Search - Jerome Bixby's The Man from Earth on DVD

Kenneth C. from GLENDALE, AZ
Reviewed on 6/18/2010...

THis is one of my favorite movies. I have watched it many times and enjoy it each time. It makes you think, even long after a viewing.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Treatise On Human-Kind

B. Merritt | WWW.FILMREVIEWSTEW.COM, Pacific Grove, California | 04/19/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"John Oldman (David Lee Smith) has been a history professor for ten years and is now preparing to move away from the school he's dedicated a decade to. The reasons are initially his own until a group of his fellow friends and professors come by to say goodbye and he drops a bombshell on them; he claims to be a caveman who's lived eons and eons, witnessing historical events and even being part of that history that we thought we knew.

The group of professors that come by to send him off are a complex group: a religious studies professor, another that's an English prof, a psych prof, and a few others that round out a pretty decent world view.

Initially all of John's fellow colleagues challenge him, but his arguments are solid and disturbing. But is John for real? Or does he need psychotropic medications?

The thing about THE MAN FROM EARTH is that it's a stage-play put into film form. The entire movie is pure character exposition and dialogue with no action, flashbacks, or other techniques most movie-goers have become accustomed to. And this is both a strength and a weakness. The strength comes from the strong scripting of the dialogue that keeps the viewer interested and wondering how it will all pan out. The weakness is that it makes for incredibly slow pacing. Thankfully the The Man From Earth is only 87 minutes long, not stretching out its length and thus causing great yawns from the watchers.

The other strength within the movie is the acting. All of the characters were believable and the actors and actresses played their parts very well (being frustrated or angry or sad or scared, etc.). But the filming was tough to watch. Too many times the shots looked grainy or underexposed, giving it a B-movie feel; that was unfortunate.

Even so, this is an interesting treatise on humanity and how we might deal with the unexplainable should a friend thrust a near impossible quandary upon us."

What Science Fiction is REALLY About!

G P Padillo | Portland, ME United States | 03/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While clearly a no-budget film (shot almost entirely in a single room), this is nonetheless a remarkable bit of storytelling and offers a gripping, involving tale. John Oldman, decides its time to leave his life as a college professor. Wanting to take his leave with minimum fuss, his colleagues decide otherwise and arrive at his box filled residence with food and drink for an impromptu farewell, ensuring a room ripe with stereotypes for the story to play off of. Against his own better judgment, John decides to reveal his "real" self to his friends, and comes forth with the news he is an ageless, 14,000 year old Cro -Magnon. The recounting of his journey through the history of humankind is mesmerizing, and proves to be a tale with implications for all in his company provoking reactions from fascination to outrage, violence and disbelief to emotionally shattered.


Wisely playing this all with great understatement, Davlid Lee Smith delivers a gently powerful performance as history's most emotionally guarded man letting down his guard for the first time to reveal the truth about who is really is. The excellent ensemble cast (despite a moment or two of some hamfisted acting, a hurdle unavoidable in any screenplay relying entirely on human language) lend a realistic believability to John's colleagues.

An enormous relief from all the over-budgeted Hollywood costume and explosion dramas, this sensational little movie actually gets one to ponder some of the great questions as well as coming up with some provcative thought. Richard Schenkman is to be commended for (with minimal money) putting together an absolutely wonderful and entirely engaging movie."

An entire movie revolving around a single conversation?? nev

Junshien Lau | 11/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow I am blown away. I never though an entire movie revolving around a single conversation could have me so engrossed. No stunts, no special effects, no action, under a dozen actors/actresses sitting in a living room... and yet I'm sitting slack jawed watching the story unfold.

The movie is one for the brain ... challenges your mind, opens you to possibilities you never considered before. Of course, it could not be true, and I'm sure there are some holes I did not notice, but for the most part, the entire story fell together very well. Superb! I wish there were more movies like this."