Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Last Man on Earth Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 18, 2014

Note: This film is available in the bundle The Vincent Price Collection II.

Vincent Price’s career spanned everything from classic noir ( Laura) to somewhat questionable biographies (he played a rather unlikely Joseph Smith in Brigham Young in a film which always delighted this non-Mormon Utah native), but Price’s lasting legacy will probably always be the horror films he started making in the 1950s with the now iconic House of Wax 3D. Scream Factory, the horror themed imprint of Shout! Factory, gave Price fans a great Halloween present last year when they released The Vincent Price Collection, which included a gaggle of Price’s American International Pictures releases, often made in collaboration with Roger Corman. Scream is back now with a second volume just in time for this year’s Halloween festivities, casting a somewhat wider net that features some of Price’s horror themed outings for other production entities (as well as some AIP features). Once again generally strong technical merits and some fun supplements make this an enjoyable “treat” for horror fans.

It may have taken a while, but Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend finally lived up to its title. Little read and actually critically disparaged upon its release, Matheson’s now well known tale of a sole survivor of what is at its core a zombie apocalypse has served as fodder for several feature films, including 1964’s The Last Man on Earth (the other features are of course The Omega Man and I Am Legend). As notable as the cinematic adaptations are, it may be in the actual premise that Matheson added most to pop culture lore, for even the phrase “zombie apocalypse” could be seen as having its genesis in the idea behind Matheson’s story. This first big screen adaptation evidently had a somewhat troubled production history, with Matheson himself unhappy with some of the results, but it is in its own way probably the bleakest of three main film versions thus far (there’s a straight to video fourth, I Am Omega).

Perhaps due to Matheson’s own pretty vocal disparagements of the film, The Last Man on Earth has frequently been dismissed as an interesting misfire at best. But seen now through the lens of so many similar outings (including but not necessarily limited to the remakes), the film retains a rather tense edge, supported by a surprisingly understated performance by Price as Dr. Robert Morgan. Though there is controversy over who actually directed the film (Italian Ubaldo Ragona or American Sidney Salkow, the brother of Price’s agent), there’s a certain spareness to this version that perhaps plays more authentically than either the campy hyperbole of The Omega Man or the CGI laden wonderment of I Am Legend.

While there’s a very effective use of barren urban imagery (that somewhat resembles similar techniques used in Stanley Kramer’s zombie free apocalypse drama On the Beach), in other ways The Last Man on Earth tends to stumble, if only a bit. The film’s structure is weighed down by a second act given over largely to an extended flashback detailing the horrors of the plague and how it wiped out Morgan’s family. While this ostensibly gives dramatic heft to Morgan’s predicament, it’s too overblown for its own good and detours momentum rather than helping it grow. As with many Italian films of this period, it also appears that just about the entire film was post-looped. Fans of legendary films from Cinecitta will know the slightly surreal quality this technique tended to give pieces by such icons as Federico Fellini, but here the sometimes shoddy ADR work tends to undercut the visceral reality of what Morgan is supposedly going through.

In some ways, this film’s climax is the most interesting of the three big screen adaptations of Matheson’s source novel. While none of the three films can be cited for providing a happy ending exactly, The Last Man on Earth ups the ante (and the probably too obvious religious symbolism) by having Morgan face the marauding zombies (which Matheson described as vampires, by the way) as a putative Christ figure. The zombies may indeed “know not what they do” (a quote referenced rather shamelessly in the film’s closing moments), but that doesn’t alter (altar?) the fact that Morgan’s humanity means he’s also mortal.

The Last Man on Earth Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Last Man on Earth is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.34:1. Elements here show negligible but noticeable dirt and other minor damage, but overall the look here is extremely organic, with a natural looking grain field and a decently sharp, clear image. Blacks are nicely deep and solid looking, and gray scale is well modulated throughout the presentation, with very good to excellent contrast. There's some use of what looks like stock footage, especially in some establishing shots of the barren cityscape, and those elements are a good deal grainier and softer looking than the bulk of this presentation.

The Last Man on Earth Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Last Man on Earth's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track has no real inherent problems, other than a slightly flat, boxy ambience, but sync issues are rampant due to what was obviously less than rigorous ADR. Fidelity is very good to excellent, providing more than adequate support for the film's dialogue and rather nicely done score (by Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter). There are one or two very minor pops in quieter moments, but otherwise this is a problem free track.

The Last Man on Earth Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Richard Matheson Storyteller: The Last Man on Earth (1080i; 6:24) features Matheson discussing both his original novel and the film.


• Still Gallery (1080p; 5:35)


• Audio Commentary with Film Historian David Del Valle and Author Derek Botelho. This is fun if a bit too self conscious at times (do we really need to hear Del Valle impersonating Paul Lynde as the supposed star of the film?). Del Valle is the de facto moderator here, helping to guide a sometimes slightly hesitant Botelho through some interesting background information on Matheson, the original novel, and this film's shoot.

The Last Man on Earth Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Vincent Price is often accused of having been a Grade A Ham in many of his sixties outings, but he's relatively reserved here, aside from a few over the top moments. He anchors this film in a kind of dour, solitary way that makes this a rather effective rendition of Matheson's tale, despite the fact that Matheson himself may not have been entirely pleased with the outcome. Technical merits are very good to excellent, and The Last Man on Earth comes Recommended.