A Look Inside I Am Legend
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- Опубліковано 24 бер 2015
- This video looks at the long and strange history of the Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend and the three film adaptations it spawned. Enjoy!
Copyright Disclaimer - This video contains copyrighted images and sound. It is an educational study and falls under the "fair use" provisions of copyright law and the first amendment to critique and discuss. - Розваги
The ending to the Will Smith one completely missed the point of the entire book. Even the alternate ending where he returns the girl was off, in the story he realizes that he's the monster snatching up and murdering their friends and family at night and embraces his place as new humanity's boogeyman, when he says his final words "I AM LEGEND"
There will always be differences between the book and the movies... And the alternate ending was great btw.
Yes, more will smith garbage.
Completely missed it all. Matheson had said that it was a metaphor for television taking over the culture. Each adaptation has TOTALLY missed that.
To change the ending, where he understand is the monster and they are scared of him defeats the object of adapting this book. I understood the changes up to end, which was just a travesty...
Does he say that in the omega man? He just dies in that water
I think a limited series would be the perfect way to tell this story. It could perfectly capture the dullness or everyday life for Neville along with how joyous small victories can feel. It could perfectly show us Neville’s thoughts through a voice over or something more creative.
I am Legend would make an amazing video game adaption with a secret ending where if you don't kill any vampires the whole time, they spare you but apart from that, it's book accurate. It should be like a survival horror akin to the last of us and resident evil with you hiding out in your base between missions like in old hitman games
I wish they could just make an actual I am Legend just like the book, that has the same character, plot, and meaning of the book. Why is this so hard to do?
it would be difficult because in books, we get to know what the characters are thinking and feeling, while onscreen, its all either Visual or through dialogue (dialogue being something there is not a lot of in the book). i think thats a reason they gave robert a dog in the will smith Version. a good Movie could be done though, but it would have to be directed by an amazing director
Eoin O'Sullivan
Stanley Kubrick could have done it.
It would B boring
Lemmings-Gaming
That I can actually agree on. The narrative and pace of the story has aged like all great works. The problem would be around the fact you have to cut most of the content within the story to make it work. Like I firmly believe Comic books and mangas can be adapted way easier than a book ever could. Books leave things in the open and the Author's perspective is necessary to enjoy it. But mangas suffer from being too over the top to seem like reality to most. However comics can blend in way more based on how the companies wrote them. Like take Marvel's movie streak for example, it is getting bigger and bigger as it progresses. However to me it lacks the visual awe and artist can create.
Sorry Im a critic
I love all three movies based on the book BUT I agree completely. And the Will Smith version should have been called something else.
I think the Last Man on Earth was the best one. Vincent Price is one of the best actors ever, and the B movie feel gives it a great charm.
I'd say it was second to the Omega Man And superior to the Will Smith version which was pretty much just a popcorn flick.
Thanks I'll be looking for that one too :)
I agree!
I do like it very much, too. Vincent Price is always fun to watch.
I enjoyed The Last Man on Earth. But Omega Man is my Favorite
I just seen omega man and I liked it
@@xyoungdipsetx I might have to give it a watch again
I love the music, too. I didn't the first time, but now love it. Go figure.
@@SMtWalkerS totally agree about the music, I use to listen to watch little there is of it on UA-cam
The most i am legend story that i love is the short animated comic, where they show us how the vamp-zombie creature look at normal human as a monster. And the darkseeker is stronger as well. So when it comes to the vampire, i like the i am legend out of all cause its the scariest, and the atmosphere as well.. But still, the short animated comic is the best out of all
I did not realize that the Corringtons wrote The Omega Man. They also wrote great detective novels.
I have been listening to the audio book every night for the past two years. Can't sleep without it.
Actually, I thought the soundtrack for THE LAST MAN ON EARTH was very good. Very fitting for an atmosphere of dismay.
Personally, I liked Last Man on Earth over Omega Man. It felt more like a horror film where Omega Man felt like a psychedelic fever dream.
CGI zombies are NOT scary, in fact knowing that they are cartoons creates zero emotional investment either way. Good video by the way. :)
I agree with you making them violent primitives that obviated the twist ending making it the furthest from the source material. And therefore most annoying also replacing actors with CGI the greatest insult.
