Recently saw this 1964 adaptation of Richard Matheson's I AM LEGEND for the very first time. Being a big fan of THE OMEGA MAN, Vincent Price and the
original novel, I've long been curious to see it. Despite many reviews having mentioned how Price was miscast in the part, I went in expecting the opposite
(since Vinnie usually delivers the goods). Well, I think he both is and isn't. True to form, he handles the angst of loneliness and despair well, but it
must be said he looks rather ridiculous in the "action" scenes. And whoever did the dubbing for the other actors in the cast, they were terrible. It
didn't help that their dialog was atrocious, either.
The plot is fairly faithful to the novel, and I enjoyed the opening scenes of the film, with Price going through his workaday survival and hunting routine. Keeping in mind Ted Newsom's hilarious Sidney Salkow spittle stories, I thought the direction was adequate, if unimaginative. It's patently obvious that the surrounding city is European and not American (not to mention all the cars); why they didn't just explain this away by having Price be a scientist living and working in Italy rather than expecting the viewer to ignore it is hard to say. Chalk it up to the average movie producer underestimating the intelligence of the audience, I guess. Not that this sort of detail really bothered me. Much more problematic is how weak and non-scary the vampire/zombies are. Price tosses them around like rag dolls, and it seems the most damage they've done to his house over 3 years is break a few windows. So a lot of the suspense leeches right out of the proceedings, only to return (marginally) when Morgan himself becomes the hunted by the "healthy" new breed of mutants at the climax.
The film does have some nice atmosphere in certain scenes,
and parts of it are effective, but I can't help thinking how much better it might've turned out with more intimidating monsters and a more rugged lead
actor (such as Rod Taylor, Chuck Conners or...dare I say it? Charlton Heston). Someone who could handle the emotional thesping duties and yet seem convincing
pounding a stake through a mutant vamp's heart.
I know a lot of you guys and gals here probably hold this flick dear to your hearts, and I don't mean to bash it. I did kind of enjoy it, and it's pretty much a foolproof story. But I'll take THE OMEGA MAN over this any day.
The plot is fairly faithful to the novel, and I enjoyed the opening scenes of the film, with Price going through his workaday survival and hunting routine. Keeping in mind Ted Newsom's hilarious Sidney Salkow spittle stories, I thought the direction was adequate, if unimaginative. It's patently obvious that the surrounding city is European and not American (not to mention all the cars); why they didn't just explain this away by having Price be a scientist living and working in Italy rather than expecting the viewer to ignore it is hard to say. Chalk it up to the average movie producer underestimating the intelligence of the audience, I guess. Not that this sort of detail really bothered me. Much more problematic is how weak and non-scary the vampire/zombies are. Price tosses them around like rag dolls, and it seems the most damage they've done to his house over 3 years is break a few windows. So a lot of the suspense leeches right out of the proceedings, only to return (marginally) when Morgan himself becomes the hunted by the "healthy" new breed of mutants at the climax.
The film does have some nice atmosphere in certain scenes,
and parts of it are effective, but I can't help thinking how much better it might've turned out with more intimidating monsters and a more rugged lead
actor (such as Rod Taylor, Chuck Conners or...dare I say it? Charlton Heston). Someone who could handle the emotional thesping duties and yet seem convincing
pounding a stake through a mutant vamp's heart.
I know a lot of you guys and gals here probably hold this flick dear to your hearts, and I don't mean to bash it. I did kind of enjoy it, and it's pretty much a foolproof story. But I'll take THE OMEGA MAN over this any day.
