Obviously, Vincent Price carries this movie on his own back, given the fact that the vast majority of the action takes place around him and no one else. He plays things rather subtly for the most part, which I found quite effective. His memories make him laugh sometimes, but Price's signature laugh evolves quite effectively into sobs of anger and frustration. The most poignant moments of the film, in my opinion, come when Morgan finds a dog outside his house, the first living creature he has seen in three years. The dog initially runs away from him in fear, but the suffering creature eventually comes back. Morgan cleans him and fixes up his wounds, but the new friendship he exults over soon becomes just another tragedy. The movie doesn't dwell on the dog episode nearly so much as Matheson does in his novel, and for this I am grateful because I find it rather heartbreaking. The little dog gives an incredible performance, but as is so often the case the canine actor does not even merit a mention in the credits.

The Last Man on Earth really is a remarkably good movie and really showcases the immense acting abilities of Vincent Price. I wish it would have delved into the science of the virus much more intensely than it did; the scientific aspects of Matheson's story are what make it such a phenomenally good vampire novel. The inner turmoil and chaotic nature of Morgan's thoughts cannot really be presented effectively on film, nor can the actions and motives of some of the other players in the drama be thoroughly understood. The script writers did take some liberties with the concluding scenes, but it is really for the best because the novel's conclusion would not have worked in this medium without the audience being given a much more penetrating look into the minds and motives of the characters involved. Some might find the movie creepy, but there is really nothing here that will disturb the timid viewer-the camera never actually shows any of the gruesome acts that tend to be committed by human beings against vampires and vice versa. Somber and depressing as it can be, The Last Man on Earth is the type of distinguished horror movie that appeals in some way to just about everyone.

45 of 49 found the following review helpful:

NOT THE VERSION TO BUY IF YOU ONLY WANT THE B/W MOVIE  Nov 01, 2008
By stryper "stryper"
If you're looking for the best B/W version of this film on DVD, then either of the two MGM DVD's, is the way to go, but if you want it in colour, then the Legend Films disc is sufficiently colorized for your viewing pleasure.

I have both of the MGM DVD's, and just got in the Legend Film one to do a comparison, seeing as no one else had done one, and I was stupidly enticed by the, "includes restored original black & white version" that was written on the top of the rather badly done DVD cover (the MGM, The Last Man on Earth movie only edition, has a better cover, still not the greatest, but better than this cover),

Here's the lowdown, it looks like the exact same print was used for all three DVD's, with the exception that the Legend Films picture has a couple of incidental dirt specs removed at the very beginning of the film (like 3 or 4 in a 5 minute span) but in return, the picture is just a touch softer then the MGM image (where as the MGM image quality is very crisp over all) and a slightly tighter frame around the widescreen.

Yes, and erroneously, the DVD cover states the film is full screen, but it's actually the widescreen version in both the B/W and colour versions.

Another problem with the Legend version, is that even though they seem to make a big stink on the cover about the B/W version, in actuality, the B/W movie has a play only option, with no chapter stop menu (although you can skip forward using your remote, at what looks to be around 5 minute increments) and I was unable to use the, "goto" feature on my remote to jump to a specific time point in the B/W film (the scene select in the DVD menu, only allow you to jump to scenes in the colorized version).

As for the colorized version, the colours are dark pastels, as per most colorized drivel, kind of reminding me of the early 2 strip Technicolor process, used before the 3 strip process was invented, which gave skin tones a tanned, orange/brown look, and muted all of the other colours.

So, the MGM DVD is the way to go for serious lovers of this film, but for novices who might want the novelty of the colorized version, then the Legend DVD is an okay second choice.

Hope this helps :)

42 of 46 found the following review helpful:

You're all freaks!  Apr 27, 2006
By Michael Valdivielso
I was once watching the Sci Fi Channel and there is was, The Last Man On Earth, with Vincent Price. It had just started and the scenes, so quiet it was almost like watching a silent movie, with him getting gas for his car, hunting for garlic and collecting mirrors were very powerful. I realized it was a vampire movie but not just any vampire movie. So I was trapped, sitting in my chair, watching it all the way to the end.