I have read the book 'I am Legend' and I thought Vincent Price's version was most accurate for the first hour. In the book when he uttered the words 'I am Legend' everything fell into place
Just finished the book with the same all encompassing feeling when reading "I am legend"... For some reason I didn't see it coming and it just made everything fall into place so well ! Loved it... I also cried at the line "Within a week the dog was dead. "
@@fractal_mind562 We all know the feeling... Damn effective.
I don't see why you're so easy on Omega Man and hard on Last Man. Everything you said about Omega could be said about Last... well acted, under appreciated. The sound issue is not a big deal, not compared to some of the ridiculous 'jive turkey' talk the white writers had the black woman say in Omega Man. And the bloody crucifixion pose at the end was as obvious and angst-ridden as a high school goth-kid's doomsday poetry.
I was born in the mid 60s and grew up as and child of the 70s l grew up watching Charlton Heston movies like planet of the solent green and the omega man this films became a big part of my childhood . I seeing all three versions there good but my favorite is still the omega man .
That was the Chick Heston trifecta! 3 great movie!
Me too Im 51 and i love the 70s pace.It slows me into a trance like state.
Me too! Heston made some GREAT sci fi movies. And, he could carry them off, when lesser actors couldn't. He has a supporting role in John Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness: and is good in that, too.
I don't think the Family in The Omega Man were Mutants, to me they seem to be infected people with a higher resistance to the plague. The disease is still killing them, but at a much slower rate than most of the population. That's why Neville was able to cure Ritchie, if he'd been mutating, a vaccine wouldn't have stopped it.
This film is awesome. So many endings can be imagined. I never new about this films background. Thank you. Great watch.
Thanks Martel.
I've seen all three films based on Richard Matheson's "I am Legend" and out of the three, "The Omega Man" is still my favorite version!
I met Charlton Heston at a book signing of his biography.I was so nervous i couldn't say anything lol.
Back in the '90's, there were times that I wish I could've met Mr. Heston too!
I love the soundtrack beautiful music.
It was okay with me.
Omega Man had Paula Kelly in it who recently passed away. She was the first woman to pose in Playboy who showed pubic hair.
It was Rosalind Cash. Paula Kelly was in Soylent Green with Heston a year or so later.
@@mitchsalawine5420 Oh yeah-(snaps finger) You're right! thanks- I forgot all about that. But Paula did pose in Playboy, I'm sure of that. She was dancing around in a bunch of photos and not as a center fold. 1970 I think.
RIP
this was very good Thank you for posting
I grew up watching and re-watching Omega Man over and over. Like Tim Burton says - if it was on TV I'd drop everything to watch. Finally bought it years ago on DVD. I quite enjoyed I Am Legend with Smith and likewise have it on DVD. However, as the owner of three German shepherds I have a tough time these days watching it. Anywho - good review and insight into all three versions. As you say maybe someday we'll see a fourth incarnation where they get all the elements accurate to Matheson's novel.
Coming across this like 4 years later and listening to the audiobook. Finally. I was really surprised at how different the premise was. I saw the original movie with Vincent Price. I never saw the Charlton Heston version or the Will Smith version. Funny thing is when I mention the original Vincent Price movie, I'm surprised at how many people are not familiar with seeing that feature. They often are surprised hearing that Price was in it. But getting a chance to listen to the story I noticed how the beings were more vampire like than zombie. Because at the time of that film that was what I surmised. I was like, "They speak and act, zombies don't do this these seem more like vampires". Just from what I've experienced the book is terrifying. The old Vincent Price work, for many years gave me nightmares, and exposed me to the nightmare which is the idea of being alone in a world where the only things alive are the "walking" dead. The Last Man on Earth became the bane that made me avoid movies like this altogether, featuring "zombies". I've gotten over it now because of video games like Resident Evil or Shaun of the Dead, or Japan's Sushi Typhoon studio and even the Walking Dead. But zombie films are just not my forte. I don't like them, but I'll kind of watch one, but I don't like them. I guess it's the fear they instill in me and chances of my survival are pretty much a dead end. This was a great analysis. This was what I was looking for to break down these 3 films as I finish the book. Now I just gotta get my hands on Salem's Lot.
Sean bro you got it with your commentary and insight into this movie I love. Thank you bro
Thanks Chris!
Certainly, excellent editing, perspective!!!
Fortunately, the I am Legend Blu-ray includes the alternate ending.
The Omega Man is the best of the three. And ive rewatched it recently and is very relevant today in 2020.
That opening scene in downtown L.A. is getting creepier by the day.
I actually prefered the alternative ending to I am legend because it made more sense than the ending used in the film.
Nah vampires that speak in english already ruined omega man
You must hate Buffy then.
That some (not all) were still "sane" was central to the original book so having them speak English is not that far from the Matheson source.
No the vampires are the monsters you dummy
I never read the book but to me the fact they could talk made them better than in the other adaptions
@@dentistjohn6171in the book, the vampires speak. It adds to the fear factor cause Robert Neville hears them yelling and knocking at his home at night
I saw the omega man as a teenager and thought it was a great movie; didn't know of the previous movie with Vincent Price until later in life after watching I'm legend.
Bought the last man on earth and thought it was interesting; like Charleston Heston's version better than I'm legend.
Own the omega man on DVD and watch it every now and then.
Thought about buying Solent green but never did.
I will definitely go back and find Omega Man !
I still wonder what Arnold Schwarzenegger's version would have been like..
Hey, I'd watch it!
@@SMtWalkerS Ridley Scott was to direct it but it never got off the ground unfortunately.
Arnold could've even used his "Get to the choppa" line - Heston's character Neville crashes in a helicopter during a flashback sequence.
@@SilentKnight43 Yes the infection did it. He was on his way with an experimental vaccine which he gives to himself after the crash.
my favorite was always " Omega Man "
I've watched I am Legend around 8 times now.
You have to watch Omega man. It’s awesome .
By the way, Richard Matheson worked on "The last man on earth".
5:30 the vampires can talk in the book too
Well for most of the book only Neville's friend would talk to him from outside the house. It isn't until the end when he meets the woman that the other vampires start talking to him.
Sean McDougall when his wife returns and knocks on the front door she says “hello Robert” too.
The only version I seen is the Will Smith one, and I have to say that I'm torn, I think that film have good ideas (for example the daily routine the protagonist built basically to not go crazy) and some stupid ideas like the ending, I like ending of the book.
Also sorry for my broken english
the last man on earth (the most faithful version to the novel) is free on youtube, friend. and as he said, it feels like an episode of the twilight zone
You have to watch Omega man, one of the best ever . Enjoy .
I think The Omega Man was the best adaptation of the three because it was the one that made the most sense and seemed more likely of something that could actually happen. I was 7 years old the first time I saw it and it scared the hell out of me and was the reason I was afraid of the dark until I was 14. I wish they would have did a remake of that movie instead of doing the I Am Legend version. With a really big budget and modernizing it they could have made a really great movie out of it.
Sean I love your insight and interpretation
The Omega man is by far the best!
Chuck Heston, Chuck Norris , Chuck Bronson...when it comes to kick butt you want a Chuck👍
But I also like the other two as well.
I haven't seen seen Omega Man yet, but I really enjoyed the last man on earth.
Omega Man=100%
I am Legend=0%
I like all 3 of the movies for various reasons, pretty much what you mention in your video, but The Omega Man is my favorite! I do think the Omega Man's score is the best of the three also! Love your Twilight Zone talk over for the Last Man on Earth ending!
THE OMEGA MAN rules! A classic flick! (Also one of the most effective, inventive soundtracks ever!)
The omega man hands down
Well done. Keep doing what you're doing.
Ight
An excellent book, but my favorite adaptation & closest to the true story is Omega Man (although they move the vampire theme to the mutants, but I'll give that a pass). However, little known fact is that the entire saga was actually taken from a little known work by Mary Shelley. Made famous by her all time classic "Frankenstein," Shelley actually had several books to her name. One lesser known work of hers was "The Last Man" & is often credited as the first work to pose a dystopian future.
