Last Man on Earth, Omega Man, I Am Legend

LittleBook

I have a fondness for end-of-the-world films, throw a few "zombies" in and I'm a happy gal.

The three films are all based on the same Richard Matheson (of whom I'm a big fan also) story "I Am Legend".

Basically ... virus, everybody dead, one man left alive, dead re-animate, man struggles to survive and find cure for virus.

Last Man on Earth sticks closest, but not completely, to the original story and was (I think) the first adaptation. Vincent Price does a great job as the eponymous last man on earth after a virus kills most of the population of the planet only to re-animate them as zombie-like vampires. Price's loneliness and increasing desperation are well established in the first few minutes as he struggles by day to forage for food and dispose of the vampires, and by night to stay sane and alive against the never-ending onslaught of the vampires.

OK, I say "struggles" ... there are a couple of priceless scenes where Price literally tosses the vampires out of his way when need be, but otherwise a good effort.

The Omega Man which has been described to me as a classic over the years was ... well ... hilariously disappointing to be honest. The survivors of this virus are "The Family" (geddit?) a bunch of psychotic albinos with an extreme sensitivity to light (which keeps them indoors in daylight) and an aversion to all things technololgical. So we have a (usually semi-naked) Charlton Heston on a mission to kill The Family until he hooks up with some stunningly bad actors and they all stumble on to a weary, cliched finale.

But the "best" aspect of this film is the soundtrack ... it would have been more appropriate if they'd used "The Benny Hill Theme" during the chase scenes compared to this score!

Which leaves I Am Legend . Third time lucky? There's no getting away from the fact that the first two films were a source for a lot of this film's visuals and there's no denying the progress in technology (sorry "Family") improved on the other two. And Will Smith is great ... where LMOE's use of voiceover worked fairly well and OM's strained monologues were a failure, thanks to the dog IAL creates a (sort of) duologue which manages well to keep the central character communicating with the audience.

But the amateur graphics of the zombies/mutants/whatever and the general loss of interest for me in the last third, left something to be desired.

So:

1. Last Man on Earth
2. I Am Legend
3. The Omega Man

Any other "end-of-the-world" type films you've enjoyed and would recommend? Or hated for that matter!!

mike65

How end of the world does a pick have to be? Most film that fall into this genre are not really about the literal end of the world only grim times ahead for humans.

The Incredible Shrinking Man (for the existential end of one mans world)

dr ro

28 days later was roughly 28 times better than i am legend. Not strictly lmoe but he thought he was for a bit.

krudler

The first 45 mins or so of I Am Legend are great, the cgi of the empty New York was grea,t but the animals and vampires was piss poor. How can Blade 2 get a pale, albino vamp look so so right with prosthetics, and IAL get it so, so wrong with cgi? there was absolutely NO need for the vampires to be cgi, a few actors in bald caps and makeup would have done the job.

LittleBook

mike65 wrote: »

How end of the world does a pick have to be? Most film that fall into this genre are not really about the literal end of the world only grim times ahead for humans.

The Incredible Shrinking Man (for the existential end of one mans world)

Or Robinson Crusoe? I like your thinking.

dr ro wrote: »

28 days later was roughly 28 times better than i am legend. Not strictly lmoe but he thought he was for a bit.

Yep, loved it. Think I should change the OP as I'm less looking for recommendations than other people's favourites and opinions.

krudler

krudler wrote: »

the cgi of the empty New York was grea,t

It should be said that the bits of him driving down the empty New York weren't actually fully cgi - they genuienly did shut down large portions to film it.

"Shooting in New York, especially something on this level, is difficult. I would say, percentage-wise, it's the most amount of middle fingers I have received in my career. I'm used to people liking me, it's like fun. Middle fingers, I was starting to think F-U was my name. We shut down six blocks of Fifth Avenue on a Monday morning. That was probably poor logistics, that was poor planning. You realize you've never actually seen an empty shot of New York. When we were doing it, it is chilling to walk down the middle of Fifth Avenue. You never have that opportunity.

Two o'clock in the morning on a Sunday you can't do that. It created such a creepy energy and there are iconic buildings.

There's a shot of the U.N. A shot of Broadway. It puts such an icky, eerie feeling on the movie when you see those shots, so logistically it was a nightmare but it absolutely created something you can't do on a green screen or in another city substituting for New York."

Source: reelmovienews.com

It sorta makes that shot that bit better. However, I have to agree- it was great until they introduced those vampires. Supposedly they filmed real people and then used cgi over them? Surely just having make-up would have made it more effective?

Going back on topic - there's a movie called Carriers, which I found quite good for what it was.

LittleBook

Deleted User wrote: »

It should be said that the bits of him driving down the empty New York weren't actually fully cgi - they genuienly did shut down large portions to film it.

