The Omega Man VHS

Based on Richard Matheson's novel "I Am Legend", which is worth a couple of reads, The Omega Man (1971), directed by Boris Sagal ("Mike Hammer", "Peter Gunn"), features Academy Award winner Charlton Heston (Touch of Evil, Ben-Hur, Planet of the Apes) in an exciting `last man on Earth' tale, one in which he battles against the mutated remnants of a society decimated by germ warfare. Also appearing is Anthony Zerbe (Will Penny), Rosalind Cash (Uptown Saturday Night), Eric Laneuville (Black Belt Jones), Lincoln Kilpatrick (Soylent Green), and Paul Koslo (Mr. Majestyk).Heston plays Robert Neville, a former military scientist who's now the only man left on Earth not affected by killer plague, one which turns those who don't croak outright upon infection, into albino, light sensitive, scabby skinned mutants. As we come into the story, which is set about two years after the shizz went down i.e. the collapse of society as we know it, we see Neville holed up in a pretty sweet fortified townhouse in the Los Angeles area. During the day he ventures out to patrol the area and pick up supplies, while at night, when the mutants come out to play, he hunkers down in his groovy, well stocked, self sufficient pad. Seems Neville has a real hate/hate relationship with the semi-organized, lesion covered mutant population in the area, led by a well-spoken demagogue named Matthias (Zerbe). You see, the mutants, who refer to themselves as `the Family', see Neville as the last holdout of the evil (i.e. technology) that precipitated the downfall of civilization, and it's their purpose, given the fact they survived, to `cleanse the world'. Now I think there's a bit of jealousy mixed in given the fact the plague has left them all in a rather funky state, while Neville remains pinkish in hue and unblemished. On other hand you have Neville, who sees the mutants as a plague fit for extermination, which is why he spends much of his daytime hours seeking out their nest. So how does one man hold his own against vastly superior numbers? Firepower, my friend...you see since the mutants stupidly eschew technology, relying on primitive weaponry like rocks, arrows, and spears, while Neville, a former Colonel in the military, depends on his well stocked armory to even the odds. The situation between two parties is relatively evenly matched, that is until Neville discovers he's not completely alone once a healthy looking African American woman named Lisa (Cash) makes the scene...As I mentioned earlier, I have read the book this film was loosely based on, and I agree with the general consensus that it is better than the movie, but in all fairness, how often is the movie ever better than the book? The most obvious difference between the two is the mutant element within the film. In the book they're vampires, in the movie they're mutants. Now why this aspect was changed I don't know, but I suspect, given the film was released in the early 1970s, the writers (or producers) may have thought the vampire angle played out and opted to go with a mutant theme instead. In terms of faithfulness to the source material, Vincent Price's Italian made The Last Man on Earth (1964), was probably closer to Matheson's novel than The Omega Man, the downside being the Price film is pretty shoddy given its extremely low production values (shoddiness aside, it still fun and worth a look). Now I've gotten word Will Smith is currently filming an adaptation, titled I Am Legend, directed by music video director turned film director Francis Lawrence (Constantine), scheduled to be released sometime in 2007. Given Smith's star power I suspect the film will have a ginormous budget, but than doesn't mean it will be good (I'm cautiously optimistic). Despite the changes from the original story here, I really enjoyed this film and have no problem classifying it as a cinematic sci-fi staple. It is a B film, but a highly entertaining one, if only to see Heston, who chews up the scenery with a healthy appetite, socking it to some pigment deficient mutant trash. I thought most of the performances were decent, one of the more memorable ones delivered by Anthony Zerbe as the fanatical firebrand Matthias. Seriously, he's got some of the best lines in the feature, and he delivers them with meaning and intent, rather than with an overblown sense of pomposity as is generally seen in such an antagonistic role. There's plenty of action, one of the more exciting sequences coming near the end, as Neville, the last action hero, attempts a full frontal assault on the Family, ramming his military vehicle through a mass of agitated mutants. The one thing I learned from this film is Charlton Heston, while certainly an accomplished actor, seemed to have a bit of trouble behind the wheel, especially given his apparent propensity to crash vehicles despite the fact he's the only one on the road. The one element of the film I thought could have been improved was some of the dialogue. While Matthias' orations were engaging, the rest of the cast suffered from time to time saddled with some hipster slang apparently popular in the late 1960s/early 1970s. While most off it is easily shrugged off, the one bit that made me cringe was when Neville met up with Lisa's little band, eventually prompting a young girl to ask Neville `Are you God?', given the fact he wasn't affected by the plague, I suppose. Gah...anyway, this was minor to me compared to the whole, the whole being a fantastic and thrilling classic science fiction feature, with an outstanding musical score by British composer Ron Grainer ("Doctor Who").The widescreen anamorphic (2.35:1) print on this Warner Brothers DVD release looks clean and clear, and the Dolby Digital mono audio, available in both English and French, comes through very well. There's a few extras including a newly made, four minute introduction piece featuring screenwriter Joyce Hooper Corrington and co-stars Eric Laneuville and Paul Koslo, along with a vintage featurette entitled `The Last Man Alive' (9:50). Also included are subtitles in English, French, and Spanish, the original theatrical trailer (in widescreen no less), and a text piece titled Charlton Heston - Science Fiction Legend, which briefly highlights Heston's career in the realm of science fiction features.Cookieman108By the way, did anyone who saw this film want to see Neville use that big, honking machine gun positioned on the roof of his townhouse? A missed opportunity...

Perfect film for the Covid era in which we live.

