Der Omega-Mann

I just saw this movie for the first time and I really enjoyed it. Considering it was made in 1971, the make-up and special effects are fairly good. I really liked the story and was impressed (as usual) with Heston's performance. Keep in mind that if this movie seems a little dated or old it is because the story has been done over and over again. This was before any of the numerous Mad Max films, before Blade Runner, even before Logan's Run. I am not saying that it was necessarily better than these movies but it is a pioneer of sorts. Good flick!

One of these days soon we will see another remake of Richard Matheson's seminal Horror novella. If we do, I hope the marquee will read: "I Am Legend." This should be done for no other reason than to make it easier for Sci-Fi nerds to argue and champion their personal favorite. But I have this feeling the producers will take the easy way out.

Boris Sagal, the veteran television director, who died under the most grisly of circumstances--he walked into a helicopter blade--helms a brilliant adaptation of the book. Sure, they changed the vampires into psychotic albinos. And they also injected a heavy dose of the Seventies counter-culture. But the essential themes resist the tampering by the new screenwriters and remain solid story chestnuts. No one handles a weapon with such verve as Mr. Heston. He fires at random and generally hits something. Always a good approach in this type of movie. I enjoy his conversations with Caesar's bust in his "Honky paradise". The sculptures and paintings on the walls are actual reproductions of the immortals they represent. Also, check out the art work on the back of "Dutch's" jacket. It packs a wallop. Ron Grainer's score is legendary and has a elegiac feel punctuated by strange sounds from obscure instruments. The action scenes rival the best. Catch Heston's despair and loneliness when he jogs by a large office building along side a reflecting pool. Every scene is chock full of memorable lines and quirky bits of business. The bodies of the dead pop up randomly with a wild note on the soundtrack. There is a brief nude scene that for once fits into the plot. A standing ovation is in order for anyone left alive.

A vampiric cult called The Family the result of biological warfare, lay siege to the refuge of the last man left alive in a dead post-apocalyptic city.

This is the second cinematic outing for the Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend with Charlton Heston as Robert Neville immune to the plague & fighting for survival. This is an entertaining film if not on a par with some of Hestons other sci-fi movies such as Planet Of The Apes & Soylent Green. Again he gives us an isolated, cynical man who never sets out to be a hero but becomes one.

How would you cope as the only man alive? The superior opening act of this movie answers that with the protagonist wandering through a dead city. Constantly reminded of the past with every step along every street & talking to himself, trying to retain his sanity. Indeed one of the best scenes of the whole movie is here when he watches Woodstock in an empty cinema, reciting the dialogue. Just how many times has he done this? Then the film goes down familiar action movie routes with The Family a bizarre religious anti-technology cult & Nevilles attempts to combat their attacks.

The Omega Man doesn't have as much depth amongst the action as Planet Of The Apes but has a great & tangible sense of isolation. The Family may not be the most threatening bad guys ever (one of the films flaws) but look good in their cowls & capes, a religious theme which is played out in the wonderful final image at the films climax which offers hope for the future.

Overall this film is enjoyable with its slightly comic book sensibilities, good score & strong religious overtones. A good slice of 70s sci-fi fun!

Nothing beats your first time with The Omega Man. I first saw it as an impressionable pre-teen back in the 70s, and it immediately made it up there with James Bond, Evel Knieval and Bruce Lee as THE coolest thing I'd ever seen in my life. Time hasn't been all that kind to this film, and it seems a bit croaky all these years later, but c'mon, Charlton Heston fighting albino bikers has gotta be worth SOMETHING! The Woodstock scene is priceless, Zerbe makes a wonderful baddie, and remember Paul Koslo? What a dude. This movie is a hell of a lot of fun.

This movie rocks, right from the opening scene where our hero leaps from his car and sprays mutants with a machine gun, to the final frame where... but enough of that. A great flick, one in a line of Charlton Heston post-apocalyptic movies. If you like this you'll love Soylent Green and, of course, the first two Apes films. Heston's like John Wayne in space. Nobody does it better. In this one disease-ravaged mutants stand in for the hippies- that fixes up society's problem with the riff raff, and Charlton has an inter-racial relationship. So there are mixed messages. Charlton Heston chews the scenery in every frame. Oh well, damn you all to hell.