The Earthling

1980

Action / Adventure / Drama

10
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 88% · 1 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 88% · 250 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.8/10 10 2019 2K

australia tragedy

Plot summary

Recently diagnosed with a terminal illness, a man returns home to Australia to die in the wilderness. His plans become complicated when he comes across a young boy whose parents have been killed and decides to take him under his wing.

Director

Peter Collinson Photo
Peter Collinson

Top cast

Ray Barrett Photo
Ray Barrett as Parnell
William Holden Photo
William Holden as Patrick Foley
Ricky Schroder Photo
Ricky Schroder as Shawn Daley
Tony Barry Photo
Tony Barry as Red
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
892.18 MB
1280*688
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds ...
1.65 GB
1920*1024
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 39 min
Seeds 1

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by AlsExGal 7 / 10

Australian wilderness survival tale that grew on me

Patrick Foley (William Holden) is dying, and he's returned to New South Wales after decades of living in the U.S. He plans on making a dangerous trek to the secluded valley where he lived as a child in order to die there. His plans are interrupted when he encounters Shawn (Ricky Schroder), a small American child vacationing in the area with his mother and father. His parents were killed in an accident, and Patrick is forced to take the boy along with him, teaching him the ways of survival so that Shawn can make the journey back to civilization by himself.I'm usually not a fan of family films, or ones with a kid as a main character, but this one grew on me over time, and by the end I was moved by it. Schroder is still often annoying, particularly when he's shouting that he's God while swinging a dead rabbit around. Holden is craggy and weathered and tired looking, but his usual world-weariness fits with his role as a dying man. The real stars of the film are the beautiful locations and the almost comically abundant wildlife, of all shapes and sizes. This was the next to the last of Holden's credited roles, the very last being the sardonic film "S.O.B". the following year.
Reviewed by mittenkg 8 / 10

An Amazing film!

This is a lost classic and a great family movie and I hope hope hope that it is released onto DVD soon. (Studios, are you listening?) I was 9 or 10 when I saw it and would love to share it with the young kids in my family today. The performances are beautiful (Ricky Schroeder is so underrated, even today)and William Holden does a heartbreaking, amazing job. If you thought Ricky was exceptional in The Champ, he tops that performance with The Earthling. It's kind of amazing Schroeder wasn't further typecast into a River Phoenix or early Leonardo DiCaprio kind of actor because he is so tapped into his emotions and his acting is so fresh and vital that he easily steals scenes from the amazing, adult actors he has been cast with. Looking at his childhood performances coupled with NYPD Blue and Lonesome Dove--he should be grouped with the young indie actors of current films. I don't like some of the movies Rick is doing today but even in those films he delivers such alive, powerful performances. I think he's just great.
Reviewed by atlasmb 7 / 10

Holden's Penultimate Film

Most of this film consists of the interaction between William Holden (Patrick Foley) and Ricky Schroder (Shawn Daley). Foley goes back to Australia after many years to revisit the homestead where he was raised. This is Holden's penultimate film and Schroder's third. The contrast in ages and experience makes this an interesting film, but the beauty of the Australian wilds is the real star of this film.I am a fan of Holden, but I prefer the film "Walkabout", released in 1971. Both films are worth seeing and both concern journeys that deal with survival and awareness.Schroder would name his first child Holden in tribute to his older costar. This was the last film directed by Peter Collinson.
Read more IMDb reviews

10 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment