Blogger adam katz sent me the link because of the book vs. 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. I have never liked the ending to either film, but the ending of i am legend particularly bothers me. I picked it up mostly because i read about the alternate ending of the will smith movie, which some criticized for not following the spirit of the book. This version of i am legend is the third movie adaptation of mathesons novel. In this novel, the protagonist, robert neville, is seemingly the only survivor of a plague that has converted the rest of humanity to vampires. He stood there for a moment looking around the silent room, shaking his head slowly. Legend is told from the perspective of two leading characters. Marc ian barasch, coleman barks, jim carrey, et al. The year is 1976one year after a deadly plague sweeps the world, killing virtually all human beings.
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. Differences between i am legend book vs movie page 1. Personally i like the book s ending better, it suits the title as the infected have actually started a new civilization, and neville becomes the monster because he would go around town during the day killing all the sleeping infected. 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 i am legend is a scifi movie based on a brilliant military scientist, robert neville, whom becomes the last man on earth. As such, its no surprise that the book has been adapted for the big screen, in this case three. It is the measure by which all other postapocalypse novels are compared. Like many book to film conversions, the screenplay differed from the book. Ending spoiler for i am legend 2007, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. 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. Anyway, its enough to distract you from the december all around. The character has the same name in both the book and the movie. The books characters realization of their perspective is the whole point of the book.
It is the third film adaptation of richard mathesons novel i am legend 1954, following the last man on earth 1964 and the omega man 1971. I though the book was effectively i am legend and other short stories by richard matheeson. I am legend zombies arent zombies, they have a culture and hierarchy, which zombies do not. 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. I am legends alternate ending wrapped things up way. I am legend is a post apocalyptic vision by richard matheson, created in 1954 it tells the story of robert neville, the last surviving human in the world, surrounded by bloodthirsty vampires both living and undead. On a morning in january 1976, a man named robert neville walks around his house, carefully checking to see if its wellfortified. I am a huge richard matheson fan and have read i am legend twice.
What did the healing zombie in the basement have to do with it. Jul 04, 20 i assume you are referring to the 2007 film starring will smith and the controversial original ending special feature on the dvd release. The book s characters realization of their perspective is the whole point of the book. The most wanted criminal in this society is fifteenyearold day, a homeless boy who steals to survive and to help the poor, and undermines the republics war effort against the colonies through vandalism. I am legend i am legend 2 movies books exclusive akiva goldsman. The reason that a stake kills the vampire is that the stake lets air into the body and keeps the flesh open so that the body glue cant function. The ending to the alternate theatrical version varies from the original ending. Theres lessons to be learned about mob behavior and respect for minorities. January, 1976 i am legend opens with robert neville inspecting his house on a cloudy day. This alternate ending to i am legend is imho far superior to the abrupt version in the theatrical release, and fits in better with something that happens in the film about midway through. Jun 04, 2011 but when it comes down to it, is the book really better than the movie. Hes been in new york for a few years now since the break out, ample time to scavenge any radio broadcast stations for equipment and probably cannibalize them at his home. But i went into reading i am legend knowing the ending, knowing the twist.
Films like children of men, the host, the descent and the bevy of clever monster movies on the horizon are taking a notoriously lowbrow genre highbrow, moving past the era of resident evils into a realm of dystopian films that rope in and enthrall mainstream audiences. It was influential in the development of the zombievampire genre and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. Day, a renegade from the streets, and june, an elite student at drake university and the republics shining prodigy. Putting all of that in a movie might not be possible or might not make a good movie, but the alternate ending for this one goes just about as far as it could in one scene. I am legend movie conclusion the movie as well as the novel are both extremely captivating, and although they are based off of the same thing they are extremely different from one another video what are the key elements that stand out and separate both. Differences between i am legend book vs movie page 2.
Yesterday, some intrepid soul posted an alternate i am legend ending to youtube. Day lives with his friend tess in the poor lake sector. The opening act is too magnificent for the terrible ending to wreck it. The novel was a success and was adapted into the films the last man on earth 1964, the omega man 1971, and i am. I think its just a collection of short stories with the headliner being the most famous. January, 1976 i am legend opens with robert neville inspecting his house on a. I am legend zombies vs walking dead zombies offtopic.
I am legend alternate ending behind the scenes warner. I still remember the exact moment i started and finished this book nearly 10 years ago. The ending of it explained by amanda june bell sept. In particular, the ending was changed for this version. With the upcoming movie, which will most likely be a huge departure from the book, i wouldnt like anyone drawing misguided comparisons to an amazing novel written before will smith and most of his fans were born.
So i just finished i am legend by richard matheson. The story stops annoyingly suddenly, as if the rest of it has been missed off. At the beginning of the novel, we learn of roberts daily struggles to repel the. He becomes the last man on earth because of a manmade untreatable virus which turns people into flesh eating zombies. Now for a topic thats neither divisive nor prone to eliciting irrational anger and awkward discomfort. My thoughts on i am legend, both with the 1954 book written by richard matheson and the 2007 film directed by francis lawrence. Film column i did on the source material and the four films loosely inspired by it. In many ways, the ending to night of the living dead is thematically more of matheson had in mind that the films which credit his novel. I know that hollywood often likes to sugarcoat stories as audiences often react badly to pessimism e. The novel i am legend 1954, written by american author richard matheson, was adapted for the movie by screenwriters akiva goldsman and mark protosevich.
