Complete credited cast: | |||
Charlton Heston | ... | ||
Anthony Zerbe | ... | ||
Rosalind Cash | ... |
Lisa
|
|
Paul Koslo | ... |
Dutch
|
|
Eric Laneuville | ... |
Richie
|
|
Lincoln Kilpatrick | ... |
Zachary
|
|
Jill Giraldi | ... |
Little Girl
|
|
Anna Aries | ... |
Woman in Cemetery Crypt
|
|
Brian Tochi | ... |
Tommy
|
|
DeVeren Bookwalter | ... |
Family Member
(as De Veren Bookwalter)
|
|
John Dierkes | ... |
Family Member
|
|
Monika Henreid | ... |
Family Member
|
|
Linda Redfearn | ... |
Family Member
|
|
Forrest Wood | ... |
Family Member
|
Due to an experimental vaccine, Dr. Robert Neville is the only survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. 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. Neville, using electricity, machinery, and science attempts to hold them at bay. Written by Roald E. Peterson III <slz13@cc.usu.edu>
One of these days soon we will see another remake of Richard Matheson's seminal Horror novella. If we do, I hope the marquee will read: "I Am Legend." This should be done for no other reason than to make it easier for Sci-Fi nerds to argue and champion their personal favorite. But I have this feeling the producers will take the easy way out.
Boris Sagal, the veteran television director, who died under the most grisly of circumstances--he walked into a helicopter blade--helms a brilliant adaptation of the book. Sure, they changed the vampires into psychotic albinos. And they also injected a heavy dose of the Seventies counter-culture. But the essential themes resist the tampering by the new screenwriters and remain solid story chestnuts. No one handles a weapon with such verve as Mr. Heston. He fires at random and generally hits something. Always a good approach in this type of movie. I enjoy his conversations with Caesar's bust in his "Honky paradise". The sculptures and paintings on the walls are actual reproductions of the immortals they represent. Also, check out the art work on the back of "Dutch's" jacket. It packs a wallop. Ron Grainer's score is legendary and has a elegiac feel punctuated by strange sounds from obscure instruments. The action scenes rival the best. Catch Heston's despair and loneliness when he jogs by a large office building along side a reflecting pool. Every scene is chock full of memorable lines and quirky bits of business. The bodies of the dead pop up randomly with a wild note on the soundtrack. There is a brief nude scene that for once fits into the plot. A standing ovation is in order for anyone left alive.