Debating whether or not to watch the Chuck Heston version at home prior to seeing the Will Smith version in the theater...

There's another one out this year called "I am Omega" , its a much lower budget though and i wasn't impressed by it.

Im looking forward to I am Legend ,the shot of time square overgrown looks amazing.......what it is to have money behind your film.

Andy.

I can't imagine anyone topping Charlton Heston from his classic period of sci-fi movies (Planet of the Apes, Omega Man, Soylent Green). Nobody did it like Chuck. He was "representing humanity" (whether against Apes, Mutants or The Corporation) and he had that uncanny ability as an actor to pull you right in there with him.

I think it's best to give the new movie every chance on its own merits (and Will Smith's performance) by leaving the comparisons (such as re-watching Omega Man) until after you see it.

Purely my opinion, and it's quite okay with me if you ignore it!

I have a horrible feeling I am Legend is gonna be a special effects fest with no real substance. I just don't rate Smith as an actor. Heston was sheer class.

the original will ruin you for the remake. enjoy the remake on its own terms and then go for the real thing. spookiest. movie. ever. and all done with a bit of make-up, a compelling story, and great actors.

I loved the book. Its just great with a killer ironic twist of an ending.

The Vincent Price version was close plot wise but kind of lame in the scares (the vampires were very unscary but probably inspired the Night of the Living Dead zombies ) and they messed up the ending.

When I think of the book character I tend to think of Charlton Heston so I regret that the Homega man, sorry thinking of the Simpsons, the Omega Man deviated so much from the book.
It could have been great. The right time period, the right city, but so wrong. He wasnt even the Last Man on Earth.

I have no faith in the latest version. If there was ever a case of messing up a sure thing film adaptation, its this book.


"Come out Neville!"

I never read the book but have always meant to, so really my only frame of reference is Omega Man which I adore; one of my fave b-movies of all time

My main concerns about this version:

Will Smith is just too tame for my tastes

And I fear it will become yet another zombie fest. Omega man had intelligant villians to fight .. gosh, I just love Anthony Zerbe. He was the only thing that made the Matrix sequels worth watchin

Well, I have the pay movie channels, so in six months or so I will check out this movie

Just put Omega man on my cue from NetFlix.... and I will wait to see I am Legend...

Since I got a projector and screen, I tend not to go out to movies anymore. At first, my wife didn't like it, but, the convenience of it has grown on us....and popcorn and soda is a bit cheaper....

The nice thing about the book is that you unless you see the 1964 Price version The Last Man on Earth nothing is really spoiled for you when you read it. The Omega Man is so far from the novel as to be unrecognizable.

I havent seen I Am Omega (I just found out about it today).

The book was out of print when i read it--had to go to the library. Then in the early 90s they re-printed it.

Its a real page turner.

Personally, I much preferred the Vincent Price version (The Last man on Earth) . It was much more emotionally involving than The Omega Man. The scene when Vincent Price was watching his old family home movies had real pathos; the Charlton Heston movie was more of an action movie but was completely emotionally uninvolving in my opinion, and his character was impossible to empathise to and there was no suspense as a result.

I think I saw the Vincent Price movie but it was probably at 3 in the morn so I don't remember much so I won't try a comparison

The Chuck movie, to me, is a lark. A really entertaining lark. I referred to it earlier as a B movie; you really don't want to think too hard about it. I loved the scenes between Heston and Anthony Zerbe, two actors who just went for broke and didn't care if the scene was essentially foolish.

Not a great movie, far from it but really entertaining and when you put it with Soylent Green and the original Planet of the Apes, stands as one of an unintentional great B movie sci fi (I won't go as far to call them science fiction) trilogy

The Last Man on Earth is definitely the closest to the book. I really like that version. I loved the book, so that's probably why. But really, I don't think they'll ever make a version that is as good as the book, mainly because the book is almost all his inner thoughts and feelings. You can tell that Richard Matheson really thought a long time about how it would feel to be the last human. That sense of loneliness comes across so strongly, that you can't get it from a 2 hour movie.

Incredible. Well Done, in every way. I'm not talking about special effects or action, I'm talking plot, character development, emotional engagement, substance. Cinematography, writing, directing, acting, all excellent.

I honestly have not seen the Chuck Heston version, but I doubt it could be as good as this Film was.

From the very opening to closing, a truly well done film.

See it for yourself.


P.S. in case your wondering my taste, its what dreams may come, kingdom of heaven, and gladiator as a few of my top favorites.

