I am legend is based on a 1954 richard matheson scifi novel of the same name. Oct 24, 20 richard mathesons i am legend is a masterpiece of horror that has spawned three film adaptations, none of which have quite captured the essence of what makes this book so great. Three adaptations of i am legend one of the best books i read in 2018 was the scifihorror classic i am legend by richard matheson. Director francis lawrence and will smith bring a striking visual style and a sympathetic and likable lead character. The last man on earth suffers from a crippling dullness, although to its credit is the only of the film adaptations of i am legend that follows the novel, especially when it comes to retaining the idea of the. The last man on earth, starring vincent price, the omega man, starring charlton heston, and i am legend, starring will smith. I am legend took on a new significance in 2011 with the outbreak of h1n1 in 2011, fuelling conspiracy theories and providing teachers like me with great material for the classroom. Richard mathesons 1954 novel i am legend has spawned a series of iconic horror and science fiction films, including the last man on earth 1964, the omega man 1971 and i am legend 2007. Now with pandemicrelated fears and anxieties all around the world, many are turning. The less said about world war z, the better, but when it comes to i am legend, i do feel that people are going to encounter the movie which was a. Robert morgan neville in the book, the seemingly lone human survivor of a deadly outbreak that decimated the world. Race and masculinity in the novel and its film adaptations. I am legend is, at its core, a surprisingly sophisticatedbut grimrumination on faith and sacrifice.
Given the common titles of the novel and the most recent film adaptation, the film is hereafter referred to as i am legend 07 for clarity. I am legend, city of god, jurassic park its a good time to discover which books work well on. Richard mathesons i am legend is a masterpiece of horror that has spawned three film adaptations, none of which have quite captured the essence of what makes this book so great. The focus of todays article will be on the will smith adaptation. The omega man was the second adaptation of a novel by richard matheson called i am legend. The 2007 version i am legend proved to be a lot more successful, both financially and critically, winning numerous awards. The rest of the book is a collection of short horror stories and not very good ones either. All of my issues with the film stem from the fact that film was not a true representation of what the books message was. There have been others, i ll try to make note of them going forward. Matheson himself wrote a script for an adaptation of the book, entitled the night creatures, which is available as richard matheson, the night creatures screenplay for an adaptation of i am legend in visions deferred.
While using the title of richard mathesons novel suggested that it would be a more faithful adaptation than previous versions 1964s the last man on earth and 1971s the omega man changing the creatures completely altered the. Dec 07, 2007 richard mathesons 1954 novel i am legend has been adapted into films before, most notably 1971s the omega man, with charlton heston. One could always argue for other interpretations, but this is a wellconsidered take on mathesons work. Movie adaptations that were nothing like the book simplemost. The book has inspired at least two other films, the last man on earth starring vincent price and the omega man starring charlton heston. Every other man, woman, and child has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for nevilles blood. The story stops annoyingly suddenly, as if the rest of it has been missed off. There was very little semblance of the film in the book, and honestly thats a good thing. Dick, robert heinlein and kurt vonnegut, alfred bester and the.
Mar 28, 2020 i am preaching tomorrow on the topic, it is not good for man to be alone gen 2. While there have been three adaptations of richard mathesons classic novel i am legend none of the scripts have followed the novel. I am omega steals a few things from previous legend adaptations. I am legend 2007 19th january 2008 29th january 2020. May 23, 2018 i am legend has officially been officially adapted for the screen on three occasions since it was published as well as one unofficial adaptation and the countless pieces of fiction, comics, and film that were influenced by mathesons apocalyptic vision. The ending of i am legend is predictable and fits too well into the typical hollywood ending. I am legend has been adapted into a featurelength film three times, as well as into a directtovideo feature film called i am omega. Mar 25, 2015 this feature is not available right now. Three film adaptations have been made of mathesons legendary novel. The opposite is true, actually, because i am legend is mathesons condemnation of a white power structure that facilitated racial subjugation in america in the first place. I am preaching tomorrow on the topic, it is not good for man to be alone gen 2. The novel was a success and was adapted into the films the last man on earth 1964, the omega man 1971, and i am legend 2007. Richard mathesons classic novel i am legend would go on to inspire the entire postapocalyptic subgenre for decades to come, and theres a reason the story kept getting adapted.