I remember reading an article some time back saying the fact that so many films are shot in New York is due to the efforts of the City to actively promote this (I guess you have to pay for it) and their willingness to shut down parts of the city ... I mean apart from the fact that a lot of film-makers would want to use the city.

Deleted User wrote: »

Going back on topic - there's a movie called Carriers, which I found quite good for what it was.

Hadn't even heard of that one, thanks I'll check it out.

krudler

It should be said that the bits of him driving down the empty New York weren't actually fully cgi - they genuienly did shut down large portions to film it.

I know they shut down good chunks of it, which is a hell of a feat, but the flyover shots and wide shots of completely empty streets were cgi, theres something really cool about an empty city. I remember driving to work at 7am one christmas morning and went through town, completely and utterly deserted, was cool but eerie as well, not a single car or person to be seen.

gimli2112

I am Legend

Book > Film
The whole thing I got from the book was he was the monster not the monsters. All I got from the movie was confused.

LittleBook

gimli2112 wrote: »

The whole thing I got from the book was he was the monster not the monsters. All I got from the movie was confused.

That's one of the viewpoints that The Last Man on Earth put across, if you enjoy the book you'll probably prefer this one.

pixelburp

LittleBook wrote: »

That's one of the viewpoints that The Last Man on Earth put across, if you enjoy the book you'll probably prefer this one.

Random trivia fact - The Last Man on Earth wasn't actually filmed in America, it was shot in Italy & is an Italian film. It's a bit noticeable in some of the long shots where some buildings are clearly dilapidated old Italian piles rather than the modern San Francisco (wasn't it?) we're told in the film it is.

Other random fact - the copyright on the film expired some years ago so it's available for free on the open market & on the internet. I won't say exactly where you can get it, just in case the mods are being super strict

Otherwise i'd agree that it's the strongest adapation of the book, which when you get down to it, is a very hard book to adapt anyway. It's dark, bleak, depressing & the ending is a sucker punch to emphasise it. Fair play though, the Vincent Price version stuck very closely to the novel's plot though.

There was never any way a mainstream studio would pick this book up & be faithful, so I was never surprised that "I am Legend" chickened out of the original's ending; though removing the vampire's society altogether was a criminal move. The clunky insertion of god and spirituality was a step too far though. If I were honest I'd say I was enjoying the film up until the point when the crazy god lady appeared. Will Smith's lonliness and growing insanity was very well put together & then the film fell apart in the final third.

As for "The Omega Man"? Phew-ee I'm sorry but that movie stinks. It's a Charlton Heston ego piece and as an adaptation is about as similar to the original novel as Stars Wars is similar to Pride and Prejudice. Everything about that movie makes me want to cringe into a little ball, and beyond it's shortcomings as an adaptation, has aged badly. "The Family" ... oh lord when they appeared I just couldn't stop laughing.

LittleBook

pixelburp wrote: »

Random trivia fact - The Last Man on Earth wasn't actually filmed in America, it was shot in Italy & is an Italian film. It's a bit noticeable in some of the long shots where some buildings are clearly dilapidated old Italian piles rather than the modern San Francisco (wasn't it?) we're told in the film it is.

Yes that's right, in Rome apparently, but I think the premise was that it was supposed to be in Los Angeles, as with the book.

pixelburp wrote: »

Otherwise i'd agree that it's the strongest adapation of the book, which when you get down to it, is a very hard book to adapt anyway. It's dark, bleak, depressing & the ending is a sucker punch to emphasise it. Fair play though, the Vincent Price version stuck very closely to the novel's plot though.

True dat.

pixelburp wrote: »

There was never any way a mainstream studio would pick this book up & be faithful, so I was never surprised that "I am Legend" chickened out of the original's ending; though removing the vampire's society altogether was a criminal move. The clunky insertion of god and spirituality was a step too far though. If I were honest I'd say I was enjoying the film up until the point when the crazy god lady appeared. Will Smith's lonliness and growing insanity was very well put together & then the film fell apart in the final third.

I didn't mention that because I didn't want this to become one of those threads :rolleyes: but YES, the whole God and signs and faith stuff grated on me hugely.

If anything, seeing LMOE (and even TOE to a certain extent) made it all the more unforgiveable for me that with all that money and technology and a great actor like Will Smith, they still couldn't get it right.

Dont be at yourself

I Am Legend (movie) missed the entire point of the book. The vampires were still highly sentient and intelligent and had their own society. Removing this and changing the ending made the whole thing pointless.

Shame, because it's a really cool ending that could have had great impact on the big screen.

conorhal

The final scenes of 'On the Beach' left me feeling crushed and hollow...