Yeah I dont think you can really do the novel justice in a movie form. Though it would be neat to see the end scene visualized.


Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay for the Price movie under a pseudonym.


I understand that they are releasing a new book titled I Am Legend by Richard Matheson but its been adapted by the current film screenwriters.

Buyer beware.

BTW

The Last Man on Earth is in the public domain.
You can view it online.

I just came from screening this movie and I do not think it hit all the right marks.

The story was very sparse, plot almost like swiss cheese. The character arcs, or development is so jarring at points, with so much forced conflict it would be referred to as Jumping Conflict in a screenwriting class and not Rising conflict - which is usually what you want.

The infected were just typical vampires, similar in look to the main one in Blade 2 without the mouth. And really what did they do? Run around? Scream? Could we have some dialogue? Even if the director, Mr Lawrence believes there is power in silence, uhm, lets get something intelligent going to work with.

There was great cinematography, and the lighting was superb. The textures, the colors, very emotive, and added greatly to the films impact.

The editing...hmmm, there were some harsh cuts, bad transitions from scene to scene, even within a couple scenes, espeically towards the end, so I have to wonder if maybe they did not shoot a lot of coverage, or 2nd Unit.

Will Smith is solid, and I think there are a couple moments when he was great, but his character was so flat...he just had a dream, flashback, where he sees his family die and he wakes up with no reaction whatsoever.

I enjoyed it but it's got a lot of flaws. It could have been great. But, it's just good.

Just my 2c,

K.

Here's Ebert's review:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071213/REVIEWS/712130305/1023

More reviews from Ebert:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/

Let me start by saying I liked it. It's not great by any means, it's entertaining at the very least. You kind of know what you're getting into before you go see it. So don't expect to much.

I wonder, how is it that the CG looks great for the deserted city scenes, and the "vampires" look like something out of an 80's video game. They almost look unrendered. Very flat and not very scary.

It looks as though they spent all of the CG money on the scenes and not enough on the characters. Disapointing!

The plot has holes and the ending is predictable and weak.

It's a fun movie for a matinee price. Just don't expect a whole lot.

Debating whether or not to watch the Chuck Heston version at home prior to seeing the Will Smith version in the theater...

I hate to quibble, but I'm morally opposed to referring to I AM LEGEND as an OMEGA MAN (1971) remake. It is clearly a remake of the Vincent Price classic THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964). LAST predated OMEGA by seven years. While the two are based on the same novel ('I am Legend' by Richard Matheson [1954]), I feel it is important to note that Charlton Heston sucks.

And to the fellow who said that the vampires were probably inspired by Romero's NOTLD (1968) zombies (and that they were boring), you're wrong. NOTLD was released in 1968...right around the fall of the production code. LAST was released in 1964 - when it was still sort of important to get the Code's seal of approval...I mean, let's face it: things that came out before 1968 just weren't that scary (gory, violent) anyway...maybe because of the Code? It's no surprise that we can't find flesh eating zombies and splatter flicks before NOTLD. Cut THE LAST MAN ON EARTH some slack.

I really have no desire to see the latest remake. I never do. Especially when the film in question has anything remotely to do with the horror genre. Take HALLOWEEN (2007), for instance - I don't need Rob Zombie to develop Michael Meyers' character. We all know from the first four minutes of the original that Meyers is a sexually violent whacko because we get to see him murder (penetrate) his post-coital, nude sister with an overtly phallic weapon. Rob Zombie takes an entire half hour to do the same thing John Carpenter did in less than a sixth of the time. With that in mind, who can possibly care what Will Smith can bring to the role of Robert Neville? Or, for that matter, who can possibly care what the great film auteur (HAH!) Francis Lawrence's vision of I AM LEGEND will lead to? This guy is obviously a hack. Have you seen CONSTANTINE? I have. Thank God it was on cable.

I feel like this is just one in a cycle of a few films that are stepping stones for a Will Smith best actor Oscar bid.

We need to find someone who can dig Hollywood out of this nostalgic remake rut. It's a real snoozer.

Jesus, this turned into a rant. Apologies!

I feel it is important to note that Charlton Heston sucks.

Jesus, this turned into a rant. Apologies!

Don't ask Jesus to forgive you, you need to talk to Moses, or even Beh Hur...

You know, it is a bit amazing how when we are young, it is so easy bash and smash those who have gone before us.... Its easy, because we know at the ripe old age of 23 that we are going to do so much more than those that went before us...

