it as a lifeline to pull herself into the real world after her adoption and painful adolescence."