Somehow immune to an unstoppable, incurable virus, military virologist robert neville smith is now the last human survivor in new york city and maybe the world. Off the back of the huge success of i am legend back in 2007, warner bros was keen to develop either a prequel or. But when it comes down to it, is the book really better than the movie. Movie talk i am legend coming summer 2007 will smith while i dont mind a main character sacrificing themselves to save others, its never really fun to watch for the most part. This is the book that, to my mind, created the modern vampirezombie genre of horror. Or perhaps the film simply doesnt have the same nuances as the richard matheson book on which its based. So i just finished i am legend by richard matheson. He is perhaps best known for i am legend, a novel that was translated to the silver screen twiceonce starring charlton heston, and once starring will smith. While i am legend, the latest in a series of film versions of a novel by richard matheson, fits comfortably within the conventions of the. I am legend is a 2007 american postapocalyptic thriller film based on the 1954 novel of the. Moritz, lorne orleans, erwin stoff, michael tadross, jeffrey wetzel, james. Plot summary for i am legend 2007, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. Neville then removed the serum from the females blood and wheeled her into the room with the alpha male and other. I am personally a huge fan of the book and the themes that book made in the time it came out.
I am legend is a novel by richard matheson in which robert neville struggles to survive as the sole remaining human in a world overrun by. He works to create a remedy while defending himself against the virus victims, who turn into hostile mutants. I am legend was released on bluray with an alternate theatrical cut with a different ending. The alternate ending to i am legend where they respect him and growl at him in an acknowledging way is odd and feels out of place. In the 1971 film he was portrayed by charlton heston and in the 2007 film he was portrayed by will smith. Neville draws a vial of her blood and gives it to anna, before shutting ethan and her inside a coal chute in the back of the lab. This man, our protagonist in both the book and film, is robert neville. Will smiths 2007 box office hit i am legend had an ending that divided audiences, but an alternate ending exists that does more justice to the book. As for tv, well, chances are that every single twilight zone episode you ever loved was written either by richard matheson or rod serling himself with matheson getting the. 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. I am legend alternate ending behind the scenes warner. Bruce berman, akiva goldsman, david heyman, neal h. So i liked the alternate ending mainly because i liked the nevelle character and wanted to see him get the chance to be happy again.
Advertisement autoplay when autoplay is enabled, a suggested video will automatically play next. A ninepart abridged reading of the novel performed by angus macinnes was originally broadcast on bbc radio 7 in january 2006 and repeated in january 2018. Now the movie is a different story that is quite good right up until the 3rd act. Its as if the screenwriters or director, or producer ran out of ways to wrap it up. Richard matheson 192620 was a prolific speculative fiction author and screenwriter who wrote novels, short stories, movie screenplays, and scripts for television. The 2007 loose film adaptation and only one to bear the name of richard mathesons novel i am legend. I am legend was released on december 14, 2007, in the united states and canada, and opened to the largest ever box office not adjusted for inflation for a nonchristmas film released in the u. Many people hated this ending, so a version with the alternate ending was released on limited edition dvd sets and the bluray version. I am legend mass market paperback october 30, 2007. I am a dog lover and do not like to see them hurt in movies. Maybe the grimmest ending of any book if the only version of i am legend you have heard of is the will fresh prince smith film version you are in for a treat. The character has the same name in both the book and the movie. By day, he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the.
Will smith plays virologist robert neville, who is immune to a manmade virus originally created to cure cancer. He then takes a grenade and kills the darkseekers and himself, saving the cure. I have gone through a similar question to mine, but in that question they are talking about the ending of the book while my friend is sure that he had watched the movie where. It completes the storys arc from robert neville being portrayed as the sole surviving hero in a world of evil, to the revelation that hes actually the.
Ending spoiler for i am legend 2007, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. Darkseekers are vampires in the 2007 film adaption, i am legend. It is the kind of ending where you just know the writers didnt have any idea how to end the movie, so they filmed a couple of different endings, and this is the one that stuck, probably because it is the more traditional action movie ending. I am legend internet movie firearms database guns in. While those infected with kv who survive it develop primal behaviour upon succumbing to the virus and becoming a darkseeker, they do retain enough of their higher intelligence to build and copy. The infected people attack nevilles lab and he hands over the infected female hes been working on to the leader a.
