Tag: the man from earth

Jerome Bixby’s THE MAN FROM EARTH Celebrates its 10th anniversary With a New Blu-ray & DVD Set

“What if a man from the Upper Paleolithic had survived until the present day?”

The Special Edition Blu-ray + DVD Collector’s Set of the cult classic science fiction drama THE MAN FROM EARTH will be available On November 21st from MVD Entertainment Group

Directed by Richard Schenkman (A Diva’s Christmas Carol), The Man From Earth stars David Lee Smith (Fight Club, Zodiac), John Billingsley (2012, “True Blood”), William Katt (Carrie, “The Greatest American Hero”), Ellen Crawford (“ER”, Soldier), Tony Todd (Candyman, The Rock), Annika Peterson (The Devil You Know), Alexis Thorpe (American Wedding) and Richard Riehle (Bridesmaids, Office Space) in this special edition release (with disc only exclusive features) of the worldwide cult smash movie that dazzled critics and audiences alike and currently resides among IMDb’s top science fiction films of all time.
The Man From Earth is the provocative final screenplay by renowned science fiction author and screenwriter Jerome Bixby (“Star Trek”, “The Twilight Zone”, Fantastic Voyage, It! The Terror From Beyond Space) and tells the story of a mysterious professor named John Oldman (David Lee Smith). During a cold night in a remote cabin, an uneventful, impromptu goodbye party for Oldman becomes something extraordinary when he makes a prodigious announcement: He is an immortal who has migrated through 140 centuries of evolution and now must move on. Is Oldman truly Cro-Magnon or simply insane? Now one man will force five scholars to confront their own notions of history, religion, science and humanity, all reading to a final revelation that may shatter their world forever. Bixby’s script explores themes first presented in the classic season three “Star Trek” episode “Requiem For Methuselah”. He began work on the script in the early 1960’s and completed it on his death bed in 1998.
 
A decade after its initial release The Man From Earth has become a world-wide cult classic and has become a favorite film among fans of the genre. The film currently ranks among the top 50 science fiction films of all time on the IMDb, was selected by AOL’s “Sci-Fi Squad”as one of the Top 10 “Best Science Fiction Films of the Decade” (2000 – 2009) and was nominated for a Saturn Award by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films in 2008.  The movie’s success has spawned a sequel, The Man From Earth: Holocene, which is scheduled for release in theaters Fall 2017.
Regarding the film’s popularity, Director Richard Schenkman muses “The idea that The Man From Earth would become someone’s favorite movie of all time, and so many people’s favorite movie of all time, is just amazing. It really is one of your fondest goals when you become a filmmaker, to have your movie seen. And God knows it’s been seen, it’s been seen millions and millions and millions of times. Given the phenomenon it has become over the last decade, I was compelled to go back and revisit why this film has touched so many people over the years and was the inspiration for the brand new, feature length documentary I directed called “The Man From Earth: Legacy”, which will be included on the new Blu-ray and DVD as an exclusive feature”.
Regarding the movie’s special edition release, the producers have prepared an all new HD master which improves upon the previously released versions on Blu-ray and DVD. Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth was originally shot on MiniDV (digital video) in January 2006 before the proliferation of high definition filmmaking. This new edition contains a high definition, newly remastered version of the film approved by the filmmakers which was completed using an up-conversion process from the original 172,800 pixels per frame MiniDV camera tapes to 2,073,600 pixels per frame of Full HD. The original DV 30 Mbps 29.97fps media was converted to a new ProRes 422 HQ 220 Mbps source at 24 fps for more cinematic motion and for more control and manipulation of the picture during an all new color correction process, with each shot meticulously noise reduced, sharpened, and detail enhanced.
In regards to special features, both the Blu-ray and DVD will include the following additional material:
  • Combo pack with will include both the High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation (1.78:1) of the main feature
  • Original 2.0 Stereo Audio (Uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray) and Dolby Digital 5.1 mix
  • BRAND NEW feature-length retrospective documentary “The Man From Earth: Legacy” (HD, 88 mins) chronicling the history and the phenomenon of the film with all-new interviews with the director, producers and the cast
  • Audio Commentary with Producer / Director Richard Schenkman and Actor John Billingsley
  • Audio Commentary with Executive Producer Emerson Bixby and Author / Sci-Fi Scholar Gary Westfahl
  • “From Script To Screen” (2007 featurette) [2:15, SD]
  • “Star Trek: Jerome Bixby’s Sci-Fi Legacy” (2007 featurette) [3:28, SD]
  • “On The Set” (2007 featurette) [4:00, SD]
  • “The Story of the Story” (2007 featurette) [2:13, SD]
  • Original Theatrical Trailer [SD]
  • The Man From Earth: Holocene Teaser Trailer [HD]
  • The “mini-short” film “Contagion” (2016) [:30, HD] from the producers and director of The Man From Earth (Richard Schenkman and Eric D. Wilkinson) starring William Katt.
  • Before / After comparison of the brand new HD digital restoration of the feature film.
  • Photo Gallery
Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth: Special Edition makes is home video debut on November 21 2017 on Blu-ray (UPC# 760137051282) MVD Entertainment Group in North America.
 
REVIEWS
 
“A considerable achievement… a picture which deserves wide exposure… The Man From Earth gradually and stimulatingly builds to a pitch of near hypnotic intensity.” – Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter
 
“Based on a really wonderful final work by Jerome Bixby… If you’re a fan of Bixby’s – it’s a must own.” – Harry Knowles, Ain’t It Cool News
 
“One film has taken us back to the good old days of classic sci-fi; The Man From Earth… If you love science fiction, this is a must for you.” – Doug MacLean, Home Theater Info
“The Man From Earth is very much a labor of love from all involved… it’s well worth the effort. The final work from the writer responsible for some of the finest episodes of “The Twilight Zone” and the original “Star Trek” gets a thoughtful, low-budget treatment.” – Ian Spelling, Sci Fi.com
FESTIVAL WINS
 
2007 – WINNER (GRAND PRIZE – BEST SCREENPLAY) Rhode Island International Film Festival
2007 – WINNER (1st PLACE – BEST FEATURE) Rhode Island International Film Festival
2008 – WINNER (BEST SCREENPLAY) Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre – Int’l Independent Horror, Fantasy & Bizarre, Argentina
2008 – WINNER (BEST SCI-FI SCREENPLAY) International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival, Phoenix, AZ
2008 – WINNER (Jury Award: BEST SCREENPLAY) Fixion-Sars Horror & Fantastic Film Festival of Santiago, Chile
2008 – WINNER (Audience Award: BEST FEATURE FILM) Fixion-Sars Horror & Fantastic Film Festival of Santiago, Chile
2008 – WINNER (2ND PLACE – BEST FEATURE) Rio de Janeiro International Fantastic Film Festival
2008 – WINNER (BEST DIRECTOR) Fantaspoa – International Fantastic Film Festival of Porto Alegre, Brazil
2008 – WINNER (AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD) Montevideo Fantastic Film Festival of Uruguay
2008 – WINNER (BEST FILM) Montevideo Fantastic Film Festival of Uruguay

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