As promised this post will talk about all three I am Legend movie adaptions (see previous post for context). So, without further ado, this weeks movies are:
The Last Man on Earth, directed by Ubaldo Ragona (1964)
Released in 1964 The Last Man on Earth was the first movie adaption of Richard Matheson's novel I am Legend. Staring Vincent Price, this low budget black and white film is by far the weakest movie spin-off of it's parent novel. It's bone dry acting and linear plot structure made the viewer more tired than anything else.
Because it was filmed in the 1960's the acting is dulled down quite a lot, in this case to the point of utter boredom. It's important to understand that acting in the 60's was very different then what it is now. Vincent Price was stiff and had an extreme lack of emotion, as did his supporting cast. I realize that many people have a prejudice against black and white movies, and it is because of movies like this that that prejudice exists. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho came out four years before this and was infinitely better; not only because Hitchcock was an undeniable genius but also because it's high-budget cast knew what it was doing. I only mention this so that the people reading who dislike black and white movies won't use this movie to support their case.
This movie also played much closer to the original story line of Matheson's novel, the main difference being that the infected people were turned into very much self aware vampires as opposed to I am Legend's more animalistic creatures. One of these vampires also turned out to be the main character's friend/lab partner, which added some much needed depth to the characters back story, for this film was lacking some major detail where I am Legend told an amazing origin story which added significantly to the story (i.e. the dramatic death of his family, his dog Sam, and his insanity). Regardless of whether or not these details were included in the original text, I am Legend really benefited from their presence, where The Last Man on Earth failed miserably.
Another thing this movie lacked was a soundtrack. Without the suspense driving and emotional queuing of music this movie seemed to have an enormous hole that sucked in the viewers interest. The silent pauses that occurred so frequently throughout the film did a better job of putting the reader to sleep then capturing their attention.
One thing this movie did right was to drop major hints that the vampires saw Neville as the monster. At the end of the film, just before the character dies he experiences and epiphany where he suddenly realizes that the vampires were afraid of him the entire time, offering the ironic twist ending that I am Legend failed to include.
After watching this movie and writing the review I have decided to give this movie a 4.5 on the Severin Movie Scale (from now on to be known as the SMS). If you are interested by the story then read the book or one of the other movies, just don't see this one.
The Omega Man, directed by Boris Sagal (1971)
Released in 1971, The Omega Man stars Charlton Heston in this second movie adaption of the novel I am Legend. While following a very similar story line, Sagal's version had many more religious undertones than its predecessor and delivered a much more convincing story.
The opening scene was almost exactly like that of I am Legend, with Charlton Heston speeds through the streets of an empty city in his bright red Mustang, showing Lawrence's subtle homage to the previous film. This is one of the best ways this movie could have started, because it really shows the circumstances of which Dr.Neville lives. Without telling us anything, the viewer already knows that Neville is alone in an abandoned city, is heavily armed and slightly paranoid (he stops the car to shoot at a shadow in the window of a building), and that he is otherwise copping with the fact of being totally alone.
As previously mentioned, religion is a major motif and underlying theme is this movie. The vampires are still vampires, but they seem to be part of a cult of some sort. They call themselves "The Family" and all dress in black (which might just be because their vampires). They call each other "brother" and more prominently their leaders name is Matthias.
According to the Christian Bible, Matthias was the apostle chosen to replace Judas by the remaining eleven apostles after Judas' betrayal of Jesus and his suicide. In the film, Matthias frequently reminds his followers that they were chosen to rise up and take control of the planet as a superior race where humanity had been corrupted in the same way that Matthias was chosen to replace the corrupted apostle Judas.
"The Family" are also shown to have semi-regular gatherings, always to take place in a Church, where Matthias takes the place of the preacher and the rest of "The Family" sit in the pews. Later into the movie, "The Family" captures Neville and brings him to their meeting, unconscious and shackled to a table. After he wakes up, Matthias begins preaching that this human was evil and should be sacrificed to rid the world of the filth of humanity. He talks about how this person was taken by the devil along with the rest of his kind, which is why they are all now dead. This is important because it shows that in this movie, instead of being afraid of him like in the other adaptions, they simply think that he is evil. This also shows striking similarity to the Church as Matthias' monologue begins to sound more and more like a sermon.
In addition to all of these religious hints, the closing shot is probably the most obvious Christian reference in the entire film. It ends with Neville being killed by the vampires in a fountain outside of his house. As he slowly bleeds out, he falls against the statue in the center of the fountain, his arms splayed outwards in a position eerily similar to the classic depiction of Christ's crucifixion. This could be a symbol saying that "The Family" had just killed their last chance at redemption.
I really enjoyed this movie, and found that while it had it's similarities, that it told a fairly different story than it's sister movies. After long debate I have decided to award this movie with an 8.9 on the SMS, and I highly recommend this title to any who enjoy movies of such taste.
For a review of the most recent adaption of the novel I am Legend, see my previous post which reviews I am Legend, directed by Francis Lawrence (2007).
This has been a tri-movie review by Severin, the somewhat-informed movie critic. Stay safe America, and keep watching movies.
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