The Top 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies You've (probably) Never Heard Of
#4: The Man From Earth (2007)
What It Is
The Man From Earth is the final work of science fiction writer Jerome Bixby (best known for his Star Trek episodes, especially Mirror Mirror and for penning the original story for Fantastic Voyage), which he completed on his deathbed by dictating to his son, Emerson Bixby. Made on a budget of just $200,000, it tells the story of professor John Oldman (David Lee Smith), a man who exudes youthful vitality to his colleagues, unexpectedly departing his university and hosting a small farewell party with close friends. This group includes Dan (Tony Todd), an anthropologist, Harry (John Billingsley), a biologist, Edith (Ellen Crawford), an art history professor, Art (William Katt), an archaeologist, and Art's graduate student Linda (Alexis Thorpe).
Rounding out the group are Sandy (Annika Peterson), a historian who appears closest to John, and Will Gruber (Richard Riehle), a psychiatrist who is called in by Art later into the party for reasons that become immediately obvious: John Oldman suddenly and quite seriously claims to be a 14,000 year-old "caveman", and the reason he is packing up his job and life is to avoid suspicion, a practice he has performed every decade of his (seemingly immortal) existence.
From there, the night evolves into a discussion to ascertain the truth to John's story, and, if he IS telling the truth, to discuss the implications of immortality.
Why You've Never Heard of It
The film did premiere at the San-Diego Comic-Con in 2007, which is probably the perfect launching pad for a low-budget indie sci-fi film, but unsurprisingly a low budget means little wide distribution.
BUT...that's where file-sharing came in.
The Man From Earth has achieved something of a cult status in the online world, as word-of-mouth advertising and internet football-passing came into play. Ironically, without piracy, this movie would likely have fallen completely off the radar. In fact, the film's producer, Eric D. Wilkinson, went on the record THANKING people for sharing the movie, and in return asked only that they visit the film's website and consider making a modest donation if they enjoyed it. That website, incidentally, may be found here: http://www.manfromearth.com/ (donation link is on main page, bottom left)
It still cruises relatively beneath the casual filmgoer's notice, but it makes for a great cinderella story for an author's final work.
Why It's Worthy of Inclusion
This is a movie that succeeds or fails entirely off the strength of its dialogue: there's no effects, practically no action, and only one set (albeit with an exterior and an interior). It is an exercise in philosophy and belief. If that sounds as dull as watching paint dry, well, it actually isn't.
Bixby's script plunges into the material and asks a serious question: if immortality was more than just a theory, how would we react to it? Would scientists need to test the hypothesis in a lab? Would the religious find it an affront to their beliefs? Would we see it as a gift, or a curse?
And then there are the questions for the subject himself: how much do you remember? What was the Earth like? Did you meet "x" person?
It's weirdly riveting stuff. When the fantastical is seriously, even scientifically analyzed, it makes it that much more real and suddenly practical, even perilous. I say "perilous" because confronted with something this real can change society as a whole. Something that breaks an accepted and widely held scientific belief can lead to violent repercussions: The Man From Earth reminds us of the example of Galileo. How then might we respond if mortality, the most obvious and universally held truth of human existence, is brought into question?
The movie's cast is made up of "that guy!" faces: people might remember Billingsley from his role as Dr. Phlox on the ill-fated Star Trek: Enterprise, or Riehle as car-accident victim/luckiest guy ever Tom Smykowski from Office Space. Far and away the best performance comes from infamous horror movie legend Tony Todd, who manages to exude a quiet urgency to his own questioning of John Oldman.
The remainder of the cast are a bit spotty (Peterson in particular seems unfortunately wooden in her professed love for John), but we're not really here for Oscar-winning drama and secrets. We're here to talk about an idea, and to see how that idea shapes our perspective.
When I first saw The Man From Earth, my first thought was "MAN! This would make a terrific play!" It came as no surprise to find out that director Richard Schenkmann had thought the same thing and adapted it for the stage shortly after release. In fact, I came across a video on youtube of a tech rehearsal for Hobey Players' production of said stage adaptation; I've yet to watch it but I'm looking forward to putting that time aside.
It's the kind of movie that is meant for quiet, intimate, audiences, where people can allow themselves to be drawn into the conversation. In turn, they will take that conversation home with them. It's why I sincerely hope people will find and see this movie: I want to talk to them about it.
When I think about who should watch The Man From Earth, I want to say "people" but I think what I really mean is "people who like to talk about ideas." As the movie shows us, not everyone does, but the troublesome thing about ideas is that they have this habit of changing us even if we aren't really listening.
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