"The Man From Earth" - Reaction/Talk

The group discusses the remarkable independent 2007 film, "The Man From Earth," written by Jerome Bixby.
This thought-provoking film is an intellectual delight that has become a cult classic. It has won numerous awards, including the Best Screenplay at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.
Screenwriter, Jerome Bixby, has written memorable episodes of Star Trek, the Twilight Zone, and many westerns.
"The Man From Earth" was his last work which he finished on his deathbed in 1998.
(You can watch entire film of "The Man From Earth" here-- • Video )

[@CalebBergen]

One of the greatest movies I've seen. In a weird twist of fate I only heard about this movie because the director made an appeal to pirate his movie, just so someone would see it. I don't know what made me actually do so, but for some reason that made me curious and I downloaded it completely out of the blue. I'm very happy I did, because it made a huge impression on me. It is undeniably a very flawed movie, and a lot of that is because of the constraints they had, but it is also so thought-provoking that you can't help but enjoy the conversation.

[@Stavroization]

I told my friend a few days ago this is my favorite movie nobody's heard of

[@liviuclipa]

Don't watch the part two.

[@RK-vy3bs]

This movie was so binding. No action, no intimate scenes, no drama. Just a conversation between few friends and their conversation convincing that i thought for a moment that it might be based on real incidents.

[@marcuspi999]

I'm so happy to hear someone else describe Star Trek the way I always have when I'm trying to convince someone why it's so great. It's the ideas. The dilitheum crystal warp drive and the pew pew pew guns play a backseat role to the ideas and philosophy. There is a great sci-fi author from the 1950s and 1960s Clifford D. Simak, whose stories still hold up today because he never attempted to describe advanced technology, but merely used a "what if" premise. What if an advanced alien took on human form and decided to live as a farmer in a small rural community in the midwest?

[@NateAZ]

I first saw this film online and it is still, to this day, one of my favorite thought provoking movies. I did go out and purchase a copy, and one for my father as well, he loved it also. One of my minors in college was religious history and I had a theology professor who gave me a book that contained all of the books that the Catholic church had stricken from the Bible. Books written by Mary about Jesus as a child as well as books written by Adam and Eve. I am not sure of it's validity, but it is a good read regardless, giving another view of these parts of history. It's named 'The Lost Books of The Bible and The Forgotten Books of Eden' from The World Publishing Company, NY. In reading through this book, the motivation for any Christian religion to want these omitted is very clear, some places in it contradict many of the belief models of these religions. Taking on that minor in college was pivotal for me, since I chose it to kind of see what they were all about and which one I was able to get behind, if any. In the end, I am now Buddhist, to me it was the one in the bunch that did not want that level of control and didn't try to instill fear in people. It is about being present, empathetic and loving to each other and to reach a level of peace within one's self. Loved the discussion, keep it up. For another single room film that is really good, but for many, flew under the radar, watch The Sunset Limited from 2011. The entire film takes place in one small apartment, stars only two actors, Samuel L Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones. The characters don't even have names, when you look it up in IMDB, they are listed as Black and White and no names are ever mentioned throughout the movie. The story is very good though, making it another thought provoking one to wrap your mind around.

[@gregkral4467]

Thank you so much for this conversation. I so miss exploration and discussions of ideas in depth with an equally interested party. Is too rare. I think in some ways, immortality would be somewhat torturous, but seeing how things change over time could be routinely fascinating.... but still rather routine, habit.

[@krisztianunpronounceable]

To this day, this is my favourite movie!

[@orlinlang430]

One of my favorite movies, thank you for doing a reaction. The second one is good, just not as "real", if that makes sense. Heard once, years ago, they were gonna do a third.

[@orlinlang430]

Two parts that get to me is his reveal of being the reason for Christ and when Chilly Willy dies. I did enjoy your reactions/stories/concepts. I am a watcher of movies (50 years old and have watched thousands of movies) if you need or would like suggestions, let me know your likes.