Set around 2100, a plague sweeps across Europe, England, & throughout the world which ultimately wipes out humanity. The book follows a band of individuals fighting for survival. Among the few remaining survivors in Europe, our band must deal w/ a false messiah who carries forward a radical religious sect bent on cleansing the disease (sound familiar?). But as the story progresses, each member of the party dies along w/ the rest of humanity until only one man stands. His realization which is soon all too real that he is in fact the last man on earth.
Anyone over the age of 45 or is a fan of Richard Mathewson knows of his influential novella and first two adaptions of his book. The third movie just steals the name and retreads 28 DAYS LATER..
vincent price was a horror movie actor legend
The Omega Man is still one of my all-time favorite movies!
I also enjoyed Will Smith’s, I am legend… But, (Spoiler to follow)...........I’ve had German Shepherds and for anybody who has had a Shepherd, (or any dog for that matter), as a lifelong companion, one of the scenes is gut wrenching.
The Omega Man has always been one of my favorite movies. The various visual and dialog references to Christianity and Neville as a symbolic Christ are numerous, starting with the opening shot with the crane looking like a large cross. Each time i watch the movie I find an additional visual or spoken cue, but surprisingly had never caught the Easter bunny and happy Easter on the school window. The movie character arch for Neville presents him as reluctant, self centered savior in a dead and fallen world, with him eventually sacrificing himself to save humanity.
The Omega Man is an outstanding movie, with a kick ass soundtrack! But the other two are great movies as well. I just wish the Will Smith film had been called something else. Then some day a movie based entirely on the book "I Am Legend" could be made.
Omega Man was my fave adaptation. I loved the design of the family. Also, the movie feels like a spiritual successor to Salem’s Lot
the last man on earth was epic bro i loved that movie
The last man on Earth was the best out of all film adaptations
With that shitty acting, dialogues and action scenes?
Agreed. At least it carried the spirit of the book the closest. I particularly enjoyed and identified with the slow pacing and tense buildup. This IS a bastard living isolated and alone after humanity ends.
"Come out, Morgan!" Was awesome.
Omega Man was probably my least favorite of the three, though Will Smith's version had the worst ending, by far.
Omega Man was pretty close too.But Will Smith's version is just too shitty and doesn't resemble the book that much.And why would they put a black actor (no racism) saving the world (This is something similar to Night Of The Living Dead).
Johnny Long Boi What’s wrong with a black character saving the world?
The problem with Will Smith's I Am Legend it was conceived more as a remake of the 1971 film adaptation than the actual source material by Richard Matheson. This is a trend that's been happening in Hollywood for years, rather than later adaptation's attempt at being faithful to the source material, they use the most popular or high regarded adaptation as basis for their film. Essentially you end up with the same film with a few different aspects due to the time period change. Carrie 2013 is another victim to this.
I've watched last man on earth and omega man at least 50 times a piece. Love em. I am legend was OK But I wish they'd make a TV series out of this
4 movies have been made. The 4th was a right to DVD... I AM OMEGA. For a DVD release it was good. Came out the year after Will Smith's movie.
I’m watching this now in 2021 and I’m thinking to myself that one of these versions of the movies or book will be society as we know it. 🥺😔
I have to agree with some of the things he's said. I actually liked Last Man -it was a good kick-back on Saturday afternoon movie for me. I actually related to a couple of scenes in that movie too because I've suffered from bad depression.
Mr.Sean McDougall...That was a damn good well thought out analysis although I rate the Will Smith version as the worst. The terrible CGI rubber vampires/zombies in the Will Smith version brought me to laughter a number of times. Even if it was the most visually stunning of the three (except for the zombies) the ending ruined it for me as did the powder powder puff ending of the Omega Man. .
For me the Matheson book was about our extinction event and the rise of a new sub species. Not all stories are supposed to have a happy ending.
Thanks 1138thz, and I agree not all stories are supposed to have a happy ending.
Sean McDougall Hell that was the best Review I've seen in a long while Sean. I am checking out your other commentary.:=)
I wish the film version of The Postman by David Brin was worth reviewing. Such a great book and such a shallow film.
