The Man from Earth

I cannot speak about the depth and art put forth in this film without giving away details that will rob enjoyment from you if you have not seen this film. Suffice it to say that I highly recommend this film for anyone who enjoys a film that reaches to the stars and does not depend on CGI.

This is a film without pretense or smoke and mirrors.

It is so nice to see a film that depends solely on story and dialogue. I highly recommend this to SF readers before viewers.

A true masterpiece.

A true shame this film never got any publicity to speak of. All though it did not cost tens of millions to put to film, it is a winner in any category.

I, too, saw this movie at San Diego Comic-Con 2007, and was incredibly happy that I did. I would, however, in no way consider this a thriller, as another reviewer did. This is a movie to provoke deep thought and conversation and that dares to challenge mainstream beliefs. It is one of the most intensely engaging dramas that I have had the pleasure to see. Excellent ensemble performances created believably real characters, each with his or her own fallibilities, personal credo, and enthusiasms.

The movie is basically a conversation amongst college professors. So if you are looking for serial murders, chase scenes, or shoot-outs, you won't find it here. If you enjoy thought experiments and intelligent discourse, and appreciate what it means to accept your friends for who they are, see this.

I will buy several copies to give to friends.

If not the "best" science-fiction film ever made, Jerome Bixby's Man From Earth is certainly one of the most thoughtful. This movie reminds me of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Not with spaceships and effects, but with intelligent characters and exceptional dialogue, and that it left me with a sense of true wonder and joy, long after the credits ended. If the movie had been two hours longer I still would not have been bored, even though most of the film takes place in one small room. It's like watching a ninety minute Twilight Zone, with a perfect surprise ending. John Billingsly stands out, as does David Lee Smith, who may or may not be a caveman. The rest of the cast is good, but the script is the true star. And to anyone claiming this film is boring because we never leave the one room; Some of the very best Twilight Zones were just that. Good actors, good scripts, one or two locations. To anyone who's fed up with spaceships and explosions and Jar-Jar Binks, see this movie as a reminder of what science fiction has always been about.

'The man from Earth' is science fiction fantasy in concept, not in presentation. It is consciously, inescapably low-key - subdued, restrained, laid-back. The narrative consists wholly of dialogue - recounting history, personal and global; philosophizing, hypothesizing amidst friends and colleagues. There are no active flashbacks, no action scenes, not even a change of scenery beyond the interior or exterior of the abode where the characters are gathered.

And it's both endearing and engrossing.

The production is staggering in its simplicity, yet weirdly impressive in its craft. Just look at the cast: Richard Riehle, Tony Todd, John Billingsley. Uncomplicated and direct as the performances are, all involved here are great. I'm personally less familiar with Ellen Crawford, William Katt, but the same goes for them.

Writer Jerome Bixby, having died several long years before 'The man from Earth' was made, had some very notable credits to his name, and still this screenplay may well be his very greatest achievement. The same goes for director Richard Schenkman, whose list of past works rather seems to culminate with this. His camerawork here is plain and unremarkable, but he pointedly fixes his eye on each actor as the screenplay demands. As much as the film consciously eschews any sense of dynamics, the final emotional beat of the story is told as well with the pen as it is conveyed by the camera, and is a superb capstone.

The end result is a bewitching exploration of an idea, presented as realistically and as plausibly as I think is possible: What if an individual, by genetic quirk, did not age? What if a man living in contemporary times were, in fact, thousands of years old?

Tantalizing and excellent as the film is, 'The man from Earth' is not perfect. I personally feel that Mark Hinton Stewart's score, fine as it may be, is altogether unnecessary in its use as background musical accompaniment. Between Schenkman's direction and Neil Grieve's editing, the film is paced much too quickly for my preferences. Ideally this should have been a fair bit longer than 90 minutes: A more patient vision would have allowed more time for crucial story beats, lines of dialogue, and character interactions to manifest, breathe, and digest. As it is, the conversation moves along so quickly that I found myself doubling back multiple times to catch something I missed the first time around. In a feature where the dialogue is paramount, that's inexcusable.

Even with these flaws in its realization, though, the screenplay is a treasure, and the greatest contributor to the movie's success. It would be so easy for a tale like this to be needlessly inflated with fiery bombast - an active investigation by police or reporters, chases, suspense, throwing of objects and emotional outbursts. That 'The man from Earth' deliberately dispenses with all such notions is a further credit to Bixby's legacy. The substance of the film is in the discussion and analysis, and anything beyond would have been superfluous.

There's not much more to say. This is a film appropriate for all audiences, though of course anyone who's not receptive to a picture centered exclusively on dialogue may be put out. Yet for as straightforward as it is, 'The man from Earth' is a fascinating feature, and quietly rewarding. I'm so pleased I had a chance to watch this, and recommend it for all.

I will be honest i did not expect much but this is actually one of my all time favorite moves i absolutely loved it. The acting was fantastic the entire movie takes place in one room and the actors still pull it off this is one of those movies you go to bed after watching and it has you thinking about wow what if that really happened.

They made a sequel to this as well though i will admit it is not as good as the first it is still worth watching. If you want to sit back and watch a movie without all the flashy special effects that just has a great story told bye great actors and makes you think then this is definitely a must watch.