ALL SCI-FI

[The Spike]

They are coming to get you Morgan.

Vincent Price stars as Dr. Robert Morgan, the apparent sole survivor on Earth after a lethal virus has wiped out mankind. His only company is a plague of vampire-like zombies thirsting for his blood each and every night. Tiring of the constant fights and desperate in his loneliness, Morgan is at the end of his tether. Until . . .

The source story from which this film is adapted, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, is rightly or wrongly considered to be something of a sci-fi classic. This explains why, in three different decades, the film has been adapted to the big screen.

Following on from this first attempt we have been offered up The Omega Man in 1971 and I Am Legend in 2007. All three big screen outings are of differing quality, and separated by their respective approaches to the subject.

The Last Man On Earth is to me the best of the three films to date. Having horror legend Vincent Price play the main character automatically lends people to think that this picture is primarily a horror film. Something that may explain why it's been largely ignored outside of those who have a penchant for Matheson and Price's respective work.

Though proudly containing {justly} horror elements {George Romero was clearly watching with interest} Ubaldo Ragona's film perfectly portrays the agony of Morgan's solitude. It's not merely about his battle with virally challenged zombies. Morgan's battle is chiefly with himself {wonderfully realized by an undervalued Price performance}.

He may have inherited the Earth, but his function has been reduced to being nothing more than the assassin of the night creatures. His existence is growing more grim by the year — until he makes an amazing discovery, and it's one that swerves the film into its final quarter.

To me at least, the film achieves what the other adaptations failed to do — namely no swagger involved, no cop outs and pandering to the norm. It's a highly fitting final, in keeping with the story's heart.

Though the story seems to be set in an American city, it's actually shot on location in Rome, Italy. The whole cast (other than Price himself) being Italian. Low on budget, The Last Man On Earth is unable to break free of its B movie sheen. And yet this aids the structure of the picture. Grainy black-and-white shots of derelict streets definitely boost the apocalyptic essence. This is a depressing time, not only for Morgan, but for us the viewers as well.

We are not meant to jump out of our seats with fright, or to whoop and holler as Morgan lays waste to another creature of the night. We are asked to imagine what it would be like to be the last human on Earth, and if indeed we could cope with the isolation, and the dreams of a life long since past.

Fine and intelligent picture 7.5/10
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The quality of mercy is not strnen.

[Bud Brewster]

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Well hell, now you've done it!

You've put me in the mood to watch this movie — which I've never seen before. But where can I get a copy of it.

Wait! What's this!



How did this get in my storage rack? Oh God, those damned Zinema Zombies must have snuck in and left it there just to show they could murder me in my sleep anytime they want!

Guess I'll just have to stay up all night and watch these movies. Otherwise I'll never live to see the sunrise . . .
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[ralfy]

I grew up watching the '71 film on TV, then saw the '64 film on video much later, then read the book. For some reason, I felt that the story for the '71 was better than that of the '64 or the book.

[Brent Gair]

A heads up for home video buyers that THE LAST MAN ON EARTH is included in the absolutely suberb VINCENT PRICE COLLECTION II Blu-ray set from Scream Factory. And yes, there is also a wonderful Volume I.





Seven movies are in this set:

The Last Man on Earth

The Comedy of Terrors

Dr. Phibes Rises Again!

The Tomb of Ligeia

The Raven

Return of the Fly

House on Haunted Hill

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH is, of course, presented in proper 2.35:1 Panavision. I have owned this is various formats. The HD Blu-ray version is absolutely definitive. Extras for this movie are :

-Richard Matheson Storyteller: The Last Man on Earth features Matheson discussing both his original novel and the film.

-Still Gallery

-Audio Commentary with Film Historian David Del Valle and Author Derek Botelho.


I urge people to investigate this boxed set. It's a great deal.

[wich2]

Saw the Heston film ages ago, I think on an NBC Saturday Night at the Movies. I like it, mainly because of Zerbe and Heston.

Then, got the PB. A great read, as is most Matheson.

Only caught up with the whole Vinnie version (I'd seen clips) a few years back, by way of a very good quality cheap DVD. Like it, too.

All three have merits. Now -

- howabout EARTH ABIDES?

-Craig

[Robert (Butch) Day]

Correction; the Charlton Heston — Anthony Zerbe version is The Omega Man (1971).
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Common Sense ISN'T Common

[wich2]

(Robert, who/what are you correcting?)

[orzel-w]

I had read Matheson's book during my "Summer of Sci-Fi" when I was between Junior High and High School. Years later I saw the Vincent Price movie, then Omega Man, and finally, the Will Smith treatment. I still regard the Price version as being the closest to the original story, although I've never felt that adherence to the original material should be the final word on the value of a movie adaptation.

Written literature and film format are two entirely different media with different storytelling requirements and capabilities. While movie adaptations may leave readers of the original stories longing for a truer film treatment, the movie should be evaluated on its own merits. To a viewer who has never read the original story, the movie could be pure gold.

I feel the Price movie stands on its own as a fine production, consistent with the subject.
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Bud Brewster]

No correction needed, Butch. Craig said he saw The Omega Man first, read the book later, and finally saw The Last Man on Earth "a few years back".

[Brent Gair]

I think the Price movie is the most disturbing and unsettling.

OMEGA MAN plays almost as a war movie. Heston is the soldier (which, in fact, he was in this movie) who operates from a secure base. He ventures out on patrol, encountering a foreign enemy and engaging in skirmishes.

Vincent Price is just a man in his own home. He is under siege by the ghosts of family and friends. It creeps me out.

[The Spike]

[The Spike]

[Phantom]

I saw this in ’64 on a double bill with some forgettable muscle man picture and didn’t like a frame of it. Avoided the movie for decades while Heston made The Omega Man (liked it even less) and Will Smith gave it a third and thoroughly disappointing try.

So, it was about time for a re-assessment, and lo and behold, Price’s journey through the landscape of the undead is much better than I remembered.

Price was on an AIP roll at the time, so how or why he ended up in Italy in an almost no-budget picture only he could have explained. We are lucky he made the decision; director Ubaldo Ragona is even more fortunate in enticing the highly respected and sought after American actor to accept the job. Price takes the role very seriously. There is none of that tongue-in-cheek approach he adopted for the latter part of his career that endeared him to his fans. In this Matheson adaptation he is world weary to the bone and deadly serious about his mission, exactly the right tone for a movie that he had to carry alone for the American audience.



Franco Delli Colli’s b/w photography gives the film a far more unearthly ambiance than the color remakes. Nightmares are meant to be in monochrome in which the eye is not distracted by a myriad of hues and shades. Mario Bava, an artistic genius, was one of the few directors to successfully marry disturbed dreams with floods of color.

This shot of a dead body, or possibly a vampire, is far more effective in b/w. Color would reveal make up and defects that never seem authentic when applied to one’s face.



Wild animals roam the empty streets in the beginning of Will Smith’s I am Legend. It’s a remarkable, memorable image, but conveys none of the unnerving devastation envisioned in The Last Man on Earth.





A few items from the IMDB pages:

[Bud Brewster]

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Welcome back, Phantom!

Your superbly crafted post is just what All Sci-Fi really needs! Both I and our handful of active members know just how much time and effort you put into your contribution.

I hope you'll take the advice I offered on the phone recently concerning the fact that you don't always have to go to that much trouble every time you add a post.

All Sci-Fi also needs short "pats on the back" for our other members — regardless of the length of their contributions.

And I hope all our members will show their own appreciation for your deligent efforts above!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]