Boy do I have a movie recommendation for you! I think I briefly mentioned this movie before, but since I had to write a movie review about it, I decided I would post it on my blog as well. This is probably not a movie everyone would enjoy, but I think from my review you will get a pretty good idea if it’s for you or not.
The Man from Earth
When you think of the science fiction genre, you might also think big-budget Hollywood thriller. Science fiction films are often speculative, science-based depictions of imaginary phenomena that sometimes use special effects and futuristic technology to tell its story. The Man from Earthis a film in the sci-fi genre, but it is not your average blockbuster flick.
This film is the last work of the late, great Jerome Bixby, best known for his work on The Twilight Zone, Star Trek and Fantastic Voyage.Bixby first conceived the story for The Man from Earth in the early 1960s. He finally completed the screenplay on his death bed in 1998.
The story begins with seven friends, professors and academics from a near by college, gathering to share goodbyes as their colleague, John, mysteriously prepares for retirement. John offers up a conundrum: let’s say a man—a caveman, really—managed to survive for 14,000 years, never dying. What would he be like today? The friends, established Ph.D.s in fields including anthropology, biology, history and religion, begin discussing the puzzle, enjoying the countless questions it creates. The discussion starts innocent enough, but changes in tone as John implies more and more that the situation is not hypothetical. The friends all have diverse reactions that become more intense as they pose questions to John regarding the story he has put forth.
The entire film was shot in just over a week in a living room. For a low-key, no frills drama, its intriguing story will draw you in and it’s not one quickly forgotten. This is the story of smart people debating, hypothesizing and wondering.
With all its restraints, The Man from Earth is an unusual genre entry—no effects, no action, no cheap thrills. All the conflict is internal and all the drama is intellectual.
If you rent the movie, be sure to tell me what you thought. B and I saw it months ago and we are still talking about it. It’s really fun to try and prove/disprove the ideas in the movie. Enjoy!
I for one watched this twice in one day…. I really enjoyed it.
I am so glad you liked the film! PLEASE… help spread the word about it. Tell your friends. I just spent the last 3 years of my life working on the film and it’s my first as a producer. It brings me great joy to read blogs like yours! And the more people know about it, we just might rent or sell a few more copies.
Thanks again.
Eric D. Wilkinson
Producer
Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth
Eric, I would like to take this unusual opportunity (should you read these comments again) to thank you for “The Man From Earth”. My wife rented the movie from Redbox based on a suggestion from someone else in line. Unfortunately she lost interest pretty quickly in the movie, but I was absolutely pulled in the movie. I love a good brain twister and this movie very quickly became one of my favorite movies of all time.
I’ve recommended the movie to 30-40 people including co-workers, family, and friends. Megan and Brad watched the movie based on my recommendation as well.
I have been in a personal faith struggle for the last 10 years and no other movie or book that I’ve watched/read has ever come so close to my own perceptions of what “might have happened” a couple thousand years ago. The depth of the concepts in the movie combined with the very original manner of discussing them so openly pushed me to open my mind and think outside of “society’s box”.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for producing this movie and I will continue to bring exposure to it with the people I interactive with daily. If there is anything more specifically I could do to help promote the movie or if you do anything similar in the future, please, please contact me as I would love to participate. You can reach me at my [lastname].[firstname] at gmail dot com using the name I posted this comment under.
And if I’m not a sci-fi lover, will I still like it?
Traci, it is definitely not a Sci-Fi by the normal definition. I believe its given that genre because Jerome Bixby typically wrote Sci-Fi. There are no spaceships, lasers, robots or anything that you would find in 99% of the Sci-Fi movies out there.
The entire movie is shot inside the living room of a small cabin, and on the front porch of the cabin. It is the topics and content of the discussions that give the movie its meat. If you pay attention to the movie you will have many of your preconceptions questioned, but in a very interesting and rewarding manner.
I highly recommend anyone and everyone see this movie.
I just found your article and found it quite interesting. I saw the movie “The Man From Earth” and it gave me goosebumps. The reason was it had many similarities to the real story I have been researching for many years.
If you are serious about this subject of immortality, then you will be quite interested in my research and findings on this very topic.
I have summarized what I have found on my main blog: Ben-Abba.com.