Just to change what has been my latest Michael Douglas blogpost, I'm writing now. The East Village was quiet over the 4th of July weekend because the fireworks moved to the west side, a great idea whose time has come, thanks to the anniversary celebration of Henry Hudson. The Hudson River is majestic; The East River is turbulant!

My minimal Time Warner Cable report for the weekend includes some thanks... The Sundance channel permitted an on demand broadcast of "The Man Who Fell to Earth and feel from grace and skimmed both his knees...

oh those days. I really went to the movies then. It was 1976, the 200th anniversary of Independence Day. I remember seeing Taxi Driver, The Fury and Carrie...

I was reading online the various biographies and descriptions of the great acting foursome, David Bowie, Candy Clark, Rip Torner and Buck Henry. My discovery this weekend (Aside from the possibility that the anxiety conveyed by David Bowie was real.) was the musical contribution of John Philips to the MWhoFTE soundtrack. Do you remember when a full length screening of that movie became available? I had already seen it a few times at two hours and loved what I saw... It lacked 20 extra minutes.

I acknowledge that the story of alien discovery and wonderment came to me, not by way of the 1963 novel, but through Alexander Keys' scholastic books publication, The Forgotten Door. Another movie broadcast this weekend was Escape to Witch Mountain, also based on a book by Alexander Keys, which also has a likeable cast.

I don't want to leave out from this litany of titles, The Wild-Eyed Boy from Free Cloud, a song by David Bowie.

The mob chases the alien to the mother ship, or the door, which is why I connect most with The Forgotten Door.

As for Nicholas Roeg and his hilarious casting, I still love the transition scene from space mission to the hidden hotel room. There's a fellow who dives in and lifts his wife out of the pool and onto the pool deck...I thought it was filmed in reverse, but it looks like he really did that.

Another great movie document broadcast on demand this weekend was Oshima's Cruel Story of Youth, an important telling of the doomed lovers' story. It is sad, as is the Man Who Fell to Earth, and equally colorfully vibrant. The Man Who Fell to Earth, though, at its most morose and awful, and it reaches uncharted depths, is just too much fun.

You know, Mr. Bowie got to work with Oshima on Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence.

Well, I'm sure there are great movies coming out today... I'm just at least 20 years behind, and even when I do see them it's just as likely I will hate them. In fact, hating the movie experience tends to be a good indicator of how much I will love it later... The best recent example is There Will Be Blood.

I also saw a dvd of Orlando, which also plays with agelessness through the passage of time. I think that is a good barometer of the opposite level of cinematic dedication. Everyone can parade around, but if you want to see people in a movie, see The Man Who Fell to Earth...