Based on the story, I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson (one of the greatest authors ever) it really uses the empty settings and natural background noises to pull you into the reality of a world that has died. It seems longer than the 87 minutes length than it really is and being in black and white adds to the feeling that the movie is nothing but a great story with great actors. No special effects, no flashy gun fights, no chase scenes...well, OK, a few chase scenes.

The film really shows a man doing anything to survive. The canned goods, the need to keep track of time, the gas generator, the house turned into a fortress. And the need to fight back anger, the need to find hope and the need to stay human.

If you are a vampire fan you NEED this movie or your collection is flawed.

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:

THE OLDEST AND STILL THE BEST!  Mar 23, 2008
By Karen Shaub "Nickname: Queen B"
So,I AM LEGEND has finally come out, with its big name star and its big budget and its big computer generated special effects, but when the smoke and hype cleared the fact remains that THE LAST MAN ON EARTH with Vincent Price filmed back in the 1960's in black and white with no virtually no budget and no special effects at all is still the best available adaptation of Richard Matheson's classic Horror/SciFi novel. THE LAST MAN ON EARTH is the story of a single human being and his day to day struggle to survive in a world devasted by a plague that has turned all other living creatures into vampires, while at the same time he tries to understand the nature of virus that caused the plague and perhaps bring about a cure. Its far deeper and more complex than the newer film, but like the newer film it deviates from Matheson's novel in its ending by giving us a Christian interpretation of Morgan/Neville's attempts to save the world with his blood.

Matheson disapproved of LAST MAN. He felt that Vincent Price was wrong for the role, that it called for a more rugged man someone along the lines of Charlton Heston who later did play the role in THE OMEGA MAN which was the second (and extremely ill-fated) attempt to bring Matheson's novel to the big screen. I'm sure he also disapproved of the endings of both films which took on a decidedly Christian tone as Morgan/Neville try in vain to save the vampires with his own blood. Both LAST MAN and OMEGA MAN end in scenes blatantly re-enacting the crucifixion of Christ. In Heston's case its almost impossible for the modern audience to stifle a laugh considering his public personna.The last film version ends in a manner not dissimular when you think about it. Sure there isn't any actual crucifixion per se but Neville is still offering up his own life and his own blood so that the world may live. This ending too is absolutely at odds with the Matheson's book. It simply has nothing at all to do with it.

We may never see a perfect adaptation of this landmark novel which is a brilliant blend of both horror and science fiction. Why, because Matheson has written an ending that is cinematically unsatisfying--virtually unfilmable. So do yourself a favor and see THE LAST MAN ON EARTH and then read I AM LEGEND then you can decide for yourself.

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:

December 4th, 2007 Release  Dec 07, 2007
By Mad Mau
This review is for the 2007 MGM release only.

I have now owned three different versions of The Last Man on Earth. Being a huge horror/sci-fi fan, this has always been one of my favorite films.

I first fished out a public domain copy in some department store bin for $1.00 a couple of years ago and was quite thrilled in getting to see this movie again (it had been 15 years or so since I'd last viewed it). The quality of this copy however was...... let's just say it was watchable and not much else.

The second copy of this film I owned was a St. Clair Vision video which was a bit cleaner, sounded better and contained a matted form of widescreen. Okay, we're getting better, but still not there!

Still not happy with the product owned, I thought what the heck and purchased this latest effort; MGM's 12-4-07, 2.35-1 ratio widescreen release. This movie has been re-released obviously to capitalize on the upcoming remake of "I Am Legend" starring Will Smith. (Side Note: This version may have appeared earlier on an MGM Midnight Movie doubleheader along with "Panic in the Year Zero" but that DVD is now hard to locate.)

My one word review boils down to: WOW!!!

The restoration and transfer for this version is awesome. It really is like watching this movie for the first time ever. The images are crisp and vivid and the sound is much cleaner than previous versions. There is also included a short interview with Richard Matheson about his writing of the novel, "I Am Legend" on which this film is based.

So in conclusion, if you want the definitive version of this film on DVD, this is the copy to get. I'm glad I did.

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