[@tolfan4438]

i saw an add for a kick starter , the producers want to make a series

[@gregkral4467]

WhatI so loved about this story is like a child, even at my age now, I want to believe some things, am still even half century, a bit naive, still curious, hopeful........ but what if those beliefs are proven false? Love the cast, love the characters and perspective and thoughts from each.

[@trumbaron]

Loving the conversation! Thank you!

[@CMLi-qh2mz]

watchd it yesterday, still fucked my mind now.

[@harrypothead42024]

If you need to film on a budget get you some Star Trek guys, they are magnificent actors and always give a great performance

[@trumbaron]

I love Emerson Bixby for protecting the film and sticking to the original idea!

[@harrypothead42024]

I am terrified of dying but I wouldn't want to live 14,000 years if I couldn't remember the 30th year. All of the people who I know now at age 46, to forget them, would be worse than dying. I don't have any belief in the afterlife I don't have any belief in heaven or gods or the supernatural and, 3 days ago my dad died so I wish I did have those beliefs but, it seems like it would be more disrespectful to forget people then it would to have those memories die because I did. I understand John didn't choose to live forever I'm just fixated on the horrible part of his existence right now. He has mourned more people and the loss of more loved ones than anybody in the history of History.

[@michaelsonnon2333]

I am not a subscriber, yet, but this video just popped up in my feed. I recently watched this movie (for about the 99th time) and do enjoy watching videos of people reacting/commenting on it. I guess KZbin decided I'd like yours. Like a blind squirrel finding a nut, they guessed right on this one. Nice job. I had the opportunity, in my youth, to read some of Mr. Bixby's work, and always considered him a favorite. I first saw The Man from Earth the week it was released and was hooked. Over the years I have researched the facts, checked the timelines, and looked up the variables. Thought provoking indeed! An addition to the topic comes to mind. Have you ever viewed the Twighlight Zone original series episode called "Long Live Walter Jameson"? The subject matter is aligned nicely with both the Star Trek episode you mentioned, and The man from earth. With a fateful twist. It is not the work of Bixby, but once you see it, you'd easily believe it is. Thanks for the video, and again, nice job!

[@thediscussiongroup5325]

Thanks, Michael. Will have to check out that Twilight Zone episode.

[@krisztianunpronounceable]

I just rewatched it before I saw this video.

[@empirejeff]

Yes, Twilight Zone

[@gregkral4467]

The man from earth is such a wonderful and fascinating story. Love it.

[@steveb1972]

I wonder what the panel thought of the sequel? I didn’t think much of it as the philosophical discussion has been and gone. Thoughts?

[@Deception975]

There's a sequel?

[@livealittle1100]

​@@Deception975 yes but it sucks. Better don't watch.

[@chunkymilk]

there’s something very meta about this conversation.

[@gregsteele806]

32:36 The long, dark teatime of the soul.

[@noself22]

Love this film. Was excited to listen to your duscussion, but very disappointed at the poor audio quality. Please invest in better microphones for your discussion group.

[@MaxWraith]

This concept was introduced in an episode of original Twilight Zone. Bixby expanded on it.

[@wittyroark]

One the best movie of this century

[@noself22]

I wouldve thought John would eventually be the(behind the scenes) Ruler of the earth... he could have accumulated massive wealth and property ownership spanning the entire globe, unfathomable amounts of wealth and power accumulated over thousands of years. If you think about how much one man can achieve in a normal 80year life span, it would almost be impossible for John not be unimaginably rich and powerful living over thousands of lifetimes?

[@liviuclipa]

A wise man wouldn't be interested in that.

[@Westhelockpicker]

It's amazing how good this movie is even though the entire thing is 6-7 actors in a man's living room talking

[@DatHooligan]

There's a sequel for those that dont know. Its called The Man From Earth: Holocene. You're welcome.

[@kingwillie206]

He didn’t head east to meet Buddha. It was cold where he was and his limited knowledge at that time told him to travel to the source of heat, which was the Sun rise in the east. It was common sense at that point in time.