1138thz they look like rubber because of the virus it lightens the skin almost to where they have transparent skin and it also makes them loose hair that’s why they all look the same if the movie was actually done better it could’ve been a horror masterpiece especially with the mutant take on things
They reminded me of Ben Bailey from "Cash Cab"
That was a pretty tonally accurate Rod Serling. Enjoyed
The " Omega Man " was the best out of the three. At times neveil was dealing with his own dwindling mental and emotional sanity . The one scene where he is walking past a pay phone and suddenly they all start ringing at once . When he cries " there is no ringing dammit!"and the ringing stops ,you realize how fragile his sanity is and what he must endure in this solitary life of his .and his environment.
I agree with the author of this review, this story if told right could be one of the best horror/sci-fi tales of all time. It has the ingredients to be the ultimate “one against the evil world “.
happy bday! X
I just want an adaptation that is true to the book. Sadly that isn't considered a good thing these days.
My favorite book of all time, specifically the graphic novel version.
And now look at what is going on with the world now...
The Great Toilet Paper Scurge!!!
Everybody
Left and right...
Makes war for a single roll of Butt Paper!
"They could've cared less."? Oh..........SO THEY CARED! To say they could'VE cared less implies that they had room to care even less than they already did. Therefore, they cared.
I think you're TRYING to say that they couldN'T have cared less. "Couldn't" implies that they don't have the capacity to care any less than they already do; they have reached their limits of caring less.
Heston’s , Omega Man , was a great movie , Last Man on Earth was very interesting , the most recent version was all special effects like so many modern movies.
Love your work man. Keep it up. Maybe you can do some more unconventional stuff like Akira or Berserk. I'd like to hear your thoughts on those.
Thanks Austin, I have had a few requests for Akira but still haven't gotten around to watching it. I have thought about maybe watching it for the first time ever and recording a video right after its over. No preparation, no research, just my first thoughts about the movie while their fresh. What do you think?
That'd be perfect, Sean. Basically, a unbiased, first impression video. Maybe you can weigh in on the idea of a live action film being made after you watch it?
I am legend would be a good short Netflix animated series or even a game. i would really love to see the Darkseekers animated and with more structure of there clan atleast to show why or how the alpha became leader of there horde. Atleast how they are run like do they have hunting strategies also do have Rival packs
Fabulous 👌
Hey Sean, thanks for your great videos! Question, after seeing the original version of the Will Smith film (where he lives and sees that he's the monster) do you feel that Omega Man is still better? I've not read the book, but loved the original version of the third film. It plays a twist on the Christian themes of a "Savior." Is Robert Neville the Savior of mankind? Omega Man says yes. I Am Legend says yes... but the original ending says no. So I feel like all of these films act as readings of the book, which are interesting. The tacked-on ending of I Am Legend for theaters was upsetting, but I love the original.
+Kent Thalman Will Smith's I Am Legend is a better quality film; but personally I still like Omega Man more.
READ THE BOOK
Excellent comparison, but I'd point out that both Price and Heston's versions were heavily post-dubbed. For different reasons, but still. The director of the Heston version was Boris Sagal. A family friend and father Peg Bundy.
Showbiz, its all about who you know :-/ P.S. She was great in "Sons of Anarchy".
@@SeaTac411 Sort of. But most of the creative people involved in the movie were involved in the Twilight Zone. So people go with what works.
I loved Omega man. It’s my favorite of the 3. There was too much CGI in the Will Smith version.
The book is an incredible story and I hope one day it gets adapted the right way and stays true to the book
i think the vincent price movie was pretty good however there's parts i like from all adaptations just like invasion of the body snatchers
Loved the book. There is also another movie. I am Omega. Made in 2007 it’s about finding the community of Antioch
Despite not being an adaption of I Am Legend at all, I found The Girl With All the Gifts (UK, 2016) to have a theme and conclusion very much in spirit of Matheson's novel.
Besides that I think it's really good. And while only having a relatively low budget of £4 million (~ $5 million) it stars Gemma Arterton, Dominique Tipper and - very much to my surprise when I first saw it - Glenn Close (who must have worked for free I guess because I don't see how they could have paid her with that budget while also having enough left to make anything resembling a real movie, let alone a good looking one).
I liked the Will Smith version. I preferred the monsters that don’t talk. To me it made real isolation. When the vampires talk it just takes away from atmosphere in my opinion. Like he’s not actually alone just hasn’t turned yet.
You feel very alone when surrounded by irrational, violent, religious nuts. That's why "The Omega Man" rang true to me.
LAST MAN ON EARTH was unsuccessful!? Too bad because it is the most faithful adaption, though its ending was a little weak. It has long since become a cult classic, and more than any other flick, it started the subgenre of the Zombie Apocalypse.
With OMEGA MAN they were trying to do something different - - vampires had been done to death, and they probably didn't want their film to be seen as a clone or knockoff of the zombie film NIGHT OF THE LIVING, which itself was derivative of Matheson's work.
The problem with the Will Smith movie is it had nothing to do with the book and was clearly another big budget exploitation knockoff of 28 DAYS LATER. The choice of endings for this film would make very little difference, the theatrical version was more in the spirit of the book. The alternate ending was more complex but had no credibility- - these creatures would never let the Smith character live. And if the film makers wanted to show these fake-looking-cgi monsters had a human streak, then the film would've told at least part of the movie from their POV instead of exclusively upon Will Smith's character/protagonist.
Rob Schneider made a spoof of all this films with his LAST MALE ON EARTH in which he is hunted down by horny zombie women - the real maneaters😉
The Omega man was awesome
but the omega man is the best out of the adaptations in my opinion
I am 30 seconds into your video and I want to comment now. I was a pre-teen when OMEGA MAN came out. When I first saw this flick, I AM LEGEND, I was pulled in immediately having that romanticized feeling; seeing so many scenes similiar to the CHARLTON HESTON flick, OMEGA MAN. So I look forward to you video here. Laters. WELL DONE First, I never did read the book. 2nd, I saw THE LAST MAN ON EARTH on a late night show where it was made fun of but saw enough to make comparisons to OMEGA MAN. 3RD, I saw I AM LEGEND at a much older age where I was older enough to make connections, compare and contrast and form an opinion that was not forced by ignorant reviewers. All three have flaws and shining parts. None should not be rated as better or worse than the other(book not among these). Rather take the three and build you own analysis of the concept. I definitely saw the Christlike references you so nicely strung together from OMEGA MAN. But I didn't catch them all- EASTER BUNNY being one of those. Heston landed roles that always seemed to have continual themes. Apocalypse. Cross racial/species loving. Corrupt lawgivers. So now I will share your video with a friend of mine whom I have fun conversations about these films and books. Shh, don't tell anyone, but we've even brought in the ideas of Planet Of The Apes into the classroom. See how nicely they fit in together with LAST MAN ON EARTH, I AM LEGEND and OMEGA MAN. Besides, the three are just movies and all are FICTION.
I think The Family in the Omega Man were stand-ins for hippies, minorities, young people and liberals - all the things that frighten the middle class.
My only complaint for The last man on earth is they changed the name of the main character. How I wished we could have heard the chant "Come out Neville!"
I saw all three in the theaters when they came out. Last Man on Earth scared crap out of an eleven year old (the pit at the dump scenes... oooo), my high school self was steeped in a Viet Nam war or nuclear holocaust future and Omega Man fit right in, I am Legend was good, Except for the gaping flaw in the story... Huge scene about how Manhattan bridges knocked down ,,, and a woman and her kid show up in a vehicle... uhhhh,,?? How exactly did they drive there? Then the happy ending at the refuge... ruined it for me. Good review. Maybe after this covid Cull is over someone will make a simple B movie that fills all the bill ... Peace.
My sentiments exactly. I've loved this series and the films for 20 years (since age 10) and I could not have explained it better. Salut.
i agree, the Omega man was definitely the best of the 3.
