Just watched Omega Man ... the original I Am Legend.

Except for the GT 500 ... I Am Legend sucked. I just finished watching Omega Man from 1971 that I am Legend was a remake (sort of).

Anyway ... there are lots of Fords in this Movie as well ...

He starts off cruising a dead NYC in a 1970 LTD convertible ... wrecks and then acquires a 1970 Mustang Convertible and has a 1968 Cougar Convertible in his garage at home.

In the opening minutes he drives past a Green Maverick in a Parking lot with several other cars. When he swipes the Mustang from a Car Dealer there is a large sign in the showroom that says COMET $2218. Since this was supposed to take place in March 1975 I am not sure which COMET they would have been advertising since the movie was made in 1971.

 

Very cool. Was Omega Man worth watching?

 

Well .. the night creatures were kind of a let down in Omega Man ... but definitely worth watching ... especially if you have already seen I Am Legend ... There are just as many similarities as there are differences ... so it's pretty neat to pick them apart.

 

The original movie version was 'The Last Man on Earth', 1964, starring Vincent Price.

'Omega Man' was the remake, while 'I am Legend' is the threemake!

 

Cool ... I'll get a copy of that one and check it out ....


The Last Man on Earth (1964)

Vincent Price gives an atypically restrained performance as the sole survivor of a worldwide plague that revives its victims as bloodthirsty vampires. During the day, he canvasses his abandoned hometown, tracking down and stalking his former friends and neighbors, always making sure to return before nightfall, when the dead rise to assault his fortified house. Hope arrives in the form of an apparently normal young woman (Franca Bettoia), but her agenda proves to be even more sinister than that of the vampires.
Based on the 1954 novel by coscripter Matheson (whose displeasure with the final product spurred the use of a pseudonym), this Italian-made production is best known for its influence on George Romero's Night of the Living Dead. The similarities between the two films go beyond the presence of shuffling zombies and housebound heroes; both feature taboo-breaking scenes of interfamilial murder, and both end on bleak, dystopian notes. While The Last Man on Earth lacks the political and darkly satirical shadings (and graphic gore) that make Night of the Living Dead a more memorable experience, the combination of Bava-esque Gothic atmosphere and bleak, documentary-style camerawork by directors Ragona and Salkow (the brother of Price's agent Lester Salkow) lend themselves to moments of pure frisson that compare laudably to Romero's film. Matheson's novel also provided the source material for the awkward 1971 Charlton Heston vehicle The Omega Man. A planned third version, helmed by Ridley Scott and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, was shut down in its earliest stages due to skyrocketing budget costs.

 

Interesting!

 

Well ... I got a copy of the movie ... Vincent drives Chevy in this one .... and it's not in NYC ...

 

I flat out refuse to see the three-make. I'm sticking with the book (I actually have a first print run copy) and the good old last man on earth. The omega man one was the one with Chuck Heston fighting pissy albinos who call him "The creature of the wheel" wasn't it?

"Look at him.... Do you see the marks on him? No!"

 

Forgot to add- Vincent Price is THE MAN.

 

alot of kids at school said I Am Legend was a badass movie..

 

Wasn't the book published sometime in the 1950's and originally titled "I AM LEGEND" ? I remember having a copy that I got from the Science Fiction Book Club when I was a kid.

 

Yes. The book itself is called "I am Legend" and was published in 1954. For some reason the first two movie adaptations used different names. The thing I'm left wondering about the new one is if it portrays the sexuality of the female creatures. In the book they tried to use his uh....."lonelyness" against him to get him to leave his fortress/house. It was a compelling notion that really helped show more pathos. It was left out of the first two. Something tells me they went more "get to the chopper!!!" gung-ho action for the new one. Also in the book the creatures were actually quite intelligent, not on the level of humans per-se, but not zombie- level either. Anyway, before I ramble forever.... The movies are....Passable on their oen level, but get the book if you can. It enhances the experience and besides, it's not that long of a read.

 

Maybe it's a Four-Make

There was an even earlier last-man-on-Earth film staring Harry Belefonte alone in an empty New York City in 1959, called "The World, the Flesh, and the Devil." Dumb name, but the film wasn't too bad. No zombies, but Inger Stevens and Mel Ferrer pop up in the second half of the film. I remember seeing it on TV about 30 years ago. Here's a description of it:

http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=95535&mainArticleId=133204

Roz

 

Sounds cool.

 

I saw Omega Man back when it first came out and loved it. I didn't know that was a remake.