Customer Reviews

Last Man on Earth

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My low expectations for this dystopian yarn were far exceeded by this seemingly half-baked, Italian-made "B" flick. Titled "L'Ultimo Uomo della Terra" [same meaning] where it was made in Italy, this film is initially powered by Vincent Price's soliloquy to get the narration going as this film creeps along. Largely due to Vincent Price's efforts, SOMEHOW THIS FILM WORKS!

We hear and see how in a post-epidemic Earth scientist Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) is the one man immune to a plague that has transformed all of humankind that has survived into vampire-like creatures. Morgan becomes the vampire-hunter while the few remaining half-alive mutant vampires live in fear of him. He is alone and in his despair we see through his eyes how the plague developed just 3 years earlier and how his best friend became one of the monsters that now stalks him by night. The flashback ends with Morgan recalling how his wife returned from the grave after he had just buried her, calling him by name as she menacingly approached him. This was creepy stuff.

At this point, now back to the present, Morgan finds a puppy. After adopting the dog as his own, Morgan finds that he too is a plague victim. After the dog's hair begins falling out, we move on to the next scene which shows Morgan burying the puppy covered with a white sheet with a stake through it. I admit it was pretty obvious, but effectively pathetic nonetheless. Then Morgan has a real break and meets one of the human "survivors". He actually cures this zombie, Ruth (Franca Bettoja), with a transfusion of his blood. For the first time in over three years there seems to be hope.

This story is based on Richard Matheson's dark novel "I Am Legend". In 1971, this story was remade as "The Omega Man" with Charlton Heston in the Vincent Price role. "The Omega Man" seems over-the-top compared to this more modest effort and Price does an excellent job of making the bleakness look real and appropriate.

DVD WIDESCREEN EDITION:

This particular editon is an excellent widescreen presentation that I purchased to replace a rather poor video edition. The sound is much better on this DVD, and the picture was almost miraculously improved over the video release. Rarely have I seen such an improvement from Video to DVD and in an old, low-budget release.

FEATURES: As you would expect it has "Scene Selection" (more chapters than usual) plus closed captioning. It also includes 4 miscellaneous horror trailers, a short biography/filmography for Vincent Price, a movie lobby poster, and trivia quiz.

This movie far exceeded my admittedly low expectations. You know this isn't your ordinary mid-sixties black and white horror film -- a clear inspiration for Night of the Living Dead and 28 Days Later -- or your typical over-the-top Vincent Price performance. It opens with a bleak cityscape, a post-apocalyptic vision of burned out cars and corpses. Something awful has happened, and we soon learn that Vincent Price's character is the last survivor of a plague that has turned humanity into a race of vampires ... prowling at night in search of blood and repelled by garlic (an allergic reaction) and mirrors. The story is based upon Richard Matheson's I Am Legend (which is fast, interesting read), and he co-wrote the screenplay.

Is it perfect? No. Price's performance is a bit too effeminate to be totally effective as a "one man against the world" story. And some of the trappings -- the garlic, the mirrors, the crosses -- take away from the the effort to paint this as a "realistic" plague story. Still, it is modern, literate and engaging.

I saw this movie on TV when I was a child and it totally creeped me out! It may be a "B" movie, but it's totally effective in immersing the viewer into the post apocalyptic hell of the "last man on earth".

To me one great aspect of this movie, other than the sheer horror and dread created by the ambiance of the movie, is that it starts out horror but ends sci-fi. Very cool!

So, now I own the DVD and I haven't watched it yet because I'm afraid to watch it by myself! Well, not really, but almost. Actually, I want to watch it with one or more people who have never seen it before in order to see their reactions. Oh well, nine months to Halloween!

This movie is better than 1968's "Night of the Living Dead." Romero really ripped off scenes from this film in NOTLD. I don't understand why people think this a B-movie. It's a classic. It has a better plot. Plus, the cast in this film are virus-ridden, bloodsucking humans, and the sole survivor of a worldwide plague.

This movie was actually filmed in Italy. It is the film upon which the later, more popular, Omega Man is based. It is a well-directed horror/sci-fi movie with great atmosphere and a real human aspect to the character that draws you in. Vincent Price plays a scientist who has a rare blood condition that allows him to survive a vampire-like virus that wipes out the world. He spends his days hunting down those who are infected(like vampire/zombie hybrids). At night, he tries to sleep while zombie hordes attack the outside of his boarded-up home. The movie was made in 1964, so it deserves a place on the old shelf
with other "Golden Age" Italian horror films and American classics also produced during this period.

It was closer to the feel of the novel than the Omega Man. I think today's multi-tasking, ADD audience will be fidgeting in their seats because of the slow pace. Let's see how Will Smith will do in the upcoming remake.

This is just a cut above Alpha's terrible rendering of "Terror Creatures from the Grave" -- it looks like a poor copy from video and the sound is pretty bad. I would save your money for when a reputable company comes out with a version.

It's December 19, 1965, only three years since the world came to an end. And now Robert Morgan (played by Vincent Price) wages his one-man war against the living dead that come out at night with hopes of ending his existence. But, when he finds a woman out walking in broad daylight, he begins to hope that there might be a future after all. But, before long Robert begins to realize that he might indeed have become something other than what he thought he was.

This is the first screen adaptation of Richard Matheson's post-apocalyptic novel, I Am Legend, having been filmed in Rome, Italy. The movie is surprisingly good, less violent than either The Omega Man and I am Legend (the other two screen adaptations of the novel), but maintaining a brooding, dark quality that really works.

Now, the movie is slow-moving compared to more recent movies, and if you want non-stop action you will be disappointed. Instead, the movie relies on ambience and thought to create a feeling of darkness, lightened only by the slightest trickle of hope. It's a real thoughtful movie, one that is sure to please fans of older movies, but likely to bore those with faster-paced tastes.

As for me, I enjoyed the movie, and am really glad that I saw it.

Great movie and picture quality good. "Last Man on Earth" and "Omega Man" are in the same genre as "I Am Legend" in theaters today. A must see for apocalypse movie fans.

I bought this for a dollar at a local grocery store. I figured for a dollar it would be worth watching. To my surprise it was pretty decent. Vincent plays the last man role a little wimpier than Heston did in the Omega Man.