Differences between i am legend book vs movie page 3. I am legend is about a zombielike horde wiping out much of humanity, but its confusing ending and butterfly symbolism become a lot more clear if you understand the personal journey of its hero. I am legend is a dystopian story very loosely based upon a book of the same name. Or perhaps the film simply doesnt have the same nuances as the richard matheson book on which its based. 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. Close to the ending of the book, robert clearly changes his though process.
The ending is quite bleak, and sans the last man on earth, the two other films fail at the ending. Differing from the book, each of them portrays the neville character as an accomplished scientist. The book ends with june and day together, running from the law and. Film column i did on the source material and the four films loosely inspired by it. Richard mathesons i am legend is a masterpiece of horror that has spawned three.
Instead of thinking that he is protecting the only remains of the human race, which is himself, he understands that the world has moved on. There are two camps when it comes to discussing the issue of race in mathesons book. This was actually the third time it had been made into a movie. 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. I am legend has been adapted into a featurelength film three times, as well as into a directtovideo feature film called i am omega. 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. Thus, in the final line of the book which also serves as the book s title, neville accepts that he is a monster. Differences between i am legend book vs movie page 1. He stood there for a moment looking around the silent room, shaking his head slowly. In the original i am legend ending, robert neville discovers that he had captured the significant other of one of the vampires leaders. Still, you cant fault i am legend for trying to be different from the typical action thriller. He then realizes that his attempts to cure the monsters looked less like medical. Her brief outro completely ruins the darkly clever play of the book s original plot that neville is a legend, hated. The newest adaptation of stephen kings it has introduced yet another generation of kids to their worst nightmares.
Need help with chapter 1 in richard mathesons i am legend. Whats the difference between i am legend the book and i am legend the movie. The movie i am legend directed by francis lawrence is dystopian movie. He has become the legend, the monster that puts fear in those he thought were monsters. I am legend is about a zombielike horde wiping out much of humanity, but its confusing ending becomes clear if you. It is not made clear on the front of the book, or anywhere that this is a collection of short stories, not a novel. The three adaptations show him finding a remedy and passing it on. Now for a topic thats neither divisive nor prone to eliciting irrational anger and awkward discomfort. The story is very much darker and deeper than the will smith film of the same name. Another big part of the i am legend book thats never been adapted faithfully is its ending, which sees neville commit suicide rather than be.
Its a full, polished ending, with complete special effects intact, so im assuming it was ripped from the special features on the imminent dvd. Right, i just saw i am legend, and dont get the end. Neville sacrificed himself for humanity and that because of his cure humanity was able to rebuild, establishing his legend. We have an intriguing problem with comparing the book and film.
Rather then giving it the intelligence of the book, they ended it with some dumbed down ending for the masses, and no one who sees it could be satisfied by such a. Ending spoiler for i am legend 2007, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. What did the healing zombie in the basement have to do with it. I am legend dystopian movies always have a big change in the society. Then it goes into a story about a man winning a carnival game, then a women getting. Half way through the book just when it was getting somewhat interesting, i realized it was actually the ending of i am legend and the rest are all short horror stories, which are unfortunately quite awful. The book s characters realization of their perspective is the whole point of the book.
Twodisc dvd or bluray for those unaware, let me explain the concept of richard mathesons book to. During the beginning of the book, robert constantly tries finding a cure or a way to reverse. 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. The final chapter of the book takes places in an unfamiliar location, emphasizing the fact that neville is, both literally and metaphorically, out of. I am legend and the omega man end with a survivor, or survivors, wanting to be fully human again. Richard mathesons i am legend has been made into several movies, including the recent will smith movie, and the. Usually the book is really good and people will warn each other about the movie not being as good, but this is the total opposite. The movie took all the intelligence out and just made it about the action. Its as if the screenwriters or director, or producer ran out of ways to wrap it up. The ending of the film was also altered to portray neville as sacrificing his life to save humanity, rather than being. Robert neville finds himself alone after a hideous mutation turns humans into vampires. I am legend is a 1954 postapocalyptic horror novel by american writer richard matheson that.
A pivotal scifi horror novel gets the folio society treatment. Not only does the book end in a similar way, but it in fact was the entire freaking point of the book. 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. I am legend changed the vampires of the novel to the mindless darkseekers, a big change that made the original ending not work at all. 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. The infected people attack nevilles lab and he hands over the infected female hes been working on to the leader a. The book is full of good ideas, every other one of which is immediately dropped and kicked out of sight. Vampires have inherited the earth in richard mathesons i am legend. But if you have only seen that will smith movie that went 180 degrees on the book s message, the soulcrushing impact of. I am legend is brilliant commentary and society and human relationships and, really, the very definition of humanity. I am legend read online free from your pc or mobile. The i am legend dvd with this alternate ending included is now available to buy on. Youtube has the ending of the movie i am legend, as it was originally planned.
I am legend 1010 movie clip alternate ending 2007 hd. Every night, he barricades himself inside his house and keeps the vampire horde at bay. I am legend originally had an ending closer to the books, but that was changed after negative reactions from test audiences. Unlike neville, they had no immunity to the virus and subsequently became creatures previously known only in.
The books characters realization of their perspective is the whole point of the book. This is the book that, to my mind, created the modern vampirezombie genre of horror. Hes a legend, but for the wrong reasonsin line with richard mathesons book, he is an entity the. At one time, the vampires were normal people who were infected by a bacteria later dubbed vampiris, by matheson. Theres lessons to be learned about mob behavior and respect for minorities. The 1956 i am legend book is a vampire story inspired by dracula. Richard mathesons i am legend is a masterpiece of horror that has spawned three film adaptations, none of which have quite captured the essence of what makes this book. If he had been more analytical, he might have calculated the approximate time of their arrival.
Why does robert conclude that i am legend at the ending of the book. So i just finished i am legend by richard matheson. And yet the core characteristics of the nightwalkers in the 2007 film are relatively true. I though the book was effectively i am legend and other short stories by richard matheeson. Published in 1954, acclaimed author richard mathesons novel i am legend is one of the most highly regarded works of apocalyptic fiction to date. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. As such, its no surprise that the book has been adapted for the big screen, in this case three. The 1990 tv miniseries scared the jorts off every early millennial with a. The first says, man, its just a badass vampire book.
Blogger adam katz sent me the link because of the book vs. 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. As a result, major, specific spoilers for both versions abound, often including dissection of how they end. I am legend isnt particularly long either, hardly even novel length. Yesterday, some intrepid soul posted an alternate i am legend ending to youtube. The ending to the alternate theatrical version varies from the original ending. Adapted from acclaimed author richard mathesons influential novelette of the same name, constantine director francis lawrences i am legend follows the last man on earth as he struggles to.
I am legends biggest change from the book broke 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. 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. For june and day everything is pretty much a lifeordeath matter, so theyre always on the lookout or running from something. Nevilles blood is the key to bring back the human race. Furthermore, the final line suggests that human societyof which neville was the last representativeis now fading into the past. The successes and failures in adapting i am legend film. 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. For those who have read the book they know why it is called i am legend. 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. Whether is it has something to do with aliens or the world ending. Towards the end of the movie, there is a massive continuity.
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