{"id":775,"date":"2008-04-27T21:37:50","date_gmt":"2008-04-28T02:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=775"},"modified":"2022-10-10T14:23:14","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T18:23:14","slug":"the-omega-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-omega-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlton Heston is the alpha and The Omega Man"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Now that’s a good intro: Robert Neville (Charlton Heston) cruises through an empty city with the top down. It’s eerie, but he seems happy, grooving to jazz from his onboard 8-track cassette deck. But suddenly! Screech! Ka-pow! He brakes, produces a machine gun and fires at a fleeting humanoid silhouette. A striking montage follows of a desolated, deserted city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heston was once known as a liberal, and here his character entertains an interracial romance (with afro-licious Rosalind Cash) no more common in movies now than it was in 1971. Unfortunately, it’s now impossible to take Heston seriously, thanks to Phil Hartman’s classic mockery on Saturday Night Live<\/em> and to Heston’s own Alzheimer’s-fueled descent into right-wing senility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, Heston’s oeuvre is dominated by dystopian sci-fi: Planet of the Apes<\/em>, The Omega Man<\/em>, and Soylent Green<\/em> form a trilogy of apocalyptic despair. Remakes of Apes<\/em> (by Tim Burton) and Omega<\/em> (Wil Smith’s I Am Legend<\/em>) made him nearly obsolete even before he died. Can a new Soylent Green<\/em> (which is, incidentally, much better than its reputation suggests) be far behind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Charlton
Shopping at the end of the world, like the zombies in Dawn of the Dead<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Compared to the bestial vampires that populate I Am Legend<\/em>, the creatures in The Omega Man<\/em> are an intelligent, religious cult. They don’t attack Neville with technology (like, say, shoot him) simply because they choose not to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for entertainment in a time before VHS, the last man alive on earth is stuck with whatever happened to be in the theaters at the time; he screens the concert film Woodstock<\/a><\/em> over and over. As for The Omega Man<\/em>‘s own music, the orchestral jazz pop score is not just outdated, but bizarrely inappropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crucifixion pose at the end is a bit much. I didn’t expect much subtlety, but that’s laying it on a bit thick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now that’s a good intro: Robert Neville (Charlton Heston) cruises through an empty city with the top down. It’s eerie, but he seems happy, grooving to jazz from his onboard 8-track cassette deck. But suddenly! Screech! Ka-pow! He brakes, produces a machine gun and fires at a fleeting humanoid silhouette. A striking montage follows of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,2],"tags":[1595,897,899,895,898,85,900,756],"class_list":["post-775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2-stars","category-movies","tag-1595","tag-charlton-heston","tag-i-am-legend","tag-omega-man","tag-rosalind-cash","tag-science-fiction","tag-vampires","tag-zombies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/omega-man-feature.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-cv","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3420,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/scorsese-woodstock\/","url_meta":{"origin":775,"position":0},"title":"Hey Man, It’s Your Trip: Michael Wedleigh’s Woodstock Documentary","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The classic feature documentary Woodstock captures the full experience of the near-mythical 1969 festival of the same name, from septic tanks to traffic jams to brown acid. It remains an important record of one of the most peaceful spontaneous gatherings in human history, not to mention the brief-lived spirit of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Woodstock","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/woodstock-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/woodstock-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/woodstock-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/woodstock-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/woodstock-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":689,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/as-you-like-it-2007\/","url_meta":{"origin":775,"position":1},"title":"All the world’s a stage in Kenneth Branagh’s As You Like It","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 12, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been a Kenneth Branagh fan ever since seeing the joyous trifle Much Ado About Nothing on a date with my first girlfriend in high school. 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Later, I enjoyed his down and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"As You Like It","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/as-you-like-it-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/as-you-like-it-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/as-you-like-it-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/as-you-like-it-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/as-you-like-it-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5769,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/william-friedkins-the-hunted\/","url_meta":{"origin":775,"position":2},"title":"William Friedkin’s The Hunted is solid but unsatisfying","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"September 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"After watching too many sloppily-made thrillers filling up space on Netflix (including Mercury Rising, Double Jeopardy, and Along Came a Spider), it's a relief the my next choice, The Hunted, is so solidly made. You really can't expect anything less from William Friedkin. So why is it so unsatisfying? First,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Benicio Del Toro and Tommy Lee Jones in The Hunted","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hunted.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hunted.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hunted.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hunted.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hunted.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2071,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/a-man-alone-babylon-a-d\/","url_meta":{"origin":775,"position":3},"title":"Vin Diesel is a Man Alone, in Babylon A.D.","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"December 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Vin Diesel has made something of a specialty in dystopian science fiction movies, possessed of astonishing visuals but horrifically bad scripts. I'm looking at you, Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick) Does he seek these kinds of projects out, or has he been typecast as a weary but action-ready\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/babylon-a-d.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/babylon-a-d.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/babylon-a-d.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/babylon-a-d.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/babylon-a-d.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5343,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-devils-1971-ken-russell-movie-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":775,"position":4},"title":"France burns with religious mania in Ken Russell’s The Devils","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Ken Russell's The Devils (1971) is a fictionalized account of the 17th-century Roman Catholic priest Urbain Grandier, tried and executed in Loudon, France. Questioning the authority of the Catholic Church is a controversial provocation at any time, but consider: if today, a sober movie like Spotlight (2015) is viewed as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Movies"","block_context":{"text":"Movies","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/main-menu\/movies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Devils","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/devils-1971-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/devils-1971-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/devils-1971-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/devils-1971-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/devils-1971-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1770,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":775,"position":5},"title":"Frank Miller’s The Spirit is the Insane and Unhinged Product of a Uniquely Obsessed Auteur Mind","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"At last, finally another entry to our hallowed pantheon of zero-star unholy cinema atrocities. Frank Miller's The Spirit is far more than just merely bad. Like the most infamous movie disaster of all, Ed Wood's Plan Nine From Outer Space), it veers wildly from stunning weirdness to unintentional hilarity, interspersed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "0 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"0 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/0-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Spirit","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/the-spirit-movie-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/the-spirit-movie-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/the-spirit-movie-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/the-spirit-movie-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/the-spirit-movie-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6223,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775\/revisions\/6223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}