THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (DVD Review) - 16/9/07

Had not seen this original version of I AM LEGEND filmed as "The Last Man On Earth" (1964) [with Vincent Price] and with the new re-make coming in late 2007/early Jan 2008 I wanted to catch it before then. First we need a little history: Prolific {and rather quite good} Writer & Author Richard Matheson has a long list of credits and has been involved in numerous film & TV work but I'll cover three of my favourites - Writing the novel BID TIME RETURN ended up being filmed as "Somewhere In Time" (1980) [with Christopher Reeve] a marvellous romantic time-travel fantasy. Writing the novel A STIR OF ECHOES was filmed [with Kevin Bacon] as "Stir Of Echoes" in 1999 and has a chilling ghost story with an atmospheric presence to it. Also writing the novel for THE SHRINKING MAN was later filmed in 1957 as "The Incredible Shrinking Man" with a spider attack seen from a really different perspective.

"The Last Man On Earth" is not available on Region 2 DVD so I had to get hold of a Region 1 copy and there are numerous different versions available. I decided on this version as it has a "Richard Matheson Storyteller" Featurette on it with the man himself talking about his work. This is titled Midnite Movies Double Feature and is a Flipper disc with Panic In Year Zero on the A Side and The Last Man On Earth on the B Side. Filmed in Rome (In Black & White) it offers an even bleaker version of Matheson's original story and keeps close to the plot with vampiric zombies attacking the last man alive but the twist at the end turns the tale on it's head. The hokey music and the overall style of this movie puts it in the frame with a whole load of other classics from the time such as "This Island Earth" and "The Day The Earth Stood Still" and it should be more widely known as such.

Later re-made as "The Omega Man" (1971) with Charlton Heston in the lead - Elements of the story are used but the vampiric nature is more mutants than vampires. Desperation sinking in Heston's character fights off mutants in much the same way as the original.

Then we come onto the new release with Will Smith and the original Matheson title "I Am Legend" due probably Jan 2008 and re-using (more or less) "The Omega Man" tagline slightly changed. Fingers crossed they don't foul it up! I'm still waiting for a decent copy of "The Omega Man" on DVD with a 5.1. Dolby Audio and Special Features. But guess what? I'm sure there will be a cynical attempt to gild cash out of people by releasing a new version of both previous films but with no improvements to either! Make an effort people and release a boxset with all three and re-vamp the lot - I would buy it!