I am legend 2007 by djmoody november 27, 2016 november 27, 2016 recommendations you might remember that a couple of months ago i started looking back at richard mathesons landmark novel, i am legend, and the various film adaptations which have followed. I start by taking a look first at the original 1954 novel, and then trace its interpretative journey, through the 1965, 1971 and 2007, movie adaptations this is of course a period which covers more than a considerable segment of the boomer generation years. To which another chimed in i am legend has vampires. Oct 14, 2011 the ending of i am legend is predictable and fits too well into the typical hollywood ending. My hopes are that if a forth adaptation is made, it will combine the greatness of smiths portrayal, the direction of francis lawrence, and the well written isolation scenes with the much better ending of mathesons novella. It was like one big hollywood exec had proclaimed we have made this movie about feralzombievampire people, and to raise sales we should name it after a book.
Pdf i am legend as american myth race and masculinity in. The compelling narrative of the last man on earth, struggling to survive a pandemic that has transformed the rest of humanity into monsters, has become an american myth. I am legend is a 1954 horror fiction novel by american writer richard matheson. Every other man, woman, and child has become a vampire. I am legends biggest change from the book broke the movie. Robert neville is an average, casually but not completely racist white american. The last man on earth 1964this is without a doubt the very best screen adaptation of richard mathesons source material, i am legend. Richard mathesons i am legend is a masterpiece of horror that has spawned three film adaptations, none of which have quite captured the essence of what makes this. I am legend novel project gutenberg selfpublishing. Rather than doing something new with the idea, this film merely combines. The first was the last man on earth 1964 which starred vincent price. I had always wondered why the more recent adaptation had proved more. It also might just be my personal favorite vincent price film.
The i am legend community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. None of the three films have ever done the novel true justice. How i am legend film adaptations miss the point dark. Directed by francis lawrence, the film stars will smith as us army virologist robert neville set in new york city after a virus, which was originally created to cure cancer, has wiped out most of mankind, leaving neville as the last human in new york, other than. Robert is something of a christlike figure, whose work to save the citys mutants lasts three years and requires, literally, an outpouring of his own blood and the sacrifice of his own life. Out of the three adaptations of richard mathesons truly amazing tale of the last man on earth who survives only on routine and habit in a world where vampires rule the night, this. Differing from the book, each of them portrays the neville character as an accomplished scientist. I am legend is very short, not novel length, only 159 pages long, out of the 312 pages in the book. Published in 1954, there have to date been three cinematic adaptations that are probably as different as any three films about the same story could be.
Til that the book i am legend has had three movie adaptations. One such by author richard matheson is i am legend, a tale of monstrous survival and the survival of monsters. Sep 01, 2009 both adaptations before this point have been completely different from each other, and this is i am legends downfall. It was influential in the development of the zombie genre and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. With will smith, alice braga, charlie tahan, salli richardsonwhitfield. Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in new york city struggles valiantly to find a cure in this postapocalyptic action thriller. While im the first to admit i can be a bit snobby when it comes to adaptations of books into media, books involving zombies and vampires are the ones that drive me the most demented when made. And what did richard matheson think of the movie adaptations. It was influential in the development of the zombie genre of fiction, and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease.
