The Omega Man has become a cult classic. A dreary and dark, violent vision of a future where a plague has wiped out mankind and anyone who hasn't been wiped out has been transformed to a creature of the night...blinded by light, albino, with fits of rage and hallucinations. The Omega Man works because it makes you feel like you are truly there with the last man on the planet. It draws you into the main characters world and makes you fear the dark and gives you that feeling of isolation of having no one or nothing left you knew or cared about. If the film were made nowadays the budget would have been astronomical, hundreds of millions of dollars and it would have been serialized with at least one sequel. I'm almost disappointed that more weren't made to tell the story of this world that we once knew.
Charlton Heston takes the lead role as The Omega Man. Although figuratively speaking he isn't the "last man on Earth," he is the last man with no side effects or hint of the plague having injected himself with a serum moments before the plague broke. I admit that despite Heston's legendary status, and macho persona I have never been a fan. It's not his films but instead his ego. The man drips with egotism. In one line in The Omega Man he comments "I'm a Narcissist" and truer words have never been spoken. If you are a Heston fan or can move past his sanctimonious performance than he does well playing a role he become quite comfortable with. Science Fiction, leading man, Saviour of biblical proportions. The script is really well done so that we spend nearly the first half of the film becoming intimately familiar with Heston's existence with nothing or no one before we really get introduced to the meat of the film. Heston definitely has presence and is no stranger to being the lead man so this is his kind of film. Anthony Zerbe plays the dark and mysterious Matthias, leader of "The Family," a group of humans poisoned and changed by the plague. I would have really liked Zerbe and his character to have an even bigger role. I think he was capable of being a terrific bad guy, one of the best but his role was slightly minimized. He also never gets his just end which would normally hint towards sequel. In fact it's almost like he wins the battle against Heston's character Neville. Rosalind Cash plays Heston's love interest Lisa. Lisa shows up out of nowhere one day and eventually their mutual exclusion from anyone else brings the couple together. Cash definitely targeted and played upon the huge popularity of the Black Rights Movement in the early seventies. Being a leading lady, and being romantically involved with a white man where it wasn't even suggested at being an issue was really something. The two of them have decent chemistry and she has great personality. She's a fiery leading lady. Paul Koslo plays a small role which I wish had been bigger as well, as Dutch. If the film had been serialized Koslo could have been the focus of the next film. He was a med student, scientist of sorts, a fighter very much like Heston's character. He could have been utilized more but he does play an important role and does it well.
Mostly a TV Director Boris Sagal (father of Married With Children's Katey) does a great job of properly utilized the 1 1/2 hour time frame. A Sc-Fi film like this could have went on far longer and covered more ground and I definitely think that wouldn't have been so bad but with the small time frame, and probably very small budget Sagal did a great job. He still manages to make you feel the severity of the situation, feel the emptiness of the world, also give you that fantasy element of what would you do if you were the only man alive on earth? Heston gets what he wants, when he wants it, sees a film, has everything he could possibly need from art to food to weapons but all is not perfect by any means. The only problem with the short story is that some of the characters who desperately could have been explored far more get left behind either in the sake of the story or Heston's character. I would love to see a WELL DONE remake of this for nowadays. Still for Sci-fi fans, Heston fans, or seventies fans this is something else to check out. Great special effects, violent, dark, a little campy at certain moments which could come from it simply being a seventies film who knows?? I will make comments that certainly Heston's opinions about gun rights and advocacy shine through. He is almost never without his trusty WWII machine gun or a host of other weapons and it's made quite clear they are his survival. On top that of that the last scene in the film could be considered a near act of sacrilege as Heston dies crucifixion like passing his blood off to save the world. More Ego perhaps?? At one moment in the film a little girl asks Heston if he is God to which he doesn't respond. Some very, very interesting shots and film images to watch out for. I think there is absolutely some important messages buried beneath this film, plenty to critique and talk about and that makes it an intelligent film that is even...if not more so...relevant today. 7/10
Charlton Heston takes the lead role as The Omega Man. Although figuratively speaking he isn't the "last man on Earth," he is the last man with no side effects or hint of the plague having injected himself with a serum moments before the plague broke. I admit that despite Heston's legendary status, and macho persona I have never been a fan. It's not his films but instead his ego. The man drips with egotism. In one line in The Omega Man he comments "I'm a Narcissist" and truer words have never been spoken. If you are a Heston fan or can move past his sanctimonious performance than he does well playing a role he become quite comfortable with. Science Fiction, leading man, Saviour of biblical proportions. The script is really well done so that we spend nearly the first half of the film becoming intimately familiar with Heston's existence with nothing or no one before we really get introduced to the meat of the film. Heston definitely has presence and is no stranger to being the lead man so this is his kind of film. Anthony Zerbe plays the dark and mysterious Matthias, leader of "The Family," a group of humans poisoned and changed by the plague. I would have really liked Zerbe and his character to have an even bigger role. I think he was capable of being a terrific bad guy, one of the best but his role was slightly minimized. He also never gets his just end which would normally hint towards sequel. In fact it's almost like he wins the battle against Heston's character Neville. Rosalind Cash plays Heston's love interest Lisa. Lisa shows up out of nowhere one day and eventually their mutual exclusion from anyone else brings the couple together. Cash definitely targeted and played upon the huge popularity of the Black Rights Movement in the early seventies. Being a leading lady, and being romantically involved with a white man where it wasn't even suggested at being an issue was really something. The two of them have decent chemistry and she has great personality. She's a fiery leading lady. Paul Koslo plays a small role which I wish had been bigger as well, as Dutch. If the film had been serialized Koslo could have been the focus of the next film. He was a med student, scientist of sorts, a fighter very much like Heston's character. He could have been utilized more but he does play an important role and does it well.
Mostly a TV Director Boris Sagal (father of Married With Children's Katey) does a great job of properly utilized the 1 1/2 hour time frame. A Sc-Fi film like this could have went on far longer and covered more ground and I definitely think that wouldn't have been so bad but with the small time frame, and probably very small budget Sagal did a great job. He still manages to make you feel the severity of the situation, feel the emptiness of the world, also give you that fantasy element of what would you do if you were the only man alive on earth? Heston gets what he wants, when he wants it, sees a film, has everything he could possibly need from art to food to weapons but all is not perfect by any means. The only problem with the short story is that some of the characters who desperately could have been explored far more get left behind either in the sake of the story or Heston's character. I would love to see a WELL DONE remake of this for nowadays. Still for Sci-fi fans, Heston fans, or seventies fans this is something else to check out. Great special effects, violent, dark, a little campy at certain moments which could come from it simply being a seventies film who knows?? I will make comments that certainly Heston's opinions about gun rights and advocacy shine through. He is almost never without his trusty WWII machine gun or a host of other weapons and it's made quite clear they are his survival. On top that of that the last scene in the film could be considered a near act of sacrilege as Heston dies crucifixion like passing his blood off to save the world. More Ego perhaps?? At one moment in the film a little girl asks Heston if he is God to which he doesn't respond. Some very, very interesting shots and film images to watch out for. I think there is absolutely some important messages buried beneath this film, plenty to critique and talk about and that makes it an intelligent film that is even...if not more so...relevant today. 7/10