The Last Man on Earth (1964)

Time to tackle an old.... classic?

This is the original adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend. starring Vincent Price, as the last man on earth, battling hordes of bloodthirsty vampires.

The movie is in public domain, and can be watched for free on YouTube.

On this track we cover:

- The film vs. the original novel
- Later adaptations
- What could have been - unproduced screenplays
- Zombie / vampire / outbreak movies
- The realities of surviving in a post-apocalyptic world

PS: David accidentally says the wrong running time. It's 1:26:44 (not 48).

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld.
Day of recording: September 19th, 2013.
Version: Bluray or NTSC DVD or online version.
Movie runtime: 1:26:44

SCREENSHOTS

Vincent Price is The Last American in Italy.

Good planning is essential. Even mass murder needs planning.

The stakes are really high in this film. The stakes... Hello?

Vincent Price burns the vampire bodies.

Garden party with Ben Cortman.

Different kind of garden party with Ben Cortman.

Researching the disease.

When the last man on earth meets the last woman...

Another not so subtle expression from Price.

And the final resting place of Robert Neville.

ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS

So erhm... If no one showed up for work, who threw the lab coats around?

Moving car in the background.

ARTICLES

Reflections of a Storyteller: A Conversation with Richard Matheson, by William P. Simmons. Link.

Ed Gorman Calling: We Talk to Richard Matheson. Link.

He Is Legend: Richard Matheson, by Paul Riordan. Link.

LITERATURE

I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson.

Censored and Unproduced: I Am Legend screenplay, by Richard Matheson.

Faster and furiouser: The revised and fattened fable of American International Pictures, by Mark Thomas McGee.

Rational fears: American Horror in The 1950s, by Mark Jancovich.

Richard Matheson on screen: A History of The Filmed Works, by Matthew R. Bradley.

The Hammer Vault: Treasures From the Archive of Hammer Films, by Marcus Hearn.

AUDIO/VIDEO

The movie. Link 1. Link 2.

I Am Legend - Makeup test by Steve Johnson FX. Link.

I Am Legend - Makeup designs by ADI. Link.

LINKS

I am Legend screenplay by Mark Protosevic. Link.

I am Legend screenplay by John Logan. Link.

I Am Legend Archive (Interviews). Link.

How Stuff Works - I Am Legend. Link.

Eat by Date. Link.

IMDb. Link.

Wiki. Link.

The Birds (1963)

Time to tackle one of the big masters, as we duck and cover for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963).

Evan Hunter wrote the screenplay, Tippi Hendren and Rod Taylor play the leads - and the film offer fantastic contributions from effect wizard Albert Whitlock.

On this track we cover:

- The original short story
- Production stories
- Visual effects
- The Hitchock style and legacy
- The Tippi Hendren controvercy

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld.
Day of recording: August 16th, 2012.
Version: NTSC DVD or Bluray
Movie runtime: 1:59:28

SCREENSHOTS

Who did YOU have to sleep with to get this part?

The view of the bay, courtesy of Mr. Whitlock.

She's prettier than the last one your brought home.

Elegant composition, let's give credit to cinematographer Robert Burks.

You would need alcohol too, to make that backdrop look convincing.

The title characters take a break.

Those odd kinda-still-frames-but-not-really.

Mr. Whitlock paint the God's eye view. Appropriate.

Another elegant composition.

That final haunting shot.

LITERATURE

Cinefantastique: Volume 10, No. 2
- The Making of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, article by Kyle B. Counts.

Hitchcock: A Definitive Study of Alfred Hitchcock, by Francois Truffaut.

The Birds And Other Stories, by Daphne Du Maurier.

AUDIO/VIDEO

All About The Birds, directed by Laurent Bouzereau.

The Trouble with Marnie, directed by Laurent Bouzereau.

The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style, directed by Gary Leva.

DVD extras.

LINKS

The Matte Paintings of The Birds. Link.

Matte Shot blog: History of the World. Link.
Matte Shot blog: The Hindenburg. Link.

Every Hitchcock Cameo Ever. Link.

Variety review. Link.

NY Times review. Link.

The Birds - BFI Film Classics, by Camille Paglia. Link.
- an unintentionally hilarious attempt to analyse the film.

IMDb. Link.

Wikipedia. Link.

CORRECTIONS

Dennis accidentially said that The Blair Witch Project was from 1994. It's from 1999.