i just saw the omega man after my quandries about this book and the upcoming movie with will smith. i thought it was ok the end was kind of a downer though and the whole jesus thing was kind of weird. but i still cant wait for i am legend.
what movie with will smith? tell me they're not remaking omega man. I liked it, i love those cheesy sci-b 70's movies...mostly because there were alot of wretched films from that era that, anything halfway decent is gold. Never read the book tho, guess it's better than the movie..they usually are. Which is why I try to read the books after i see the movie so it doesn't ruin my enjoyment of a film since the book will always exceed expectations. ;-)
>what movie with will smith? tell me they're not remaking omega man.
Not really, they're making a new movie based on the same book that served as the inspiration for The Omega Man. It was also used for Last Man On Earth with Vincent Price, which is supposedly closer to the book. (I've never read it either)
speaking of reading books after seeing the movie, i read starship troopers after seeing the flick. i was blown away at how much better the book was. and i loved the movie
Wow! I own the Vincent Price version & I love it!! I think this thing has been remade any number of times, I mean, aren't there TV versions/cable versions too?
I've read the Richard Matheson long short-story(novella?) as well, & of course it can go into more depth, because the characters get kind of talky at times. I also read an absolutely stunning comic-book version of it once & cannot for the life of me recall who did this -- the vampires screaming for him to come out were especially creepily drawn.
The scenes with the vampires trying to break into the house are so similar to The Night of The Living Dead scenes, even down to the choices of shots with the arms coming through, etc .
Really really like this picture --
peter johnson
what do you think night of the living dead is based on?
The book is good, but honestly, I think it's over rated. The short stories compiled in the "high-quality" paperback with I Am Legend are also very good. Is the killer Zuni doll story the inspiration for the famous chapter of Trilogy of Terror?
Did George Romero ever say that he based Night on I am Legend? I don't think he did, did he? I don't recall seeing anything in print from him or a credit to Matheson on the Dead film.
If there is a Zuni fetish doll story in the compilation you have, then it would absolutely have to be the same story the film chapter in Trilogy is based on.
Matheson also wrote most of the very best episodes of the old Twilight Zone TV show. These hold up like crazy on video -- see one today!!
Romero did credit the novel I am Legend in Encore's The Directors as something he 'ripped off' (or perhaps he said 'borrowed' with a wink and a nudge) for Night of the Living Dead. Romero has never been exactly quiet about how big of an influence the novel was on him. Heck, the zombie's ability to grow smart and self aware (i.e. 'Bub') was right out of I am Legend's third act.
Whoops, missed that Romero did admit the influence -- but then I'm really not as genre-savvy as some of y'all here.
Well, how about that?
Still, he borrowed more than just the story line -- he also borrowed the look of the Vincent Price film, right down to the boards. Has he 'fessed up to that as well? Not that it really matters -- what really matters are nice, tasty, brains . . .
peter j.