(1971)
|
(1971) |
Robert Neville believes believes himself to be the last human being on the face of the Earth after a war fought with biological weapons. By day, he goes out in the city to forage, to explore, and to search for others. At night, he locks himself in his home, barricading himself against the horde of mutants who blame him for the terrible fate that befell mankind.
Also known as: I Am Legend (working title)
Subgenres: action, philosophical
Director: Boris Sagal
Writers: John William Corrington, Joyce H. Corrington, Richard Matheson (book)
Starring: Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe
 |
||||||
It's exhilarating in a strange kind of way to see a great--and perfectly cinematic--work trashed with such gusto. Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend was a compactly written page-turner, a commentary on racism and the dangers of irresponsible scientific research, and a scary vampire tale to boot. The Omega Man is an overdone self-consciously "cool" movie that makes bad choice after bad choice. Charlton Heston's overacting is understandable--hey, it's Heston--but the film's condescending attitude is not. God forbid we watch a scene of one man going about his business without color commentary courtesy of Mr. Heston. Would the last man on earth talk to himself? Surely, but not all the time. Give the audience a little credit. The Omega Man stumbles through poorly planned scenes and hamhanded social metaphors into a lousy finale that elevates our questionable hero to a Christ figure. Huh? (Oct 20, 2001) | ||||||
Based on Richard Matheson's book I Am Legend, which was also made into the Vincent Price film The Last Man on Earth. A third version, scripted by Mark Protosevich and to have starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as directed by Ridley Scott, was scrapped as being too expensive.
In a 1971 Warner Bros promotional pamphlet, The Omega is called I Am Legend, the title of the source book.
