Customer Reviews

The Omega Man [Blu-ray] [Import]

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

no problem. I had been looking for movie a while then decided to go this way. fine. Would order again from reseller.

This movie is one of the best in this genre. I imagine that the newest addition to the group, "I Am Legend," will outdo it in terms of special effects, but this is the original for me.

I watched "Omega Man" many years ago on TV and it was great! I'm quite the lover of horror and thriller-type movies. This pushed both buttons for me.

Before you go and see "I Am Legend," take a moment to view "Omega Man!" It's well worth it.

I hadn't seen this movie in about thirty years but I had vague, fond memories. As long as you make allowances for movie making standards of the day, this is a fun stroll down memory lane. I had forgotten that the villains were simply sick and diseased plague survivors. I remembered them as some kind of slow moving zombies for some reason. They are actually members of an anti-technology cult.

Omega Man is one of many movies of the era that casts a pessimistic light on technology and the advances of 20th century civilization. It is nothing like the book ("I am Legend"; Richard Matheson); no vampires here.

It actually makes me appreciate the new Will Smith movie a bit more.

coldwarkid

this is the second filmed version of Richard Matheson's novel,I am
Legend,the first being The Last Man on Earth,starring Vincent price,and
the third bearing the same title as the novel and,starring Will Smith.i
really enjoyed the first version,and pretty much hated the third
version.this version is,much closer to the third version,in terms of my
opinion of it.i found a lot of this movie lame,lacking in any real
excitement.the acting was pretty poor(though Heston wasn't too bad).i
also felt the movie was a bit too talky at times,and there is no real
air of mystery to the story.having said that,there was one good thing
about it.this one had a plot,(as slow as it was)which i felt the third
one didn't.it was just this side of boring,for the most
part,occasionally slipping over into the area of boredom.i was able to
get through it.but i wouldn't care if i never saw it again.it just
really didn't anything for me.my vote for The Omega Man is a 2/5

Anyone who saw this growing up has a soft spot in their hearts for it; I've encountered enough people over the course of my 37 yrs who perk up at the mention of it to be aware of its place in a lot of our memories. This has been satirized on the Simpsons, which proves it has embedded itself in the national pop culture consciousness. Anyone who has read the book its based on, the incredible "I am Legend" by Richard Matheson, knows that this film has very little in common with it beyond its initial premise--and even that is not followed too closely. All of the criticisms of THE OMEGA MAN are valid: It is very dated and not at all scary or intense and some of the stunts and special effects are laughably, ludicrously cheesy; the villains--who should have been more terrifying than even Romero's zombies--are just crazed albino hippie Luddites and the last half of the film, once Chuck hooks up with Rosalind Cash and the kiddies, is really a let down. But the scenes that open the film of Heston hefting a cool-looking machine gun while decked out in Austin Powers-style finery (!) staring in angst at an old calendar or losing his mind for a moment hallucinating the sound of telephones ringing in the deserted city still pack a punch. This was the second movie, after 1959's THE WORLD,THE FLESH, AND THE DEVIL, to successfully pull off the eerie effect of being the last living human being in a huge empty city. Both films established the visual motif of streets filled with blowing waves of newspapers and swirling trash.After years of seeing this on TV -- a guaranteed late September or early October event every year for a few years on the local TV station during my Pacific Northwest childhood in the old Dark Age before CABLE TV and the videocassette revolution, its nice to see this movie on DVD with a beautiful widescreen transfer. It looks and sounds great. As a child I always liked the music, particularly the "surprise party" theme that plays when the villains make their first appearance. It rocks here in all its xylophone and funky electric organ glory!

why are you still reading this?! chuck heston battles zombie cultists!! it don't get no better than that! order this NOW!

Based on Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend", which was recommended to Charlton Heston by Orson Welles, and one that Heston was inspired to make into a film, is a truly creepy sci-fi/horror classic. Heston is marvelous as Colonel Robert Neville, a scientist who is immune to the plague that resulted from biological warfare, due to an experimental vaccine he injected himself with.

The survivors infected with the plague are hooded mutants that cannot see in the daylight, and are bent in destroying all the attributes of civilization that remain on earth, crying "burn, burn, burn !" as they pile books in a fiery heap. Their leader is a former news anchor played to the hilt by Anthony Zerbe, who warns the zombie "Family" of the evil created by the "users of the wheel".
It is all quite thought-provoking, and has several connotations to terrorism today, and also has symbolism relating to Christianity; at one point Heston is tied up in a crucifixion pose, and his blood, turned into a serum, can save the remnant of humanity. There are a few reminders from the Book of Revelation, where of course, Jesus said "I am the Alpha and Omega".

Rosalind Cash is lovely as Lisa, one of the remnant hiding in the hills, and her relationship with Heston is a rare instance of an interracial love affair from that era. Films from the 1970s fascinate me, with the hair and fashion styles, and 8-track tapes in the cars.
This film has fabulous cinematography by Russell Metty of a deserted, devastated Los Angeles, a good score by Ron Granier, and fast-paced, disquieting direction by Boris Segal that will occasionally make your heart skip a beat with fright.
Total running time is 98 minutes.

Although intended as an alegory about conflict between rationality and mysticism, it seemed a little hokey to me for years. Now that the possability of someone concocting and releasing something like air-borne Ebola in Manhattan is a real cocern and not just a bad sci-fi dream, this really creeps me out.

Given the lines, budget and 70's dialog to work with Heston diplays his craft. He carries the movie. If the producers had saved some money and put a B-grade actor in the lead this would be limited to after-midnite re-runs.

Charlton Heston is Neville, who may be the last normal man on earth, after a biological war has killed everyone. He was able to develop a vaccine but it came too late. He does live with a contaminated zombie like group that call themselves "The Family". The Family can't stand the sunlight and they peruse Neville during the hours of darkness. Neville fights back during the hunting down members of the family. Neville is captured by the family and then save by a woman. He uses his serum to save the woman and her family and friends.

I saw this movie on TV quite a while ago, yet it has lingered in the back of my mind ever since. Omega Man is a rather eerie look at a very lonely, empty world after biological warfare has seemed to kill everyone on the planet -- except Charlton Heston and some very weird and intolerant mutated people. If you are in the right mood, there are few movies more unsettling and depressing than this dark journey into an unknown future -- set in the early 1970s.

From the beginning scene where Charton Heston, who gives a very believable and memorable performance, puts an 8-track in his car stereo and cruises down an empty city street to the theme from a Summer Place, you know you are in for a very timely and intriguing film. The love story subplot will tug at your heart strings as the hope for a healthy future and peace will provoke uncertainty. If you love the 1970s, don't miss this excellent sci-fi thriller, filled with impressive acting and lingering social commentary.