I have seen all three movies I remember the last man on earth as a child and was realy impressed with vincint price, The acting and the way when killing the woman and the others during the day. He had a look of oh how discusting they are, but also how discusting I feel doing this. It set the tone for the end where they wanted their own society and thought of him as the monster. Where Charlton Hestons increadble perfomance was more he was the hero and even though the world changed he was still the savior of it. I am legend again totally different. Will thought of them as monsters, and was ideal for his perfomance. He was a black man pregadist against the zombies refusing to credit them with the right to live or any humanity. However all three had different messedges and ways of getting there but seemed to present the idea of society getting through it all, but also not for getting those where people that those where people that were killed but becasue through our hatereds of an older now totally irrelevent times and ways of life. We could not get along and work together.
You know, Sean.
You mentioned that the 1971 version of I Am Legend, The Omega Man, was as you put it, the most effective.
Personally, I actually favor The Omega Man out of all the adaptations that were made out of Matheson's original novel.
It's mainly due to the fact that Heston gives a good performance and the film retains a more finely-tuned grittiness that is perfect.
Although the novel is IMO Matheson's magnum opus, I liked The Omega Man because it draws you in and it doesn't deviate in such a big distance from the source material.
The Last Man on Earth was quite likeable to a point thanks to Matheson having a role in its adaptation.
(He's credited for the film under the pseudonym Logan Swanson).
Will Smith's I Am Legend is so-so.
It's mostly attributed to the fact the film indulges in far too much CGI spectacle and focused heavily on Neville and the dog instead of following the path of the source novel's narrative structure of exploring the tormented psyche of Neville and the Will Smith doesn't do enough thematic exploration.
It is substituted with clichéd blockbuster movie action that is practically redundant now.
The 2007 film is a good action horror film, but aside from the title and lone-survivor-in-a-postapolcalyptic-world concept, it has nothing to do with the book. The Omega Man one was pretty good, but if they didn't add that "The Family" subplot, it would've been probably the best out of the three.And The Last Man On Earth was pretty good, but it's dialogue and atmosphere can sometimes feel a bit clunky.Btw,I think Victor Price gives the best performance out of these three films, but Heston is close too.
Hey Sean, I recently saw the doc "Jodorowsky's Dune" by Frank Pavich, and within the doc Alejandro Jodorowsky made an interesting point, that I think is relative to the topic of I Am Legend's film liberty's, portrayed in each of the three adaptations. Jodorowsky's take on Dune was entirely his own, he took "liberty's" that strayed away from the original novel because he felt that it was his own interpretation, it was his "artistic" take on Frank Herbert's novel. Interestingly enough Jodorowsky's Dune was considered the greatest sci-fi film never made, in film history. Ultimately, after watching your analysis I have to ask, do you think the I Am Legend adaptions should have the same artistic clout as Jodorowsky's take on Dune, or is the comparison unparalleled because "Jodo's" Dune was never made and the I Am Legend adaptations were? Interested to hear your perspective!
Thanks.
+Evan Navarro Well first off I am totally ignorant to Dune. Sure I know the gist of the story but I haven't seen the Jodorowsky documentary, the Lynch film, and haven't read the book. As far as "artistic clout" is concerned none of the I Am Legend adaptions are artistic achievements, they all have flaws. I Am Legend looked good and had a big budget but didn't have any substance to it, Omega Man had a great script but had a B-Movie budget, and The Last Man On Earth was just plain bad. As of right now I think Jodorowsky's Dune has more artistic clout (even though it wasn't made) because none of the I Am Legend adaptations have made a lasting impact on viewers.
Sweet, thanks for the response Sean!
The biggest change omega man made was allowing the mutants to talk??? The vampires in the book can talk… come on.
I get a kick out of that snobbish bimbo Joyce Corrington she mentions that she has a PhD about three times in the space of 60 seconds. In my opinion by swapping Zombie/Vampires for rejects from a Jim Jones like Cult in the Omega man a great deal of the story was lost. How can she be proud of that?
It is also my opinion that She and her hubby screwed up the character of Neville. Neville was not a scientist he was an intelligent middle class tradesman that worked at a manufacturing plant. A great part of the novel was Neville's investigation as a layman into the physical nature of the Vampire creatures. Matheson spent a good bit of time describing in detail how Neville taught himself about the circulatory system, bacterial diseases, disease transmission, and how Neville conducted experiments on the Vamps. Neville learned the why and how of the diseases physical effects the mutations it caused as well as the psychological aspects of the disease.