I suppose Planet of the Apes counts in the last man on earth genre, but does anybody remember a weird Australian (I think) film in which a bloke wakes up only to discover that everybody has just disappeared? I don’t remember it well as I saw it as a kid, but I do remember that it was like a waking nightmare!

filmfan

I love end of the world movies and books and I enjoyed I am Legend, it wasn't perfect but I'd happily watch it again.

Definitely watch The Road, it's fantastic and very true to the book which is brilliant.

Avoid The Book of Eli like the plague!Awful!

I quite enjoyed Book of Eli but thought it was a horrible time for it to be released - it was completely overshadowed by the Road.

Something I never understood with I Am Legend is that, in the book, the character is described as being of English/German descent, with blonde hair and blue eyes.. so .. as white as white can get. Yet in the movie he's played by Will Smith. It just seemed like an odd casting choice, though he did pull it off somewhat.

As for the Road, I liked the movie and, while the book was well written, its bored me to death for the most of it. Ash, ash, ash, ash - flick a few pages - ash, ash, ash, ash. That being said, the character development of Man and Boy was incredible and the detail of the relationship was sometimes heartbreaking.

Sticky_Fingers

conorhal wrote: »

The final scenes of 'On the Beach' left me feeling crushed and hollow...

I suppose Planet of the Apes counts in the last man on earth genre, but does anybody remember a weird Australian (I think) film in which a bloke wakes up only to discover that everybody has just disappeared? I don’t remember it well as I saw it as a kid, but I do remember that it was like a waking nightmare!

The film your thinking about is called The Quiet Earth a 1985 Kiwi production. I highly recommend it just to see the main character go unhinged not to mention that epic ending that will have you going WTF in the best way possible

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089869/

Nolanger

LittleBook wrote: »

Any other "end-of-the-world" type films you've enjoyed and would recommend? Or hated for that matter!!

The Day the World Ended (1956)

Skerries

Sticky_Fingers wrote: »

The film your thinking about is called The Quiet Earth a 1985 Kiwi production. I highly recommend it just to see the main character go unhinged not to mention that epic ending that will have you going WTF in the best way possible

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089869/

i was going to post about this film as well but forgot the name of it

and people talking about them shutting down NY for IAL, they did the same in London for 28 DL but just shot it early morning before the traffic arrived

Lamper.sffc

I really liked The Road, both the book and the Film.

They did a really good job adapting the story from book to movie.

Very bleak story, but very hard not to keep reading the book or watching the film.

Tomohawk

Another vote for The Quiet Earth, it gets across the idea of an empty city very well and the lead character losing his marbles is well done especially the scene in the Church.

El Guapo!

filmfan wrote: »

I love end of the world movies and books and I enjoyed I am Legend, it wasn't perfect but I'd happily watch it again.

Definitely watch The Road, it's fantastic and very true to the book which is brilliant.

Avoid The Book of Eli like the plague!Awful!

I was just about to mention "The Road" myself. Great movie and fits nicely into the genre (which is one of my favourite types of movie)
I havent read the book yet but I heard its excellent too.

Josey Wales

gimli2112 wrote: »

I am Legend

Book > Film
The whole thing I got from the book was he was the monster not the monsters. All I got from the movie was confused.

They did actually film an ending that would have conveyed the idea that Smith was the monster but they chickened out of using it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhY2-D3Lwto

Feu

great idea OP

the world the flesh and the devil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-NKrPWWeoQ

guy survives mining disaster only to find hes the last man alive. Amazing shots of empty new york. well worth checking out


+1 for metropolis, tis breathtaking
+1 for on the beach. so sad!


more dystopian than end of the world, but: Brazil, children of men, equilibrium, logan's run, the island, and my personal favourite, the running man! Bit cheesy, but interesting manipulation of media and entertainment of the future type idea!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ceegnWSENQ

there's quite a good summary here of their chosen top 50, gives you an idea what they're about http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/the-top-50-dystopian-movies-of-all-time/

filmfan

Dean09 wrote: »

I was just about to mention "The Road" myself. Great movie and fits nicely into the genre (which is one of my favourite types of movie)
I havent read the book yet but I heard its excellent too.

You have to read it, you'll love it!

World War Z and The Passage are both excellent vampire/zombie post apocalyptic novels that are being adapted. World War Z has been picked up by Brad Pitt's production company and The Passage has Ridley Scott attached to it but it's a trilogy novel so looks like we'll be waiting a while.

LittleBook

conorhal wrote: »

The final scenes of 'On the Beach' left me feeling crushed and hollow...

Er, I take that as a recommendation, yeah?

filmfan wrote: »

Definitely watch The Road, it's fantastic and very true to the book which is brilliant.

Watch The Road the other week ... deeply, deeply depressing.