Francis lawrences i am legend is a 2007 sciencefiction thrillerdrama starring will smith as the lone survivor of a devastating virus that has wiped out 90% of the population of humanity. Neville realized that the captured female was the daughter of the alpha male darkseeker, and he wanted his daughter back. Robert neville is the main protagonist of richard mathesons 1954 novel i am legend, he 1971 film adaptation the omega man, and the 2007 film adaptation of the same name. Every other man, woman, and child on earth has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for nevilles blood. Its a short story so i guess the author wanted to add some bulk to the book.
It spoke to me about being an outsider and feeling completely out of place, as was the protagonist, who was played by vincent price in the 1964 movie version, the last man on earth, by charlton heston in 1971 movie version, the omega man, and, finally, by will smith in the 2007 movie version, i am legend. With will smith, alice braga, charlie tahan, salli richardsonwhitfield. Jan 14, 2007 but the current version of i am legend nonetheless had a long road to the screen. I am legend is a 1954 postapocalyptic horror novel by american writer richard matheson. The end of i am legend in its officially released version depicts neville. An unrelated film tiein was released in 2007 as a oneshot i am legend.
Oct 30, 2007 i am legend is very short, not novel length, only 159 pages long, out of the 312 pages in the book. What song plays during the end credits of the theatrical version. Differences between i am legend book vs movie page 1. I though the book was effectively i am legend and other short stories by richard matheeson. How i am legends ending is different in the book screen rant. The first time was in 1964 with the last man on earth featuring vincent price, and then in 1971 with the omega man with charlton heston. Taking care of the movies first, the best adaptation of this 1954 novel was 1971s the omega man. I am legend coming summer 2007 will smith page 17 dvd. Lesser films were the last man on earth 1964 and i am legend 2007.
This was actually the third time it had been made into a movie. Richard mathesons i am legend is a masterpiece of horror that has spawned three film. I am legend, directed by francis lawrence, is the latest adaptation of richard mathesons 1954 novel of the same name, following two earlier versions the last man on earth 1964 and the omega. Many people prefer the alternate ending over the theatrical ending, believing it gives the plot a moral, and more meaning to the title by having neville doing something legendary. I decided that years ago as a kid when i saw old yeller. I am legend 2007 alternate ending as discussed by first showing and film, the alternate ending for i am legend is a better representation of the source material. But i went into reading i am legend knowing the ending, knowing the twist. Still, you cant fault i am legend for trying to be different from the typical action thriller. Warner brothers has owned the rights to the book since 1970, and first decided to revive the project in 1994. Published in 1954, acclaimed author richard mathesons novel i am legend is one of the most highly regarded works of. The opening scenes of i am legend have special effects so good that they just about compensate for some later special effects that are dicey. I did have one moment of feminist anguish about his attitude, but by the end of the book, i felt that this insight. I am legend 2007 the basics hopefully all of you know the basic story behind i am legend.
The novel was a success and was adapted into the films the last man on earth 1964, the omega man 1971, and i am. Theres a strong argument to be made that i am legends alternate ending, in skewing closer to the ending of the book, is better than the version that ended up in theaters. This film is actually the third adaptation of richard mathesons novel of the same name from 1954. Awakening published in a san diego comiccon special by vertigo. The streets are overgrown with weeds, cars are abandoned, the infrastructure is beginning to collapse. For one, while robert neville in the book is far from an expert on the. I have never liked the ending to either film, but the ending of i am legend particularly bothers me. Neville spends his days with his dog, gathering food, hunting, watching dvds. The story stops annoyingly suddenly, as if the rest of it has been missed off. Neville, a virologist employed to the united states military, is the last noninfected human. The film, i am legend is a postapocalyptic science fiction film directed by francis lawrence and starring will smith. In the omega man heston was trying to kill the creatures, he would hunt them by day. I am watching i am legend second version tonite, with nikki. The alpha male is the main antagonist of the 2007 live action film, i am legend, which is based on the 1954 postapocalyptic novel of the same name by the late richard matheson.
