The Man From Earth

[DaveM]

Man From Earth

Ok, I bit on David Biedny's review of "Man From Earth", and I ordered a copy. I just watched it last evening. It was very interesting and thought provoking. I must say however, that anyone who needs their science fiction with lots of explosions and action will probably be disappointed with this film. The acting was quite convincing even though the production quality was quite low. My copy was very grainy throughout the entire movie, to the point of distraction many times. I won't give away any plot details, but there is a nice twist at the end of the film. It is surely worth a watch in order to get the mind stimulated. I would rate it four stars out of five. One start deducted for the poor visual quality. Dave Mamrak

 

[fitzbew88]

Man From Earth

Thanks for posting this.

I've been very curious about this movie since David mentioned it in the show, and your review is another good reason to beg or borrow or buy it.

 

[Michael L.]

Man From Earth

It is (or at least recently was) available from RedBox rental units. My wife rented it about a week or so before David first mentioned it. She called it heavy handed and said it did not even manage the charm of something like "New Amsterdam." She said by the end she was only watching it because she had invested so much time she needed to see the end. I pretty much avoided it after that because my wife is pretty forgiving of films and can usually find something good about almost any movie (unless they are extremely violent). I also have a stack of things to watch I need to catch up on, ranging from American Hardcore to a Japanese copy of Arcadia of my Youth.

 

[Mothra]

Man From Earth

I watched this about 6 months ago. It's a very small independent movie all taking place in a living room. The movie presented a good case as to what happens to people when their belief systems are challenged or dis proven. Some will accept the knowledge and move on to greater discussions, while some will freak out and completely shut down. Its why disclosure will never happen. this movie is a microcosm of society not unlike Lord of the Flies.

 

[Ron Collins]

I loved this film. Thanks David for suggeting it.

I was wondering, if you had just 5 questions to ask a 14 thousand year old guy with his.....um.....qualifications (no spoiler here), what would they be?

 

[Ralph]

Man From Earth

Just finished watching "Man from Earth". Thanks David for suggesting it. I enjoy movies that play with your head afterwards - this is one of them. I'll be thinking about it for the next few days (and nights)!

Raises interesting questions on the acceptance of the incredible testimony of a "credible witness" that are relevant to the paranormal.

I disagree with one point made in the movie. In previous centuries, I am sure that if a person was able to study a single subject for several hundred years, they would be able to develop an understanding far ahead of their peers. My observations are that it takes approximately 20 years of education to reach a level of understanding of the world that is required to make any significant contribution to a field. A person then has approximately 35 of useful working life to make a significant research contribution, and to pass that knowledge and approach (most often in an imperfect way, only being able to pass on a portion of your understanding) onto future generations.

Imagine how much more productive a person could be if they could live for 100 or 500 , (or 14,000) productive years of experience and research in an area. You could be WAY ahead of anyone else.

I suspect, however, that with the advent of cheap books, and further with computers, knowledge is able to be passed on with better fidelity, and the advantages of an extra long life are diminished.

Thanks again for the recommendation David.

Regards
Ralph

 

[Gareth]

Man From Earth

Well Im just about to watch this film... really looking forward to it after David mentioned it 2 weeks in a row.

Will give my verdict once Ive watched it. I BETTER NOT BE DISAPPOINTED BIEDNY!!

 

[Experiencer7]

Man From Earth

It is one of my favorite films. I would also suggest "Mind Walk"., circa 1990.

 

[Experiencer7]

1. Are there any amendments or corrections to academia's current view of history that you could offer? If so., what are they?

2. Given the potential for lengthy research in a given area,or many., have you made any discoveries which would be useful to our species?

3. Have you made any attempt to research the nature of your' longevity? If so., what were the results?

4. Given that you knew and were greatly affected by Buddah and that you latter assumed the role of the Christ., do you have an opinion on the role of spirituality?

5. Do you still fear to reveal yourself to the world?, and why.

 

[Gareth]

Man From Earth

I thought the film was great. I usually love any movie that doesnt blindly follow the formulaic structure that 95% of movies out there do.

I did find the reactions of the friends a little contrived. I understand that it would have been boring to have them all sit there and either out right accept or reject his claims - but to have some of them get so emotional seemed a but much.

But it hardly detracts from the film. Great movie.

 

[Apocalypto]

Man From Earth

To each his own. I thought the movie was a complete yawner. I tried to watch it a few months ago but lost interest after about 45 minutes and switched it off. It came across as pseudo-intellectual and cliché-ridden. The old professor with the younger woman, riding in on a motorcyle? Give me a break. It might have been easier to take if that actor wasn't the guy who played a role in a terrible TV show about a superhero called "The Greatest American Hero". Also, Dr. Phlox (from Enterprise) annoyed me as well. It would have been smarter to cast a movie like this with completely unknown and talented stage actors.

Having said all that, it does rate an 8.2/10 on IMDB, which is very good. Maybe I should give it another try. Maybe I've become too cynical in my old age. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this IMDB dude's comments. Interesting take on the movie:

"Verification of Oldman's story should not be hard. If Oldman takes on a new life every ten years and has 10 doctorates and who knows what else, he has a history and, most likely, one with pictures. The issue isn't what he was doing 5,000 years ago, it is what was he doing 30 or 40 years ago when he should be an infant or teenager. Was he teaching? In a company? It would not be hard to verify that the man who was Harvard 40 years ago is the same man known as Oldman today. Isn't it odd that no one asked him what he was doing before he came to their little town? "

 

[Gareth]

Man From Earth

The old professor with the younger woman, riding in on a motorcyle? Give me a break.

hahaha yeah.... ripped STRAIGHT from the opening pages of any Stephen King novel.