The successes and failures in adapting i am legend film. One source novel, three very different adaptations four if you count the mockbuster. The successes and failures in adapting i am legend film inquiry. The omega man 1971, the last man on earth 1964, and i am legend 2007. In fact, the first two cinematic adaptations of richard mathesons sinister examination of what being the last man on earth in a postapocalyptic. Filmed on a limited budget, the last man on earth was shot in italy with a predominantly italian cast and crew. For instance, at one point, protagonist mark dacascos who isnt a neville. I am legend by richard matheson 1954 for some reason, author richard mathesons classic scifihorror novel i am legend is a magnet for loose adaptations. In the book, the protagonist turns out to actually be the legend, as opposed to the vampires of myth. The original book that led to the movies last man on earth, the omega man and i am legend and have i missed any. I am legend from richard matheson, to vincent price, charlton. It is the third featurefilm adaptation of richard mathesons 1954 novel i am legend, following 1964s the last man on earth and 1971s the omega man.
I am legend is a 1954 postapocalyptic horror novel by american writer richard matheson that was influential in the modern development of zombie and vampire literature and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. I am legend from richard matheson, to vincent price. A trailer project for english class based on the book i am legend by richard matheson. I have decided to use robert neville from i am legend as the starting point. The novel received three wellknown adaptations with big stars such as vincent price in the first adaptation the last man on earth, charlton heston in the second adaptation the omega man and will smith in the third, i am legend. The three adaptations show him finding a remedy and passing it on.
I am legend, city of god, jurassic park its a good. The novel was a success and was adapted to film as the last man on earth in 1964, as the omega man in 1971, and as i am legend in 2007, along with a directtovideo 2007. I am legend takes full advantage of having great source material to draw from and two prior film adaptations to learn what worked and what didnt. But this graphic novel version of the story is essentially the original story with pictures. I know that hollywood often likes to sugarcoat stories as audiences often react badly to pessimism e. Apr 01, 2020 the omega man was the second adaptation of a novel by richard matheson called i am legend. Mar 31, 2020 one source novel, three very different adaptations four if you count the mockbuster. Apr 10, 2020 i am legend april 10, 2020 kai viola adaptations, atoz2020, atozchallenge, books, drama, horror, movies, notable and noteworthy, scifi 0 reading time. The book has also been adapted into a comic book miniseries titled richard mathesons i am legend by steve niles and elman brown. Apr 04, 2020 here are my favourite adaptations this article is more than 1 month old. The screenplay was written in part by matheson, but he was dissatisfied. In i am legend, a plague has decimated the world, and those unfortunate enough to survive are transformed into bloodthirsty creatures of the night.
Yes, i understand that in adaptations things must change, and that a film audience is often a much different audience than a storys readership, but this one just deviated too far for me. Matheson wrote it in 1954, years before he became famous as one of the creative forces behind the twilight zone. Richard mathesons 1954 novel i am legend has been adapted into films before, most notably 1971s the omega man, with charlton heston. I am legend is a 2007 american postapocalyptic thriller film based on the 1954 novel of the same name by richard matheson. I first read i am legend, by richard matheson, when i was in my late teens and i thought it was brilliant.
I am legend has officially been officially adapted for the screen on three occasions since it was published as well as one unofficial adaptation and the countless pieces of fiction, comics, and film that were influenced by mathesons apocalyptic vision. How i am legend film adaptations miss the point dark worlds. The novel was a success and was adapted to film as the last man on earth in 1964, as the omega man in 1971, and as i am legend in 2007, along with a directtovideo 2007 production. I am legend 2007 david moody author of autumn and hater. Despite the books popularity in hollywood, neither those first two adaptations nor this most recent one have been completely faithful to mathesons novel. Not one of the three adaptations is a perfect translation of the text but each has. Oct 30, 2007 i am legend is very short, not novel length, only 159 pages long, out of the 312 pages in the book. With any pagetoscreen adaptation, some onscreen elements keep with the source material, while others fail to. Both adaptations before this point have been completely different from each other, and this is i am legends downfall. Pride and prejudice by jane austen which i ve read and am going to plug the lizzie bennet diaries. Here are my favourite adaptations this article is more than 1 month old. Lastly, there is great debate surrounding choices made to the various adaptations to each his own yall.