The ending to the alternate theatrical version varies from the original ending. Instead of blowing himself and the hemocytes up with a grenade, neville. Sep 01, 2009 in 1954 richard matheson published i am legend, and since its original run it has been adapted for film a total of four times. Jun 04, 2011 but when it comes down to it, is the book really better than the movie. Instead of blowing himself and the hemocytes up with a grenade, neville discovers that the hemocytes actually came for the female he captured earlier in the movie. Mar 25, 2008 therefor the alternative version stays closer to the book than the theatrical cut. The normally cold and wet time for us in the southland befits this months duo post of something a little bleak. She tells him that he cant fight them, there are too many of them, and gives him a packet of pills to make the end easier. Whats the difference between i am legend the book and i am legend the movie. Right now, cross between no money and no wall space. Will smiths 2007 box office hit i am legend had an ending that. Richard matheson, author, robertson dean, read by, read by robertson dean. I am legend is the 2007 science fiction action film directed by francis lawrence and stars will smith as robert neville, a us army doctor who struggles to find a cure to the virus that has affected nearly the entire population of the world. In the 2007 film adaptation, he was portrayed by dash mihok.
My living room walls are filled with shelves of books, dvds, videos, lions, giraffes, and plants. Dec 14, 2017 i am legend ending explained by ricky derisz dec. The last man on earth 1964, the omega man 1971, i am legend 2007. Darkseekers in the 2007 film, the infected are called darkseekers, they are nocturnal and burned by sunlight, but are more akin to the modern depiction of zombies than vampires. I am legend is a 2007 american postapocalyptic thriller film based on the 1954 novel of the same name by richard matheson. Therefor the alternative version stays closer to the book than the theatrical cut. Published in 1954, acclaimed author richard mathesons novel i am legend is one of the most highly regarded works of apocalyptic fiction to date. Nov 19, 2012 somehow immune to an unstoppable, incurable virus, military virologist robert neville smith is now the last human survivor in new york city and maybe the world. Nov 18, 2007 i am legend changes ending november 18, 2007 november 18, 2007 john campea 25 comments apparently the new postapocalyptic will smith film i am legend had to get snapped back into production to redo the ending. I am legend is the 2007 film adaptation of richard mathesons 1954 novel of the same name, starring will smith and a bunch of cg zombie things called dark seekers. Joanna numata, dash mihok, will smith, alice braga, charlie tahan director.
It had several short stories at the end that were unrelated to the original book. Robert neville, possibly the last man alive on earth after a viral outbreak has either killed most of the human population or turned them into a zombie like creature that keeps to the shadows and darkness. Will ferrell hilarious and epic bloopers, gags and outtakes compilation duration. It was influential in the development of the zombievampire genre and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease.
The rest of the book is a collection of short horror stories and not very good ones either. I think its just a collection of short stories with the headliner being the most famous. I didnt seem to get that from this version, he was just trying to cure them. I am legend is a dystopian story very loosely based upon a book of the same name. This version of neville is nowhere in mathesons book. Living alone in new york city, robert neville smith, a former lieutenant and us army virologist, tasks himself with finding a cure to the plague. Originally slated to star arnold schwarzenegger and be directed by ridley scott, this movie has kicked around for so long that by the time it has finally reached the screen, schwarzenegger is out of the business altogether and the director is someone whose career in music. The scottlogan version of i am legend was a mix of scifi and psychological thriller, without.
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. As ive reached a milestone this week, february has finally begun to act likewell, february. Richard mathesons novel i am legend was filmed for the third time with will smith in 2007. I am legend, the third cinematic adaptation of richard mathesons novel, has been in development for a very long time.
Differences between i am legend book vs movie page 2. We see manhattan three years after a deadly virus has killed every healthy human on the island, except one. The first time was in 1964 with the last man on earth featuring vincent price, and then in 1971. 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. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn. He relieves her of the cure and returns her to the hemocytes. Now for those who dont know they changed the ending for the movie from the book s original ending due to how unpopular it was received in test screenings, so it was.
Also, as in 2007s i am legend, the end of the novel is changed drastically. Neville sacrificed himself for humanity and that because of his cure humanity was able to rebuild, establishing his legend. I am legend 1010 movie clip alternate ending 2007 hd. Advertisement autoplay when autoplay is enabled, a. Years ago, you see, my husband had wanted to talk about the book, probably when the most recent adaptation to movie form had come out, and i am well known for not reading horror, so it wasnt an unreasonable assumption that i would never read this. I am legend is about a zombielike horde wiping out much of humanity, but its confusing ending becomes clear if you understand the personal journey of its hero. This is an alternate theatrical version of the film with a controversial ending. Earlier versions were the last man on earth with vincent price and the omega man with charlton heston. I am legend film analysis essay 1227 words bartleby. Oct 24, 2007 the i am legend trailer treats us to a day in the life of dr.