As we grow older, we begin to appreciate people for what they meant to a generation.

In the case of Charlton Heston, he was appreciated by many for the big movies that in those days were so important to us... Yes, he did a few stinkers, and yes, you may not have liked his politics, but you have no right to judge anyone--- at least not until you have been around a little longer, and then, you will probably know better...

And to the fellow who said that the vampires were probably inspired by Romero's NOTLD (1968) zombies



**I said that Romero's zombies was probably inspired by Last Man on Earth, not the other way around. Matheson tells a funny story about how he ran into him once and the first thing Romero did was throw his hands in the air and declared: but it didnt make any money!

I am not sure he saw Last Man on Earth or just read the book, but there were similarities in the behavior of the vampires/zombies(granted, you cant get much cheaper than street clothes and pale face makeup so it can easily be a coincidence).

And sadly, the vampires in LMOE are boring when compared to the book. I dont buy the code argument because Hammer was making some fairly grisly films and they were getting US releases. LMOE was just a victim of bad Italian filmmaking decisions or budget cuts.


It, LMOE, is fairly close to the book and visually there are things that are exactly as I pictured them in the book, except they screwed up the ending which is why Matheson took his name off the credits and used an alias Logan Swanson.

I prefer it to the Omega Man.

In the Vampire Cinema, a 70s book, it mentions Heston regretted that they didnt follow the book more closely.


I think Price did a good job --I just find it hard to divorce him from all the other work he has done to play an everyman as the book describes. He would have done a great job narrating the book's closing monologue though.

Apparently there were plans to do a remake in the 80s with Harrison Ford. he would have been a great choice--has that every man quality, and his real life carpenter skills would have been handy in making stakes!

Just felt like chiming in.

I saw I Am Legend on a big Imax screen. The deserted Manhattan scenes looked terrific, the cg mutants looked terrible.

I thought the virus changed people into creatures from 'Resident Evil' or some video game - the first sign of infection is pronounced pixelation, followed by loss of 3 dimensionality.

Spoiler Alert-
Anyway, I was sorta surprised/disappointed they didn't follow the ending of the book. I kept thinking 'The director doesn't expect me to believe this woman and this boy trekked from Maryland to New York city, dodging super powered monsters all the way, crossed the water to Manhattan, fought an army of monsters (with a flare?) to rescue Will Smith.'

In the book there's a rising society of mixed vampire/human hybrids. Neville is their boogeyman, as they are his. That's where the title really comes from.

Oh, I know, just a movie. Besides the cg, I thought Will Smith's performance was really quite good, and he really carried the movie. The dog gave a great animal performance, and Emma Thompson had a terrific cameo as well.

Just saw the film, its not as good as the original version (money and cgi aside). My biggest problem with this film is that they put a lot of leg work into setting up the head zombie character as being intelligent, moving the manakin and setting a trap for will smith so i was gearing up for an interesting intellectual battle between the two but instead of delivering on it they just show you the head zombie hitting his head against the glass at the end like a mindless fool. Oh and why did will not get into the safe room with the other two and stick his hand out to throw the grenade and quickly shut the door?.

All that money and no imagination.

Andy.

[QUOTE=Andy Graham;804913]Just saw the film, its not as good as the original version (money and cgi aside). My biggest problem with this film is that they put a lot of leg work into setting up the head zombie character as being intelligent, moving the manakin and setting a trap for will smith so i was gearing up for an interesting intellectual battle between the two but instead of delivering on it they just show you the head zombie hitting his head against the glass at the end like a mindless fool. Oh and why did will not get into the safe room with the other two and stick his hand out to throw the grenade and quickly shut the door?.

All that money and no imagination.

Funny thing is I bet they did have a different ending and then "the suits" came in and gave them their version of how it should end and the writer just sat there pulling his hair out. See "The TV set" it will explain it all. Not a bad movie by the way. Sigourney Weaver is pretty good in it.

I understand that they are releasing a new book titled I Am Legend by Richard Matheson but its been adapted by the current film screenwriters.

Buyer beware.

Oh...say it isn't so....I ordered a copy from Amazon....how do I know what I'm getting?

As for the movie...OK....definately an Omega man remake....without the communication between the day dweller and the night dwellers, which I missed.
My grown kids had never seen the Omega Man and we rented it the next day....it's still good and they liked it. Haven't seen the V. Price version yet, although I did pick up a copy....

Bob T.