After last seeing Charlton Heston and James Franciscus obliterate The Planet Of The Apes in the 1970 20th Century Fox sequel, "BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES", Heston returns again, as "THE OMEGA MAN", released in 1971 by Warner Bros.,a then-Kinney Leisure Company one year before they became Warner Communication Company, this science fiction thriller about the aftermath of a germ warfare attack in an apocalyptic American city of 1975 sees the actor playing "Robert Neville", an Army doctor who survived after his helicopter pilot was overwhelmed by the deadly germs, Neville injects himself with an experiment vaccine after the crash of their copter. now, roaming the abandoned LA streets in vintage cars, fighting loneliness and memories of what used to be an American city, Neville is assaulted by figures wearing dark robes, trying to kill "the last man on earth", who is obviously not alone! with a cast headed by the late Anthony Zerbe ("HARRY O") and Rosland Cash", "THE OMEGA MAN" was an action packed movie with a single theme-survival! Zerbe plays "Mathias", a former TV newscaster who became a permanent victim of the biological plague, as their pale skins and white eyes shows "the pretty marks" from their germ biological hell, turning them into religious fanatics who "clense" (kills) normal human people who survived from the deadly germ attacks. Enter pretty "Lisa" (Cash) a lovely Mulato African-American survivor with an Afro, who is discovered by Neville, who gives chase, but is later captured by Mathias' deranged "family", who holds Neville captive while sentencing him to an inquisition- "you are discarded!" says Mathias to Neville-and the rest of this movie pretty much goes into the strength of surviving from the threat of the mutated family, and Neville, holding a key to the cure of the biological nightmare, through his blood. Charlton Heston and Anthony Zerbe are no strangers to each other, having worked on the Tom Gries-directed "WILL PENNY" in 1968 for Paramount, "THE OMEGA MAN" was directed by Boris Sagal, the father of "SONS OF ANARCHY" and "MARRIED..WITH CHILDREN" actress, Katey Sagal, and the producer of the NBC-TV series, "T.H.E. CAT" (1966-67) "THE OMEGA MAN" still delivers great entertainment, along with an Impressive musical score by Ron Grainer ("THE PRISONER" TV series) this 1971 movie is worth watching, although its ending is somewhat disappointing, the rest of the film is a great action-adventure sci-fi thriller which Walter Selzer, the producer of this movie, would show again in his second movie, "SOYLENT GREEN" for MGM in 1973 with Charlton Heston. the movie gets a five star rating for being an exceptional thriller, as well as being based on "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson. oh yes, I almost forgot to mention veteran character actor Paul Koslo, who co-starred in "THE OMEGA MAN", and later played in United Artists' "MR. MAJESTYK" in 1974 with Charles Bronson. another obscure actor in this 1971 movie was also played by Brian Tochi, an Asian-American actor who starred on numerous TV roles, and also played one of the voices in the "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES" cartoon series, and a series' regular on "SPACE ACADEMY", a 1977 CBS Saturday Morning TV series that was produced by the now-defunct Filmation Associates.

Charleton Heston plays a scientist who helped cook up a virus in a lab that wipes out most of humanity and leaves the survivors as deranged mutants. Then he creates a cure for the virus that he engineered. Sound familiar?

A classic 1970's Horror/Sci-fi movie with Charlton Heston, that I really do like.It's based on the last man on earth, and tells the story of a survivor of a biological catastrophe which has killed the majority of the planets population, and mutated a few more, our hero is of course Immune.Charlton Heston plays the role in a similar way to his role in Planet of the Apes, and much better in my opinion than Will Smith in I am legend.Watching the Omega Man, I fell a real sense of foreboding and danger to the stories main character and its very pessimistic plot line was reminiscent of many movies of its type in the 1970's when happy endings in movies were not popular.Well the picture quality is looking a little dated, and were used to over the top special effects, but the Omega man shines in my opinion as its character centered, and story driven and so engaging.

I first saw this film at the cinema when it was originally released and thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, it has not stood the test of time. The dreadful 1970's music, clothes and hairstyles plus Charlton Heston's mannered acting do not help. But the main problem is the decision by the filmmakers to substitute infected survivors of germ warfare for the vampires of the original novel. This might have seemed a good idea at the time, when the cold war was in full swing, but it now comes across as faintly ludicrous. Leaving the vampires as vampires might well have made the film date less badly.

This is my favourite take on the I Am Legend novel. Will Smith's version was too toned down and Vincent Prices' was too lethargic. But Charlton Heston is perfectly cast in this. Just like in Planet of the Apes he seems well suited to this type of movie and he gives a perfect balance of tension, emotion and action. With this being a seventies movie it has aged a bit, but this remains my personal favourite of the three movies.

Okay, I saw this many years ago on TV, but a recent viewing of the Will Smith remake had me hankering after this Blu-Ray original. In many ways, it is reflected in it's own time with the portrayals of the infected and he-man attitutes. The limits of the period make-up and special effects are obvious, but the film's hook is that it has a menacing, shadowy feel to it and it serves the film well that the bleak mood is maintained almost throughout. Heston really does look on the edge as he moves about the city changing clothes and cars with a tilt at the pointless consumer society. Anthony Zerbe has great fun and delivers an excellent turn as the evil Methias. Downsides are few - The motorbike chase doubling was cringe-worthy even in the 70s and Heston's end, draped on the fountain "like Christ on the cross?" looks too similar to his gunning-down scene in the church from Soylent Green. Overall though, there is an awful lot to enjoy in this enthusiastic slice of seventies sci-fi relish.90%

Excellent film and looks great on Blu Ray. I watched the film on a 120 inch screen through a projector and found the quality of the picture to be very good. The sound is not quite as good but certainly not bad. All in all excellent in my opinion. Also the parcel arrived earlier than expected which is appreciated.