CRACRAFT@USC-ISIB.ARPA (06/30/85)
From: Stuart Cracraft <CRACRAFT@USC-ISIB.ARPA> Has anyone else seen The Omega Man? This movie was based (loosely) on Richard Matheson's classic I AM LEGEND. The book is pretty good as it evokes an errie feeling of paranoia. However, I think the movie is really a classic that has been overlooked by lay-critics and the science fiction population in general. It turns the paranoia of the book into more of a SF-suspense-melodrama. Reasons why I think it is so good: Charlton Heston plays in one of his best roles, almost a solo effort. A beautiful musical score by Ron Grainer, composer of the theme music for the 1960's TV program THE PRISONER The screenplay is tight and moves along extremely fast. Anthony Zerbe plays a really neat villan. It is in re-release this month on THE MOVIE CHANNEL and I just got a nice uncut version of it. Even after not having seen it for 10 years, I am still impressed by it Stuart -------
joel@peora.UUCP (Joel Upchurch) (07/01/85)
> Has anyone else seen The Omega Man? > This movie was based (loosely) on Richard Matheson's classic > I AM LEGEND. The book is pretty good as it evokes an errie feeling > > Stuart I've seen it a couple of times and I think it is a pretty good movie too. There was another movie made from the story starring Vincent Price which was, as I recall, pretty bad. Joel
leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) (07/07/85)
(I apologize, but I am once again taking a film that somebody likes and complaining about parts of it. The opinions here are just mine. Any film that you like is a good film in that it pleases you. With that in mind, let me say a little of why I didn't care for OMEGA MAN.) >Has anyone else seen The Omega Man? This movie was based >(loosely) on Richard Matheson's classic I AM LEGEND. An ok film, but not much better than that. It made too many changes from the original and very good novel. The Vincent Price version LAST MAN ON EARTH with a screenplay by Matheson himself (writing as Logan Swanson because he quibbled with the filmmakers) had a much better feel of nightmare. Some of the plague scenes in LMOE are among the most frightening I can remember. OMEGA MAN has nothing to match them. The remake tries too hard to make a statment about brotherhood that is completely alien to the book. >I think the movie is really a classic that has been overlooked >by lay-critics and the science fiction population in general. >It turns the paranoia of the book into more of a >SF-suspense-melodrama. > >Reasons why I think it is so good: > >Charlton Heston plays in one of his best roles, almost a >solo effort. A beautiful musical score by Ron Grainer, >composer of the theme music for the 1960's TV program THE >PRISONER Not to mention the theme to DR. WHO. It is surprising how some scenes that would look silly in OMEGA MAN if done in silence (I seem to remember a rescue on motercycle with a very obvious stunt double for Heston, that is exciting only because of the music. >The screenplay is tight and moves along extremely >fast. Anthony Zerbe plays a really neat villan. Zerbe is often quite good. After liking the book, I thought the ending with the happy schoolbus of children singing was really bad and reminiscent of the worst of the Planet of the Apes series. Mark Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper