Review: ‘The Man From Earth’ on DVD

Sometimes you rent a DVD on a whim, not expecting much … in fact, feel you’ve probably just wasted a buck by throwing it away on an impulse rental based on the DVD cover. Well, every few year or so you get clocked right between the eyes by a film so good it completely shocks the Hell outta ya’. The Man From Earth, for me, is one of those experiences. Granted, I had heard a thing or two … vaguely, from somewhere. I was on one of my occasional trips to the local RedBox DVD vending machine at McDonald’s when, as I’m browsing through the virtual catalog of selections {which is typically pretty lame, I might add] I came across The Man From Earth and decided to check it out. I am so glad I did.

Directed by Richard Schenkman (The Pompatus of Love), the film was written by legendary sci-fi guru Jerome Bixby, whose resume includes work on Star Trek, The Twilight Zone and the screenplay for the classic Fantastic Voyage. Being hailed by critics as “a thinking man’s sci-fi film” and a “film that restores dignity to science fiction,” The Man From Earth is exactly both of those things. The film is made with minimal attention to the physical tendencies of modern films, shot almost entirely in a single location. Few movies do this and even fewer do it successfully. I recall a few, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope, Louis Malle’s My Dinner with Andre and to a lesser extent, Stacy Title’s The Last Supper. What is the key to the success of these films? The answer is intelligent dialogue, a really good story and a focus on the characters themselves. In the case of The Man From Earth, this philosophical science-fiction story trumps all in making this movie a truly riveting and thought-provoking journey for the mind.

Now that I’ve spoken so highly about this movie, I suppose I’ll tell you what its about, but to do so I’ll just add a watered down blip from IMDB to get you started. This is a film you have to experience, so I really can’t divulge any more than this. However, I feel that this film, if viewed with an open mind and only after a complete breakfast, will truly knock you over the noggin’ with a philosophical frying pan … in a good way.

[From IMDB: An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he is an immortal who has walked the earth for 14,000 years.] The Man From Earth stars John Billingsly, Ellen Crawford, William Katt, Annika Peterson, Richard Riehle, David Lee Smith and Tony Todd.

[rating:4/5]

DVD Features:

• Commentaries
• From Script to Screen
• Star Trek: Jerome Bixby’s Sci-Fi Legacy
• One the Set
• The Story of the Story