Feu wrote: »

great idea OP

the world the flesh and the devil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-NKrPWWeoQ

guy survives mining disaster only to find hes the last man alive. Amazing shots of empty new york. well worth checking out

+1 for metropolis, tis breathtaking
+1 for on the beach. so sad!

more dystopian than end of the world, but: Brazil, children of men, equilibrium, logan's run, the island, and my personal favourite, the running man! Bit cheesy, but interesting manipulation of media and entertainment of the future type idea!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ceegnWSENQ

there's quite a good summary here of their chosen top 50, gives you an idea what they're about http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/the-top-50-dystopian-movies-of-all-time/

Thanks, I've seen all of those except On the Beach and I'm not sure which Metropolis you're referring to? I actually have one Metropolis taped and waiting to be watched at home, not sure which one now.

I loved The Running Man too and since we're moving into dystopia and Stephen King's been mentioned, I recommend "The Long Walk" another of his Bachman Books which also deals with survival games.

filmfan wrote: »

You have to read it, you'll love it!

World War Z and The Passage are both excellent vampire/zombie post apocalyptic novels that are being adapted. World War Z has been picked up by Brad Pitt's production company and The Passage has Ridley Scott attached to it but it's a trilogy novel so looks like we'll be waiting a while.

Yep, love "World War Z", it came up here a couple weeks back. Not sure what the deal is with an adaptation as "Plan B" have had it for a while now but it looks like it's finally moving along, Brooks said something about 2012!

There were a couple of good "Twilight Zone" episodes which dealt with last-man-on-earth scenarios, but the names escape me. Also "The Martian Chronicles" has a be-careful-what-you-wish-for element when the last man on Mars finds a woman

Liberalbrehon

What about the movie The Mist where a group of people are stuck in supermarket. for all they know, they are the last people alive. the last scene is the most upsetting I've ever seen. I've watched a lot of movies, lassie dying doesn't even come close to how upsetting this last scene is imo.

Feu

LittleBook wrote: »

Thanks, I've seen all of those except On the Beach and I'm not sure which Metropolis you're referring to? I actually have one Metropolis taped and waiting to be watched at home, not sure which one now.

Good taste then On the beach is well worth a watch. Movie of a nevil shute book of same name. not too much of a spoiler as you're told straight away but:

last people alive in australia after nuclear war slowly wait for death.

Not particularly cheery, but the photography is lovely, and of course gregory peck in uniform. nom nom nom

THE Metropolis of course here is the digitally remastered and all that jazz trailer. Playing with a full orchestra in the concert hall on 4th september, €25. Would love to see it on a big screen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GhvnxcKTws

I loved The Running Man too and since we're moving into dystopia and Stephen King's been mentioned, I recommend "The Long Walk" another of his Bachman Books which also deals with survival games.

ooh sounds good /away to wikipedia

Yep, love "World War Z", it came up here a couple weeks back. Not sure what the deal is with an adaptation as "Plan B" have had it for a while now but it looks like it's finally moving along, Brooks said something about 2012!

i thought world war z was brilliant, but i did talk to a few people who thought it was a bit meh

There were a couple of good "Twilight Zone" episodes which dealt with last-man-on-earth scenarios, but the names escape me. Also "The Martian Chronicles" has a be-careful-what-you-wish-for element when the last man on Mars finds a woman

lot of them available on youtube i think, some of them are amazing.

LittleBook

Feu wrote: »

THE Metropolis of course

:pac: Well, yeah! I just don't remember THE Metropolis being that last-man-on-earthy :P

Feu wrote: »

Playing with a full orchestra in the concert hall on 4th september, €25. Would love to see it on a big screen.

Can't see that trailer but holy crap thanks for that, I'm so there!!

Edit: No I'm not, "Sold Out" of course!!

Feu

LittleBook wrote: »

:pac: Well, yeah! I just don't remember THE Metropolis being that last-man-on-earthy :P



Can't see that trailer but holy crap thanks for that, I'm so there!!

yes, you're right, it's more dystopian than last man on earth, but it seems we're gently drifting that way... That said, it influenced so many subsequent sci-fi/futuristic/apocalyptic movies that i'm sure it counts!

Baits Hook> WATERWORLD!

LittleBook

Feu wrote: »

Baits Hook> WATERWORLD!

:eek:

[Grabs thread by scruff of neck back on topic]

The Twilight Zone episodes:

Time Enough At Last

A Little Peace and Quiet

The Midnight Sun

A Kind of Stopwatch

Sticky_Fingers

Josey Wales wrote: »

They did actually film an ending that would have conveyed the idea that Smith was the monster but they chickened out of using it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhY2-D3Lwto

That ending is awesome, I can't believe they didn't use it, cheers for the link