It was very much a product of its time (Late 60's/Early 70's) and since The Last Man On Earth bombed I guess they wanted to make a completely different film. It is a tricky decision to make because Vampires are rooted in the horror genre and it sounds like they wanted to make a SciFi film so they called them mutants instead of Vampires. And I think they changed them to mutants so they could talk to Neville and avoid first person narration. At the end of the novel you get a glimpse of these organized intelligent vampires so I guess someone pitched the idea of "Hey what if we see this vampire society early in the movie and then we can get some action sequences between them and Neville"? Of course the problem with that change is that it totally ruins the the books twist ending. What was really missing in the Omega Man was the scene where Neville's wife and daughter become infected and this drives him to find a cure. It is not an easy book to adapt because most of it is just a man alone in the suburbs with his thoughts until the last couple of chapters. Sadly no studio is going to tell the original story because it would be a gothic horror art film and not a commercial film.
Sean McDougall "What was really missing in the Omega Man was the scene where Neville's wife and daughter become infected and this drives him to find a cure."
That would have been a great scene for Charlton Heston to come face to face with his now Vamp wife Victoria at the front door...R--O---B--E--R--T..
I believe you are correct in your observations.
Of course what makes me really hate the will Smith Version are the CGI Gumby figures with mouths that could eat an LA phone book whole and the worst powder puff ending of all.
In the end I agree Omega Man is the Best of the Three.
It would have taken very little fix the Omega man IMHO
The Races of mankind could have been
The immune (Neville)
The infected but functional (Mathias's crew)
The non verbal crazies that kill anything in sight
Then as in the book the infected hunt and kill the crazies, Neville hunts Crazies and Infected. Crazies kill everything around them for food.
If they re-make it again it would probably follow the 1997 'Neville is an action hero' script that was written for Arnold Schwarzenegger and was to be directed by Ridley Scott.
www.huffingtonpost.com/david-brake/best-films-never-made-rid_b_3814439.html
At least one iteration of the script is around if I find it again I'll post a link
Preaching the truth! I hated her reasoning as well, and her attitude. Neville took years to learn and a find a solution. What makes up for all the other weird things in the book is the actual ending. Many things could have been omitted or changed, but don't change the actual end and it's meaning.
Wow, you're a dick. Maybe that's why nobody makes fateful adaptations of books as movies because hacks like you aren't worth catering to.
At the time they wrote it the Charles Manson trial was going on. Tying the movie bad guys to something in real life made for a more topical antagonist. It was a mistake in the long haul, but at the time the idea of Manson cults was more scary than the idea of vampires.
I Am Legend Mini-series would work.
We are all in it now
can u believe we are all in this situation!
man the first version of i am legend
last man on earth is really sad and scary and maybe it didnt make a dent in the box office but it probably made its money back because it was produced so cheap it was on tv when i was a kid like every three weeks and it still terrified me or made me sad
omega man was cool but it looks a bit like a cheap universal studios tv show at some points but damn it was so cool to see it on tv friday night movie as a kid and get up with my cousins and their neighbors all the kids in the street and we played omega man all saturday
like we had played planet of the apes a year or two earlier after seeing that on tv charlton heston was a freak he left an image in hollywood that cant be denied
he paved the way for other action movie actors who are openly mocked like will smith
i am losing my point i am trying to make
will smiths i am legend it was disappointing to me as an adult but it still had moments it is a different generations version of the original story and to be honest all three movies do well on a certain level check them out
Found this and I agree that the Heston version is the best. Those were his scifi days with the Apes and Soylent Green Movies. Honestly I was 5 to 9 and I remember going to the Drive-In with my Parents and younger Sister and my Toddler Brother to see all of them. I do like Legend and was shocked to here how much money it actually made. I really thought it had been panned and was a flop. It was good and I'm glad it wasn't. I know it's not faithful to the book but it still stands, to me anyway of one of Smiths better Pics.
Great presentation!
Thanks Dan.