The Omega Man
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- For the coin counterfeiter, see The Omega Man (counterfeiter).
The Omega Man is a 1971 science fiction thriller starring Charlton Heston. The movie is based on Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I am Legend. The screen play was written by John William and Joyce Corrington, and the movie was directed by Boris Sagal. It was filmed in technicolor with mono sound and ran for 98 minutes. The movie received a MPAA rating of PG in the U.S.
This film would later serve as part of Alex Garland's inspiration for the screen play of the 2002 movie 28 Days Later.
Plot
Colonel Robert Neville (Heston), was a researcher of biological weapons for the Army. As an apocalyptic war broke out between China and the USSR, waged with biological weapons, Neville inoculated himself with an experimental vaccine. The plague caused by the war has killed everyone else except for a few hundred evil albinos calling themselves "The Family". (In Matheson's book, these are actually vampires.) The plague has caused them to become sensitive to light, as well as homicidally psychotic.The Family is led by a zealot named Matthias (Anthony Zerbe) a former popular Los Angeles television newscaster. 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, living in a secure bunker-like home, using electricity, machinery, firearms and science attempts to hold them at bay.
In the second half of the film, Neville discovers an enclave of survivors who were somewhat resistant to the plague; although all are infected, their members stay normal until randomly succumbing to the plague and turning into one of the psychotic albino-mutants. Eventually, given enough time (years or so) they will all succumb to it. Neville realizes that a serum derived from his blood may be able to save them from succumbing to the disease. Neville has a brief relationship with one of the survivors, Lisa (Rosalind Cash), and has a final showdown battle with the nocturnals. The final scene shows the survivors departing in a vehicle after being handed a flask of blood by the dying Neville.
Popular culture appearnces
The film has been parodied on numerous occasions, including a Halloween special of The Simpsons ("Treehouse of Horror VIII"), and an episode of Recess."Omega Man" was also the title of songs by The Police, Fred Falke, and also the Bee Gees.
A sample from the movie was used in the Choking Victim song "Death Song", from the Squatta's Paradise 7".
External links
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