Customer Reviews
THE thunderbolt of genius imagination! 
2008-05-24
Unbelievably, profoundly fabulous - THE best story I've ever heard, on film or otherwise - it hardly matters that it's a film, except for the superb acting that made it so real. Fast forward through it, and it's little more than a group of people talking all night. Watch it, and be drawn in, caught off guard and magically transported into an amazing and profound tapestry, a surprising synthesis of some of the biggest questions and deepest mysteries of the human race, of human history, of religion, philosophy, science, of life and existence. The dramatic premise is familiar and enticing - how do we react when confronted with the impossible, the unbelievable - and this is an evening with a very astute group of scholars and professors, nobody's fools. Yet that is just the beginning. To the pantheon of Verne, Wells and Clarke we should add Bixby, from whose genius imagination came It's a Good Life, Fantastic Voyage and the inspiration for Alien; but there's no aliens here, and no need...an absolutely incredible tour-de-force, masterfully wrought.
A must-see for all who think, learn, and wonder.
Surprisingly Excellent Film.. 
2008-05-21
First off, this film is not boring; which is remarkable since the entire movie consists of a group of actors talking in a room. The main character, portrayed by David Lee Smith, spins an involving tale to his friends that he is immortal.
The conversation involves discussions about organized religion and faith (and the difference between them), science, philosophy and history. I have to give the screenwriter credit for keeping the story interesting and for the great way the movie ends. This makes truly boring movies like "No Country For Old Men" look like the desperate attempts at being hip and trendy that they are.
This one is worth your time and money.
Boring movie EVER 
2008-05-20
This movie is boring movie EVER. All this movie is about is the people sit in the cabin, and talk about 14,000 years old man all the way from beginning of the movie to the end of the movie.
No flashback of man who went through 14,000 years.
This movie would have been 5 stars if there is flashback of man who went through 14,000 years.
Sci fi that captivates as much as it stumbles 
2008-05-16
Thematically, The Man From Earth is like a cross between The Matrix, The da Vinci Code and Star Trek's Requiem for a Methuselah (which screenwriter Jerome Bixby also wrote). But don't expect any secret cults or mind-bending visual effects. The whole film is academics talking in one room, most of the time in the dark! The premise of the movie is that a history professor reveals to his colleagues that he is a caveman who has been alive for 14,000 years. The idea is reminiscent of the old Twilight Zone episode Long Live Walter Jameson about a similar immortal. Curiously, Jerome Bixby did write a Twilight Zone episode but not that one having written the original story "A Good Life," about the kid who wants everyone to "think happy thoughts."
The movie is well-constructed and a captivating watch but it stumbles in a number of places. The film is at its best when it poses epistemological questions: how do we know things? What makes a story believable? The film is at its worst when it provides definite answers, from its spurious take on world religions to the final, emotional scene. Worse, is when Bixby goes all Shirley MacClaine on us and links the professor to famous moments in history. At least, the professor didn't claim to meet Cleopatra or Joan of Arc. The final effect is something like reading The da Vinci Code. It's engaging when you're in the midst of it, but when you're done, the whole thing evaporates without a trace. The only question that remains is "yes, but where is Scott Bakula?"
87 Minutes of Intellectuals and Academians Talking in One Room??? HELD MY ATTENTION! 2008-05-13
Ok so this is a BARE BUDGET movie, shot on something we probably could get our hands on. Some of the actors I recognized from bit parts in motion pictures and TV - so at first glance, it doesn't look like much of a movie. But the STORY is great and the acting carries the story even if done by 3rd tier performers. Most enjoyable for me, is that I knew of the movie only by word of mouth and I had no foreknowledge of the plot or storyline and thus no idea whether the main character really was a 14,000 year old man or not which made the viewing all the more interesting and enjoyable as my mind spun around trying to pick up clues as to whether Professor Oldman was for real or playing the hoax of hoaxes.
There were some moments where I got creeped out as I was beginning to think that the movie was going to take a turn towards the supernatural and sinister because I had no idea who the character really was or what he was capable of.
I recommend this movie to people with active imaginations and who like to think and ponder on the strange and fantastic. You'll need your imagination to fill in for the shortcomings and restrictions due to it's limited budget.
Lastly, I give it two thumbs up for what (in my opinion) was a very strong pro-atheist take on things. Go play this for your Bible thumping neighbors or relatives and watch them squirm in discomfort.
Back to basics, and what a great trip 2008-07-19
Other reviewers have said it, and I must echo their comments. "The Man From Earth" is an inspiring return to the roots of filmed science fiction. I'm talking about the kind of science fiction associated with the likes of Rod Serling, Ray Bradbury, Gene Roddenberry, and Robert Wise. I mention them (2 writers, 1 producer and 1 director) because they are all connected with the old school - possibly the Golden Age - of sci-fi movies and television. And I have no doubt that they would love "The Man From Earth."
If you enjoy science fiction because of space battles, creepy aliens, vivid alternate realities and mind-boggling depictions of our future, then maybe you should skip this movie. It has none of that. It doesn't even offer the visual variety of an average drama. Instead, this movie is like a long Twilight Zone episode, circa 1962. It takes place in one house, on a single night. For 90 minutes, we simply see eight characters wrestling with an impossible question, and it is their dialogue that makes the movie so compelling. This is the science fiction of ideas (as all the best science fiction is). It offers no visual frills, no distractions, no "Wow Factor." It's like a meal consisting of perfect ingredients, perfectly cooked. When the basics are this good, you don't need any seasoning.
