MAN FROM EARTH

©Starz/Anchor Bay

Mania Rating
Grade: A

Rated: Unrated
Cast: David Lee Smith, John Billingsley, Tony Todd, William Katt
Writer: Jerome Bixby
Director: Richard Schenkman
Distributor: Starz/Anchor Bay
Original Year of Release: 2007
Extras: Four Behind the Scenes Documentaries - On The Set, The Story Of The Story, Star Trek: Jerome Bixby's Sci Fi Legacy, From Script To Screen. Two Audio Commentaries.

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A history professor gathers several of his esteemed colleagues together for a going away party at his remote cabin. His friends are all curious and concerned why he is suddenly packing up and leaving. This begins a mesmerizing 90 minute film that is small in stature and yet titanic in scope that will leave viewers spellbound. John Oldman is the history professor that is in the process of packing up his possessions as his professor friends arrive to bid him farewell. These include experts in anthropology, paleontology, biology, psychiatry, and theology, all of whom will play critical roles in the plot.

As one of his friends note that John has seemingly not aged a day in the ten years that he has been at the university, John issues a startling claim…He says that he has lived for 140 centuries, beginning life as a Cro-Magnon and seemingly never aging beyond his mid-thirties. When people begin to notice that John hasn’t aged, he uproots himself and moves on, constantly changing his name and entire identity to blend in wherever he goes.

His friends at first laugh and think he is supposing a hypothetical possibility. Biology professor Harry (John Billingsley) theorizes that a body that could perfectly regenerate its cells could conceivably live for ages and retard that aging process. Their quizzical natures piqued, the professors at first play along, asking John various questions about his history. One finds it strange that John cannot say where he was born. He counters with asking the person if the place where they grew up still looks exactly the same. Now add 14,000 years to the equation and couple in that there are no landmarks to recall like we might recall such as our old school or the corner store.

Their good nature becomes more pointed as John is able to provide answers which, perhaps not proving his story, also cannot disprove it either. John has earned dozens of degrees over his 140 centuries but notes that, for example, his biology degree was earned in the mid-1800’s, and thus he can only be as intelligent as modern studies can provide. The night wears on and the questioning becomes more terse and angry. John’s story is now challenging all that these learned men and women have come to believe. The Psychiatrist Gruber (Richard Riehle) even threatens to have him committed. John has one more secret to share, a startling revelation which will leave the group emotionally shattered.

Wow! This is one fantastic film. It was written by acclaimed science fiction writer, Jerome Bixby, whose TV and film credits include several episodes of the original Twilight Zone and Star Trek series, Fantastic Voyage, and Twilight Zone: The Movie. He completed the story just before he passed away in 1998. Here is a Sci-Fi film that has no special effects, no makeup or costumes. Nearly the entire film is set within the living room of John Oldman’s Cabin. This is 90 minutes of a group of people sitting around talking and you can’t take your eyes off of it. It is so small yet so brilliant.

John (David Lee Smith) remains calm, almost chillingly so, throughout the evening while his guests begin to crack under the weight of John’s story. It’s like a God toying with his subjects. What is so compelling is that John relates even his most incredible secrets so matter-of-factly. He’s not boasting, he’s simply telling his story.

Most of the roles are played by actors who are more known for the television work including Smith (CSI: Miami), Riehle (Grounded for Life), Billingsley (Star Trek: Enterprise), William Katt (Greatest American Hero) and Ellen Crawford (ER). The one notable exception is horror film veteran, Tony Todd. Todd plays one of the professors and it was a treat to see him playing an articulate, intelligent role instead of the more menacing parts were used to seeing him play.

Extras include four short documentaries which are only about 25 minutes in total length but there are two very strong audio commentaries, one featuring Bixby’s son, Emerson, who served as the film’s Executive Producer.

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