Behind the scenes on The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Wicker Man and other British cinema classics

Rare shots from the sets of four classics of British film, also including The Ladykillers and Don’t Look Now.

9 August 2022

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

David Bowie and Candy Clark pose for a portrait shot on the set of Nicolas Roeg’s classic sci-fi The Man Who Fell to Earth
StudioCanal
Bowie on location with crew members in New Mexico
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Bowie eyeing up a shot behind the camera
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The Ladykillers (1955)

Alec Guinness, who plays the sinister ‘Professor’ Marcus, with Katie Johnson, who plays the indefatigable Mrs Wilberforce
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Guinness chats with a local policeman on location in in King’s Cross, London (possibly Argyle Street)
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Co-stars Peter Sellers, Danny Green and Alec Guinness, with director Alexander Mackendrick (right)
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The Wicker Man (1973)

Producer Peter Snell, screenwriter Anthony Shaffer and director Robin Hardy on location for the film’s climax on the Isle of Whithorn
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Setting up the bigger of the wicker men. There was more than one built for the final sequence
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Director Robin Hardy with Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward, probably on the day of the shoot of the famous monologue about apples and crops that, much to Lee’s chagrin, eventually ended up on the cutting-room floor
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Don’t Look Now (1973)

Director Nicolas Roeg discusses a scene with Julie Christie, who plays the grief-stricken Laura Baxter
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Roeg in contemplation on set
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The Ladykillers, The Wicker Man, Don’t Look Now and The Man Who Fell to Earth have all been released on Blu-ray and DVD as part of The Vintage Classics collection from StudioCanal. Explore the full collection.

The Man Who Fell to Earth screens as part of Sound and Vision, a series of David Bowie classics at BFI Southbank in September.

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