THE OMEGA MAN (1971)
Article 2747 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-13-2008
Posting Date: 2-19-2009
Directed by Boris Sagal
Featuring Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash
Country: USA

The sole survivor of a world-decimating plague finds himself in a one-man war against a gang of surviving mutants bent on his destruction. However, his life changes when he discovers he may not be the only survivor…

This is the third version of Richard Matheson’s novel “I Am Legend”; there appears to be a Spanish short version made a few years earlier which I’ve not seen. I’ve also not seen the recent Will Smith remake, so all I’ve got to compare it with is the Vincent Price version called THE LAST MAN ON EARTH from the early sixties. This one is certainly better made, and was a great deal more popular. I myself quite like some parts of this one; I was always charmed by the scene where Charlton Heston’s character goes to a movie theater to see WOODSTOCK, a movie he’s seen so many times he can mouth the words. I’ve also never forgotten the climax of the movie in the fountain outside of the mansion. Still, taken as a whole, I prefer the earlier version; there’s something about the weariness and stark bleakness of the earlier movie that fires my imagination more than the standard action setpieces that drive this one. This is not to say that this is a bad movie; it’s quite entertaining in its way, though it does get a little slow at times. It just doesn’t have the same impact on me, especially in the closing scenes. On a side note, I wish I had known that craggy-faced John Dierkes was one of the members of the Family in this movie; I would have kept my eyes open for him.