Youtube has the ending of the movie i am legend, as it was originally planned. If he had been more analytical, he might have calculated the approximate time of their arrival. Nov 08, 2009 the elder scrolls online all cinematic trailers 2020 includes the dark heart of skyrim duration. It was based on a book on the same name which was released in the 50s. That or just set up a power source at a radio station and set it to broadcast. All the completely insane ideas hollywood dreamed up for i am legend 2.
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. I am legend is atypical for the horror genre in that the monsters take a back seat to the psychological horror of the protagonist. I am legend isnt particularly long either, hardly even novel length. The rest of the book is a collection of short horror stories and not very good ones either.
While roberts isolation becomes the core issue of the novel, it would be foolish to forget that subhuman creatures hunt neville on a nightly basis. All the completely insane ideas hollywood dreamed up for i. Furthermore, the final line suggests that human societyof which neville was the last representativeis now fading into the past. I am legend s controversial ending sees neville, anna and ethan still alive and leaving new york city together. As they head to vermont in the hopes of finding that survivors colony. The two earlier films are the last man on earth 1964 and the omega man 1971. Dec 14, 2017 i am legend ending explained by ricky derisz dec.
The book ends with june and day together, running from the law and planning to go to the waterfront to pick up eden before crossing the border and going into colonies territory, which signifies a fresh. The 2007 film was partially based on the 1971 film as well as the original source. So as the vampires were a legend in our civilization, he became a legend. Although many people werent huge fans of it, i really enjoyed will smiths i am legend when it was released two years ago. Aug 04, 2016 i am legend is a classic horror story. Roberts mission is to destroy the others before they can infect him. All these books, he thought, the residue of a planets intellect, the scrapings of futile minds, the leftovers, the potpourri of artifacts that had no power to save men from perishing. 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.
The road is a great movie, and very faithful to the book, despite the incredibly depressing, bleak, and hopeless atmosphere and ending. Immediately download the i am legend summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching i am legend. This film is actually the third adaptation of richard mathesons novel of the same name from 1954. 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. Though he has lost his fear of the vampires, these are afraid of him and want him dead. In the beginning, hes watching his family from afar they think hes dead and he sees that his. 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 vampires robert neville is the only. The stakes dont have to penetrate the heart, contrary to legend. Published in 1954, acclaimed author richard mathesons novel i am legend is one of the most highly regarded works of apocalyptic fiction to date.
This man, our protagonist in both the book and film, is robert neville. 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. At one point in the movie when will smiths character took the lead zombies mate away from them, the zombie reacted with extreme rage, indicating that. The book ends with june and day together, running from the law and planning to go to the waterfront to pick up eden before crossing the border and going into colonies territory, which signifies a fresh start for all the characters.
The movie stars will smith as virologist robert neville, the apparent sole uninfected survivor in a postapocalyptic version of new york city where most people are dead, and. I am legend 2007 is an american postapocalyptic science fiction horror film directed by francis lawrence and starring will smith. The film, i am legend is a postapocalyptic science fiction film directed by francis lawrence and starring will smith. Not only does the book end in a similar way, but it in fact was the entire freaking point of the book. The original book that led to the movies last man on earth, the omega man and i am legend and have i missed any. 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 complex traps they have. Such an ending probably is not digestible to mainstream america. I am legend film analysis essay 1227 words bartleby. January 1976 chapter one on those cloudy days, robert neville was never sure when sunset came, and sometimes they were in the streets before he could get back. A wellmade horrorscifi flick is often, sadly, the exception.
One of my favorite books in my early teens was the giver by lois lowry. The controversial original ending where neville finds out that the infected are, in fact, organised, b. The final book is called champion, so we just have to hope that this means that day and june will win out at the end. As popcorn movies go, this one has enough of the good in it to make it watchable, and enough of the bad to make it disposable. Thats where the title i am legend came from, nevilles realization at the end that the vampires were the good guys and that he was the monster of their legends, since he had been mindlessly driving stakes through their heart at every.
There are two camps when it comes to discussing the issue of race in mathesons book. For more thoughts on i am legend, the book and the films based on it, head over. The movie took all the intelligence out and just made it about the action. Darkseekers are vampires in the 2007 film adaption, i am legend. Francis lawrences 2007 film i am legend had not one but two endings, and while both are different from what happens in the original novel by richard matheson, the alternate ending not shown in theaters is a lot closer. In the end, he confirms that he is the last man of his race, and at his death, he will be a legend, as vampires are now. I am legend summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes.
In this postapocalyptic world of vampires, robert neville, as the only human who survives the plague, spends his lonely, monotonous days destroying the undead and endures nights of torment and near madness. And the dock is the most logical place for people to come to given the safety of the sea. He relieves her of the cure and returns her to the hemocytes. I am legend is a 1954 postapocalyptic horror novel by american writer richard matheson. 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. I am legend is a 2007 american postapocalyptic thriller film based on the 1954 novel of the same name by richard matheson. I am legend is a classic and written by a master of the horror genre. Alternate i am legend ending is far superior screen rant. I am legend watch i am legend online free 2007 putlocker. He checks the planks and boards that hes hammered in front of all the windows, and. After their deaths, the worlds human beings rise from the grave and become vampires.
Day is a criminal on the run for stealing from the republic and making the government look foolish. I was sitting shotgun while my father drove us home from a vacation in michigan. The first says, man, its just a badass vampire book. Sep 06, 2012 last night i finished reading i am legend. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in i am legend, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. I assume you are referring to the 2007 film starring will smith and the controversial original ending special feature on the dvd release. Right, i just saw i am legend, and dont get the end. 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. I am legend is brilliant commentary and society and human relationships and, really, the very definition of humanity.
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