Don't get me wrong. I loved Alien, Blade Runner, The Matrix, Close Encounters, all the sci-fi classics. But this movie has a different sort of appeal. Watching it, I did have a certain advantage: I knew nothing about it. The movie was recommended by a friend, and that's all I needed to know. And I'm glad I saw it with no expectations. Within the first 5 minutes, I realized I wasn't going to see any special effects, or be swept into the future. So I just hunkered down and paid attention. And I was so sucked in by this film, so moved by the narrative, that as soon as it was over I watched it a second time.
In the interests of being fair and balanced, I'll point out some negatives. This movie was shot with very inexpensive equipment and a very small budget, and it shows. Some shots are underexposed and grainy. Production design is virtually non-existent. But weighed against its strengths, these factors are so minor that I've given the film five stars anyway.
Today, in an age when literally any image and any situation can be created digitally, with perfect realism, we so desperately need movies like this. We need movies that get back to basics. I hope "The Man From Earth" inspires other film makers to create comparable work, movies that sweep us up with their ideas without relying on eye candy. It's certainly inspired me.
Thinking Inside The Box 2008-06-23
The review title is because 98% of this film takes place inside a single room in a desert hunting lodge, over the course of half a day, where a group of academics gather and intellectualise on aspects of earth's history having just been presented with the news that one of their number, who is about to leave them, is 140 centuries old (this movie won't set your pulse racing).
The first question this begs is; why bother going 'on location'? A decent studio set would have offered enhanced filming opportunities, better camera angles etc. (At the very least, the actors wouldn't have complained about the lack of facilities afterwards!)
The film starts slowly and somewhat awkwardly. It could have become engrossing but even though it stars some familiar faces, the acting doesn't really get into a decent flow, until towards the end. It stays fairly subdued - this in large part is due to the flaky script which, at times is lucid and strong, but for the most part yearns for more creative writers with a better grasp of history. An injection of humour to create warmth or greater depth of character would have helped this film enormously.
In Amazon's synopsis of this "low budget" (the director's words) movie, it describes this as a "thought-provoking Sci-Fi drama." Well, that's a little too generous; it is at times thought provoking, but there's precious little drama, and absolutely no Sci-Fi in the standard sense. In the accompanying material, great homage is paid to Star Trek - a modern classic - but the presentation of this storyline is not of that calibre; it's too self-absorbed for that.
Therefore, in order to watch this successfully, you need to be in a reflective, or contemplative, or meditative mood - there's only dialogue, virtually no action; just ONE group of people sitting or pacing (the action) in ONE room talking hypothetics within the course of ONE day - like I said, not pulse racing stuff.
Whether deliberately or not, the film takes on a heavily anti-Christian stance, though I can't say the reason why without revealing a key plot line, but suffice to say it distorts Bible history immensely (both Old and New Testaments - whilst at the same time debunking early Jewish and Muslim culture too) in order to present an alternative, revisionist view of history.
Indeed, I found the 4 special features, each of which were only a few minutes long, more interesting than the film itself; 1. On The Set. 2. The Story Of The Story. 3. Jerome Bixby's Sci-Fi Legacy. 4. From Script To Screen. Sadly, these were each too short.
Overall, with too many perfunctory ideas bandied about, conveniently unquestioned gaps in the story and unchallenged facts (even when 'arguing' the characters reinforced each other rather than any in-depth critiquing), this film left me feeling unfulfilled, as it may well do for anyone who likes to analyse 'thought-provoking' material beyond more than just the novelty of its surface.
Unlike movies such as M. Night Shyamalan's 6th Sense as one example, this film won't stand up to a second viewing, it's loosely woven story would unravel too easily, as it's already doing for me (although I do find the idea of humans living for eternity, intriguing... although not new).
If you get satisfied by Dan Brown style theories, this might be up your street.
Excellent writing and good acting and directing... 2008-06-21
If popular Science Fiction (Aliens, Terminator, Star Wars, etc) is the pizza and hot dogs in a science fiction diet, The Man From Earth is an example of broccoli and spinach. But it is spinach prepared as only the best chefs in the world can do it. An excellent script by Star Trek/Twilight Zone scribe Jerome Bixby and some good work by the actors and director make for a very good film.
This isn't high budget, space chase, laser blasting, alien invading science fiction (the kind that doesn't work 90% of the time). This is thought provoking, philosophical science fiction. This is science fiction that makes you think. Yes it's done on a micro budget. The single setting gives the feeling more of a play than a movie - but that's not a bad thing. And it delves into a lot of philosophical and religious ground making you look at long held beliefs and assumptions from a different angle- and if you approach it with an open mind, it can even make you reconsider a lot of preconceptions.
All the young, ADD, video game junkies giving this one star... well, lets just say that thinking at this level probably makes their brains hurt. I love movies like Aliens and Star Wars as much as the next guy, but I want a little spinach once in a while, too. This movie isn't about big budget FX, laser guns, and aliens. This movie gets to the core of what science fiction is about.
A great movie 2008-06-01
Though rather low-budget in filming style and sound quality it is definitely one of the best movies I have ever seen. A great storyline that will interest the viewer up to the point where he'll be sitting on the edge of his chair for nearly the whole duration of the movie.
Fantastic and thought provoking Sci-Fi 2008-05-31
Firstly, I never knew Jerome Bixby until I Googled him after watching this movie. I found he wrote some of my favourite Star Trek (Original Series) episodes like "Mirror, Mirror" and especially "Requiem for Methusaleh".
Unlike the other reviews I found the acting very good, especially Tony Todd. The way the characters played off each other kept you wanting more. I'm not usually a fan of "one setting" movies but this one was out of the norm.
I'll certainly go hunting for the book to see if it was better than the movie.
