The Omega Man (Blu-ray) - Classic Sci-Fi Movie with Charlton Heston | Post-Apocalyptic Thriller for Movie Nights & Sci-Fi Fans

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...