[@baumgartnernicolas4462]

Loved the movie….but always wondered why they simply didn’t asked the guy to demonstrate all the language he knew ?

[@Allexstrasza]

Well, if you don't speak a language you've learned for some time, even half a year, you forget a lot. Then add on to that new dialects, new words etc? Just look at old English for an example. Its like two different languages. Your brain can only sustain a certain amount of information until the things you no longer think about becomes foggy. Unless you have strong connections to those memories, they will be forgotten. Your first language is different, it stays with us, but for him it might be very different, since he has lived so many lifetimes since his birth.

[@DrVVVinK]

​@@Allexstraszasimilar to people who move around a lot and lose and gain accents, however, I noticed there is still a hint of their original, only detected by others who live in that area.

[@tipigi3570]

I took a full year of Spanish back in high school well over 30 years ago. Back then, I could speak full sentences easily. Fast forward 30 years, and I might remember only a handful of words. How much worse would it be thousands of years later?

[@miller-joel]

There can be only one!

[@Bez_straha_od_zla]

My favorite movie...

[@tecoboy]

Isn’t this a retell of Plato’s allegory of the cave? Or supposed that someone could travel through time back and forth… who would believe this person? This is a conundrum that humanity can’t scape. We have to take the myths we create on faith or we have to admit that everything is relative… including what I have said so forth.

[@trumbaron]

I don't think you mentioned the second movie, The Man From Earth Part 2.

[@firstnamesurname6810]

Ripley's believe it or not: the only movie i have watched twice is "the man from Earth"

[@kingwillie206]

People like Adolf would never live 14,000 years because too many of us wanted him gone.

[@jantoleu8392]

There must've been a few people among a hundred of billions ever lived on Earth who could have lived at least thousand years thanks to their genetic quirks. But you have to be an exceptionally lucky dog to survive all the interactions with human beings.

[@kingwillie206]

There are animals that don’t age biologically, however, they all eventually die from disease or predation anyway. It is estimated that there is a 1/1000 chance of dying from an accident on average.

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

Fantastic film.

[@kitcando58]

Moving every 10 years for 14000 years, hmm does that mean he knows about 1000 languages

[@noself22]

It has to mean that. Also has to mean he has 1000s of greatgreatgreatgreat etc grandchildren , AND accumulated unfathomable amounts of property ownership and wealth across entire planet

[@justanaveragegamer8735]

Note to self 39:08

[@empirejeff]

Phlox

[@tolfan4438]

its an old con trick, im 14000 years old. no one believes of course . Claim you were Jesus by accident and the sceptic shifts to is he Jesus. you just accepted he is 14000.

[@peanut1001x]

extremely dull

[@ardalla535]

This movie was awful. It was like a bad version of the novel "My First 2000 Years" by Sylvester Viereck, and not nearly as intelligent as the film "My Dinner With Andre" which had a similar format. I don't know why people like this so much. He trained his body to fake death; that's how he survived being crucified?? A human cannot train his body to fake death by shutting down your bodily functions. Seriously? That's just not believable. And no human could survive 15000 years without dying hundreds of times" life expectancy at birth was not even 20 yrs during some periods. Hardly anyone survived childhood. And to top it all off, he calls Gautama "Buddha." Buddha is a title, not a name.

[@indrajithak47]

Found the religious zealot

[@kitcando58]

I think you underestimate how much a 14,000 year old would know. I believe he would know a hell of a lot as long as he maintained in mental gymnastics with his peers

[@Allexstrasza]

Well, think of how your own memories work. Unless you consistently think about something, have a strong connection to a memory, you will forget it within a few years. Hell, I sometimes walk into a room forgetting why I walked in there. And then I see what I was after and remember. What we consider a lifetime is at most 75-90 years, sometimes more. Think of how many lifetimes he has lived, and how much each language have changed throughout time. Our brain can only sustain a certain amount of information before the obsolete becomes, well, obsolete.

[@miller-joel]

Assuming their brain is functional and didn't go completely insane.

[@kitcando58]

his son