The Omega Man
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| The Ωmega Man | |
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Boris Sagal |
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| Produced by | Walter Seltzer |
| Written by | Richard Matheson (novel I Am Legend) John William Corrington Joyce H. Corrington |
| Starring | Charlton Heston Anthony Zerbe Paul Koslo Rosalind Cash Eric Laneuville |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | August 1, 1971 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 98 min |
| Language | English |
The Ωmega Man (1971), directed by Boris Sagal, is a science fiction film, featuring Charlton Heston, based on the novel I Am Legend (1954) by Richard Matheson.[1] The screenplay is by John William and Joyce Corrington, and it was filmed in Technicolor with monaural sound, for a running time of 98 minutes.[2] This story first was filmed as The Last Man on Earth (1964) featuring Vincent Price. A third adaptation of the novel, I Am Legend featuring Will Smith, was released in 2007, and an unofficial fourth, I Am Omega, featuring Mark Dacascos, was also released in 2007 (though neither Matheson's name or novel were credited as source material for this version).
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[edit] Plot
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009) |
In 1975, biological warfare between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union kills most of the world's human population. U.S. Army Colonel Robert Neville, M.D. (Charlton Heston) — a military scientist — begins to succumb to the plague, but vaccinates himself just in time, rendering him immune. The plague's victims, meanwhile, are reborn as "The Family" — a cult of nocturnal, vampiric mutants who seek to destroy the last vestiges of technological society.
Two years later, Neville is seemingly the plague's only survivor. He spends his days hunting down and destroying members of the Family, and his nights a prisoner in his own home; the Family seeks to destroy him, believing him to be the last vestige of the old world.
One day, the Family capture Neville in a wine cellar. After a summary trial, he is found guilty of heresy, and is sentenced to an auto de fe and nearly burned at the stake in the center of Dodger Stadium. He is rescued by a woman he'd earlier seen while on patrol. The woman is part of a group of unmutated survivors; although infected, their youth has given them some resistance to the disease, maintaining them at a human stage. Nevertheless, given enough time, they may succumb to mutation, becoming one of The Family. Neville is amazed and gratified to find that some of the survivors include very young children, and has a brief relationship with an older member of the group, Lisa (Rosalind Cash).
Neville realizes that even if it were possible to duplicate the original vaccine, it would take years to salvage humanity. However, he believes it may be possible to extend his immunity to others by creating a serum derived from his blood. If the serum works, Neville and Lisa plan to leave the ravaged city with the rest of the survivors and start a new life in the wilderness, leaving The Family to die on their own.
Neville is successful in creating the serum and administers it to Lisa's teenage brother Richie (Eric Laneuville) who is on the verge of the advanced mutant stage of the plague. Once cured, Richie goes to The Family to try to convince them to take the serum as well. The Family's leader, Matthias (Anthony Zerbe), refuses to believe that Neville would try to help them and accuses Richie of being sent by Neville to harm them, and has Richie murdered. Neville later finds a note Richie left about going to talk to The Family, and discovers Richie strung up where The Family left him. Neville, caught outside after dark, is stalled in his attempts to reach home but manages to fight off the Family.
Meanwhile, Lisa unexpectedly changes into a nocturnal and betrays Neville by giving The Family access to his bunker. Returning home, Neville is confronted by Matthias, who forces him to watch as The Family destroys his home. Neville breaks free and, once outside, he turns and raises his sub-machine gun to shoot Matthias, who is looking down from the balcony. The gun jams, giving Matthias enough time to hurl a spear at Neville, mortally wounding him. The final scene shows the human survivors departing in a Land Rover after the dying Neville gives them a flask of blood serum, presumably with which to restore humanity. Shortly after he gives them the serum, Neville dies in a fountain, symbolically posed in the traditional position of the crucified Christ.
[edit] Reception
Rotten Tomatoes shows the film as having mixed reviews, with a score of 59%.[3] Howard Thompson gave a mostly negative review in The New York Times, saying "the climax is as florid and phony as it can be."[4]
[edit] References in Popular Culture
- The film is extensively referenced in The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror VIII".
- On their 1981 album Ghost In The Machine, the British rock group The Police recorded a song named "Omegaman", which was inspired by the film.
- Power metal band Iron Savior's album Megatropolis features a track called "The Omega Man", based on the film.
[edit] References
^"Charlton Heston: An Incredible Life: Revised Edition" by Michelle Bernier. Createspace, 2009
[edit] External links
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