Classic Movie Wednesday

The Omega Man (1971)

Robert Neville (Charlton Heston), a doctor, is the only survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons due to an experimental vaccine. The plague caused by the war has killed everyone else except for a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people calling themselves "The Family". The plague has caused them to become sensitive to light, as well as homicidally psychotic. They believe science and technology to be the cause of the war and their punishment, and Neville, as the last symbol of science, the old world, and a "user of the wheel", must die before hilarity can ensue. Neville, using electricity, machinery, and science attempts to hold them at bay.

Trivia: The production company wanted a set that looked like an abandoned metropolitan area, but it was too costly to build. The producer drove through downtown L.A. one weekend and discovered there were no shoppers, so the majority of the film's exterior was shot on location during the weekends. British studio Hammer had planned production of Matheson's own scripted version of "I am Legend" entitled "The Night Creatures". However, after being deemed too graphic by censors, the script was rejected and the project lingered, eventually dying.

Charlton Heston is the a legend of 60's and 70's Sci-Fi with movies like Planet Of The Apes, Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, Soylent Green, and this one. One of the reasons I picked this one is that Will Smith is starring in a remake this year. Well, I guess it is a remake, It is based on the same story, "I Am Legend" which is also the name of Smith's version. One thing I don't get is that they took every chance they could to show Heston shirtless. Am I missing something here, Charlton was is shape...kind of...but do we really need to see that?