"I am Legend" just started...

[Hoot Harrington]

symbology............

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG_OezlTZ1A

[TravisM.1]

I always look for the symbology or foreshadowing in movies.

"I believe the word you're looking for is sssyyyymmmbolism."

[D-Train]

I prefer the original ending where Smith doesn't die. The makes more sense that way.

[KentsOkay]

Havent seen the movie et, but read the book. Seems like they are two completely different stories?

[D-Train]

Havent seen the movie et, but read the book. Seems like they are two completely different stories?

Yep, pretty much.

[Hoot Harrington]

Havent seen the movie et, but read the book. Seems like they are two completely different stories?

Omega Man is closer to the book and even that is quite a bit off.

[AZ-Stealth]

Havent seen the movie et, but read the book. Seems like they are two completely different stories?

Omega Man is closer to the book and even that is quite a bit off.

Although dated, there is a B&W movie from 1964 - "The Last Man on Earth", starring Vincent Price. This is "the" original movie that was based upon Matheson's book. If you can find a copy, it is an interesting flick.

[Crajon]

I have all three of "I am Legend" , the Vincent Price one is far the best one. It followed the book. The "Omega Man" is okay. The best part was when the VW bug drove by at the bottom of the hill in San Francisco.

[MrMendigo]

Havent seen the movie et, but read the book. Seems like they are two completely different stories?

Omega Man is closer to the book and even that is quite a bit off.

Although dated, there is a B&W movie from 1964 - "The Last Man on Earth", starring Vincent Price. This is "the" original movie that was based upon Matheson's book. If you can find a copy, it is an interesting flick.

it was recently relaesed and sold in a double feature at Walmart. I bought it and 'Panic in Year Zero' for $5! PIYZ is a much more entertaining movie IMO.

[MVegas]

Yeah "The Last Man On Earth" is the most faithful, and really good, but of the three, "The Omega Man" has the greatest number of good opportunities to shout "SURPRISE, FUCKFACE!!" or something similar while watching with your buddies as Heston serves up lead-salads to the undead. (or infected I guess is more apt)

[REAL1]

OK, this is not a ZOMBIE FLIX!!! I cringed every time they said zombies on TNT, if they are going by Richard Matheson short story, Then they are VAMPIRES. this is not the first time they attempted this adaptaion... as in the Vincent Price version ( The Last Man on Earth ) The Omega Man with Charleston Heston he fights "mutants". In my opinion the Vincent Price version was the better off the three, There was no happy ending and the woman was actually a "spy" to get in the house and their was no kid. Im a purist when it comes to books and i dont understand why directors/writers/producers think they can make a movie thats "better" then the actual book. I understands that sometimes you have to omit, something due to time restriction. but changing whole plot lines!!! i.e. Bourne Identy..... anyway my two cents...

[AZ-Stealth]

Havent seen the movie et, but read the book. Seems like they are two completely different stories?

Omega Man is closer to the book and even that is quite a bit off.

Although dated, there is a B&W movie from 1964 - "The Last Man on Earth", starring Vincent Price. This is "the" original movie that was based upon Matheson's book. If you can find a copy, it is an interesting flick.

it was recently relaesed and sold in a double feature at Walmart. I bought it and 'Panic in Year Zero' for $5! PIYZ is a much more entertaining movie IMO.

Apologies to OP for temporary hijack of the thread, but "Panic in the Year Zero" is a very good movie - given the point in time. For today, it would probably be considered as campy, or almost a parody of survival movies. I've had a copy for years and continue to watch it. Another post apocalyptic film to watch if you can get a copy is "The World, The Flesh and The Devil" with Harry Belafonte, Inger Stevens and Mel Ferrar.

[J.C.]

OK, this is not a ZOMBIE FLIX!!! I cringed every time they said zombies on TNT, if they are going by Richard Matheson short story, Then they are VAMPIRES. this is not the first time they attempted this adaptaion... as in the Vincent Price version ( The Last Man on Earth ) The Omega Man with Charleston Heston he fights "mutants". In my opinion the Vincent Price version was the better off the three, There was no happy ending and the woman was actually a "spy" to get in the house and their was no kid. Im a purist when it comes to books and i dont understand why directors/writers/producers think they can make a movie thats "better" then the actual book. I understands that sometimes you have to omit, something due to time restriction. but changing whole plot lines!!! i.e. Bourne Identy..... anyway my two cents...

The movie doesn't even explain the "I am Legend" title, much less explore the issues behind it at all.

[Bubba Enfield]

OK, this is not a ZOMBIE FLIX!!! I cringed every time they said zombies on TNT, if they are going by Richard Matheson short story, Then they are VAMPIRES. this is not the first time they attempted this adaptaion... as in the Vincent Price version ( The Last Man on Earth ) The Omega Man with Charleston Heston he fights "mutants". In my opinion the Vincent Price version was the better off the three, There was no happy ending and the woman was actually a "spy" to get in the house and their was no kid. Im a purist when it comes to books and i dont understand why directors/writers/producers think they can make a movie thats "better" then the actual book. I understands that sometimes you have to omit, something due to time restriction. but changing whole plot lines!!! i.e. Bourne Identy..... anyway my two cents...

The movie doesn't even explain the "I am Legend" title, much less explore the issues behind it at all.

I don't think of IAL as being based on the book so much as a remake of a remake of a film based on the story. I like all three movies, never read the book. I think of IAL as a zombie movie, OM as a mutant movie, and LMOE as a vampire movie. If there's a disease that makes people unthinking, agressive biters, and their bite turns folks into unthinking, agressive biters, and there's no cure, I call it a zombie movie.

[MVegas]

Yeah "I Am Legend" despite being the only movie to bear the name really is more a remake of "The Omega Man" than it is in any way an adaptation of the book. "OM" kinda took on a life of it's own and thus we get a movie called "I Am Legend" about a U.S. Army virologist fighting what are effectively zombie acrobats. Wacky.

[J.C.]

Yeah "I Am Legend" despite being the only movie to bear the name really is more a remake of "The Omega Man" than it is in any way an adaptation of the book. "OM" kinda took on a life of it's own and thus we get a movie called "I Am Legend" about a U.S. Army virologist fighting what are effectively zombie acrobats. Wacky.

I don't remember Charlton Heston doing much jazz with a microscope. They actually made that into more of a focus than it was in the story. In the story he wasn't involved with research before the outbreak like the fresh prince was though - I got the impression he was more self-taught as he was trying to figure out what had happened after.

[Bubba Enfield]

Yeah "I Am Legend" despite being the only movie to bear the name really is more a remake of "The Omega Man" than it is in any way an adaptation of the book. "OM" kinda took on a life of it's own and thus we get a movie called "I Am Legend" about a U.S. Army virologist fighting what are effectively zombie acrobats. Wacky.

I don't remember Charlton Heston doing much jazz with a microscope. They actually made that into more of a focus than it was in the story. In the story he wasn't involved with research before the outbreak like the fresh prince was though - I got the impression he was more self-taught as he was trying to figure out what had happened after.

Actually, he was THE man involved in research for the army before the event. He had the only sample of a vaccine on him therefore becoming the only person alive who was completely immune. There are scenes of him working in his home lab, and one funny scene of him wrestling with a captive member of the mutant band. Kind of a campy version of Will Smith's darkseeker trap segment.

[MrMendigo]

Apologies to OP for temporary hijack of the thread, but "Panic in the Year Zero" is a very good movie - given the point in time. For today, it would probably be considered as campy, or almost a parody of survival movies. I've had a copy for years and continue to watch it. Another post apocalyptic film to watch if you can get a copy is "The World, The Flesh and The Devil" with Harry Belafonte, Inger Stevens and Mel Ferrar.

I love Panic in the Year Zero...but my mom always got mad at the movie because she felt the women were portrayed as stupid, weak, baggage. I'll try to check out your other recommendation.

[D-Train]

OK, this is not a ZOMBIE FLIX!!! I cringed every time they said zombies on TNT, if they are going by Richard Matheson short story, Then they are VAMPIRES. this is not the first time they attempted this adaptaion... as in the Vincent Price version ( The Last Man on Earth ) The Omega Man with Charleston Heston he fights "mutants". In my opinion the Vincent Price version was the better off the three, There was no happy ending and the woman was actually a "spy" to get in the house and their was no kid. Im a purist when it comes to books and i dont understand why directors/writers/producers think they can make a movie thats "better" then the actual book. I understands that sometimes you have to omit, something due to time restriction. but changing whole plot lines!!! i.e. Bourne Identy..... anyway my two cents...

The movie doesn't even explain the "I am Legend" title, much less explore the issues behind it at all.

It does if you go with the original ending.
Also, The Bourne trilogy is FAR superior to the books. I've read a lot of Robert Ludlem, but the movies, in this case, are better than the books.

[REAL1]

OK, this is not a ZOMBIE FLIX!!! I cringed every time they said zombies on TNT, if they are going by Richard Matheson short story, Then they are VAMPIRES. this is not the first time they attempted this adaptaion... as in the Vincent Price version ( The Last Man on Earth ) The Omega Man with Charleston Heston he fights "mutants". In my opinion the Vincent Price version was the better off the three, There was no happy ending and the woman was actually a "spy" to get in the house and their was no kid. Im a purist when it comes to books and i dont understand why directors/writers/producers think they can make a movie thats "better" then the actual book. I understands that sometimes you have to omit, something due to time restriction. but changing whole plot lines!!! i.e. Bourne Identy..... anyway my two cents...

The movie doesn't even explain the "I am Legend" title, much less explore the issues behind it at all.

It does if you go with the original ending.
Also, The Bourne trilogy is FAR superior to the books. I've read a lot of Robert Ludlem, but the movies, in this case, are better than the books.

if i had not read the first book, and had prior knowledge of the plot and just went in watching the movie, the movie was great., but the omission of Bourne's antagonist which was a focal point of the book, kind of ruined the movie for me. I stop reading the books but watched the rest of the movies series, which were good.

OK, this is not a ZOMBIE FLIX!!! I cringed every time they said zombies on TNT, if they are going by Richard Matheson short story, Then they are VAMPIRES. this is not the first time they attempted this adaptaion... as in the Vincent Price version ( The Last Man on Earth ) The Omega Man with Charleston Heston he fights "mutants". In my opinion the Vincent Price version was the better off the three, There was no happy ending and the woman was actually a "spy" to get in the house and their was no kid. Im a purist when it comes to books and i dont understand why directors/writers/producers think they can make a movie thats "better" then the actual book. I understands that sometimes you have to omit, something due to time restriction. but changing whole plot lines!!! i.e. Bourne Identy..... anyway my two cents...

The movie doesn't even explain the "I am Legend" title, much less explore the issues behind it at all.

I don't think of IAL as being based on the book so much as a remake of a remake of a film based on the story. I like all three movies, never read the book. I think of IAL as a zombie movie, OM as a mutant movie, and LMOE as a vampire movie. If there's a disease that makes people unthinking, agressive biters, and their bite turns folks into unthinking, agressive biters, and there's no cure, I call it a zombie movie.

Hmmm i can see that as in 28 days later/ 28 weeks later.... so by your statement, "If there's a disease that makes people unthinking, agressive biters, and their bite turns folks into unthinking, agressive biters, and there's no cure, I call it a zombie movie." then vampires and werewolves movies should fall into the "zombies" movies?, they both bite, they both change victim, into unthinking aggressive biters. it might be a streatch in your idea, but i think it does fall in it.

[Bubba Enfield]

Well, most movies don't portray vampires as mindless automatons, and werewolves tend to change back and forth.

[REAL1]

Well, most movies don't portray vampires as mindless automatons, and werewolves tend to change back and forth.

This is why i love forums!! i love to see how people think. and express their views on off the wall topics! This is Awsome!!

true on both points, Bubba your logic is sound. but in the Book, the symptom all refer to vampirism , which was my whole point to my original post. NOW... I am Legend, ( the book ) is influential to most of the horror genres there after, including NOTLD. I just think that the WS version, just took on the hype of the Zombie movie craze, Vampires in movies were pretty much out at the time. and the success of 28 days, Shuan of the Dead, and Dawn of the Dead remake, having it lumped in with the Zombie genre helped.

btw.... i recommend the Brian Lumley "necroscope" saga, for a much better vampire mytho. These vampires are true evil and not your romantic vampires much better then the Anne Rice or Twilight teen version of vampires.

[TravisM.1]

The movie doesn't even explain the "I am Legend" title, much less explore the issues behind it at all.

It does if you go with the original ending.

I agree.

[3Fingas]

I liked all of movie adaptations (well, only part of the last movie) in their own way, but, alas, the short story was the best of all.

IAL the short story -- Loved the exploration of his psyche -- his loneliness and change of heart about his former "vamperized" friend at the end. The ending also is very dark and twisted like a Twilight Zone episode. Matheson was a core writer for Twilight Zone and IAL probably would have fit in that show's season 4 1 hour show format (except for his sexual longing for female vampires which would have been a bit much for the sensibilities of the day).

"The Last Man on Earth" - The most faithful adaptation of the 3 movies. I liked how it showed Vincent Price's character doing some of the more mundane tasks of post-apocalyptic survival gathering supplies and fixing stuff around his house. Vincent Price was awesome, if somewhat campy and "over-theatrical" at times.

"Omega Man" - Probably the least faithful of the adaptations of the 3 movies, but still a killer movie. I always loved the characters that Charleton Heston played...always hero-types, larger-than-life (El Cid, Ben-Hur, Moses, etc). His character in this movie has the same sort of charisma as any of his typical roles, but is dripping with the cynicism and rebellion against authority that was common in the late 60's and early 70's. Heston was a cool dude...few people do the apocalypse better IMHO. Where this movie fails, is the cult-like society of the mutant survivors and your ability to suspend all believe to think that they wouldn't have been able to kill Heston sooner.

"IAL" - the movie - I liked this movie the least of the 3 movies. I really did not like CGI'd zombie-like creatures at all.
I liked the dog the most in this movie and really wish he would have survived and everyone was eaten in stead. It was entertaining in some respects, but, overall I wish I could have spent the ticket money on something else.

As far as being zombie movies, they are not. Undead or infected, very much so.