I know what the commenter means about documentation. The whole time I was just thinking "Show them your degree form 1840 Oxford!!" Didnt happen.

 

[Schuyler]

Man From Earth

Watched it last night. I was fine until they got to him being JC. That seemed contrived to me and it started to fall apart after that because of the reactions to that. It's kind of like the issue of reincarnation. One of the things reincarnation has going for it is that a large majority of people who claim a past life, whether under regression or some other method, recount pretty common lives--not famous ones. People who do claim to have been Caesar or JC are pretty well discounted as having delusions of grandeur.

So to with this movie. It was so unnecessary. If he'd recounted experiences like, "Yeah, I was a Centurion about 70 AD and this is how we really lived." or "You wouldn't believe the massive cover-up over Vesuvius" these sorts of things would have built credibility. But JC? Gimme a break.

I still enjoyed it, though, and I will watch it again. Nice ending. Thank you, David.

 

[valiens]

Man From Earth

My review:

Great discussion wrapped in antiquated dialog with either bad acting or bad directing of decent actors.

Plus William Katt. Bonus.

 

[Mothra]

Man From Earth

hahaha yeah.... ripped STRAIGHT from the opening pages of any Stephen King novel.

I know what the commenter means about documentation. The whole time I was just thinking "Show them your degree form 1840 Oxford!!" Didnt happen.

Its only a 70 minute movie. In a book or graphic novel form I could see those questions being valid. They basically had to cover the history of mankind in that time period.

Also If your entire life had been the devotion and study of a particular subject and someone you care about and respect deeply suddenly says its all shit, you'd be a little upset too.

I see the old guy with the young girl and it gives my 43 year old body hope. And yes I have a pony tail.

 

[Tommy Allison]

Man From Earth

I watched the movie and here's the thing I cannot stand about these kinds of films. Coincidence is one thing, but... SO MANY?

What particularly bothered me the most, was you had a guy who was his child, that the child couldn't recognize?

I have relatives I hadn't seen in 30 years, that I recognized without much of a problem.

As an exercise in philosophy, there were some good points, but when you get right down to it, it was Highlander without the beheading. Imagine Connor McLeod being a pacifist, and here you would have The Man From Earth.

 

[DBTrek]

Man From Earth

I have relatives I hadn't seen in 30 years, that I recognized without much of a problem.

Really? Wow . . . I must have mis-judged your age by about a decade.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Man From Earth

I thought the film was great. I usually love any movie that doesnt blindly follow the formulaic structure that 95% of movies out there do.

I did find the reactions of the friends a little contrived. I understand that it would have been boring to have them all sit there and either out right accept or reject his claims - but to have some of them get so emotional seemed a but much.

But it hardly detracts from the film. Great movie.

I saw this the other night and I have to agree that this was an enjoyable, thought-provoking 90 minutes. What a change from the popcorn crap that's infiltrated the industry.

 

[Kieran]

Just watched this film online highly compelling watch,the lead characters prognosis of his life through history was incredible ,And the reactions from the other characters of this film was a enjoy to watch also . The synoipis that john gave to the other characters in the film that he was jesus was very interesting, OF course In history jesus christ means priest....... its origins came out of Greece 600 years before christ ....... ...............................................The Bible was simple produced out of nessity to avoid conflict between the rise of christianity and the pagan emperor constiane who later became a christian,The bible is a book which is comprised of myths and storys which have been changed and modifyed through history.........I saw a documentary long time back where it gave an alternative history to the life of jesus...................................................................................................................................................The story with film as i remember investigated the folklore and the myth of this old culture in India .,..........the team who produced this film went to a remote village within some part of India i cant remember the exact region since it is a very long time since i saw this documentary......... ...............................................................................................................................................This team upon arriveing at this village visited the local temple or local church, i aint too sure what the right term for there meeting place for faith or worship is ......Anyways the team met this man of faith who was quiet old .............................he began to explain to the team about the culture of his faith,...........One of these old storys is where he talked about jesus life and why there is alot of jesus life that is still missing in recorded history, He explained this through evidence of ancient manuscripts , ancient writings on statues and ancient wall paintings.................................................................................................This old man of faith siad jesus left the middle east around the time of his twenty birthday and came to this region to study the ways of there faith which where was based on the religion of buddha and of other other far eastern religions................ This old man of faith siad jesus was a man of great importance not a god but a prophet. ......... .......................................................................................................He stayed there for a number of years this old priest siad , but later jesus returned home to the region of Israel with some followers...........This old priest also stated that jesus after his death happened was taken from his place of rest and smuggled out ... ....................................................The old priest duly showed the team which this part was in the documentary a tomb of sorts which was inclosed within a different building guarded by two soldiers provided by the Indian goverment,......he told the team this was where jesus christ rests today ,He had a different name for jesus within his faith and culture, but it was the same man :question: ​

 

[Tommy Allison]

Well, it's amazing how it is you know. Living since the Pleistocene, perfect regeneration, being the perfect human specimen. I mean, I am good looking, and all that, but I keep my personality young too. Juvenile is what they call my humor and attitude.