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DVD Panic in the Year Zero/The Last Man on Earth
Vincent Price gives an atypically restrained performance as the sole survivor of a worldwide plague that revives its victims as bloodthirsty vampires. During the day, he canvasses his abandoned hometown, tracking down and stalking his former friends and neighbors, always making sure to return before nightfall, when the dead rise to assault his fortified house. Hope arrives in the form of an apparently normal young woman (Franca Bettoia), but her agenda proves to be even more sinister than that of the vampires.
Based on the 1954 novel by coscripter Matheson (whose displeasure with the final product spurred the use of a pseudonym), this Italian-made production is best known for its influence on George Romero's Night of the Living Dead. The similarities between the two films go beyond the presence of shuffling zombies and housebound heroes; both feature taboo-breaking scenes of interfamilial murder, and both end on bleak, dystopian notes. While The Last Man on Earth lacks the political and darkly satirical shadings (and graphic gore) that make Night of the Living Dead a more memorable experience, the combination of Bava-esque Gothic atmosphere and bleak, documentary-style camerawork by directors Ragona and Salkow (the brother of Price's agent Lester Salkow) lend themselves to moments of pure frisson that compare laudably to Romero's film. Matheson's novel also provided the source material for the awkward 1971 Charlton Heston vehicle The Omega Man. A planned third version, helmed by Ridley Scott and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, was shut down in its earliest stages due to skyrocketing budget costs. --Paul Gaita
Review(s): DVD Panic in the Year Zero/The Last Man on Earth
Finally Panic In Year Zero the way Ray Intended
If you are a fan of Panic In Year Zero like I am, then you have probably been suffering with the "pan and scan - formatted to fit your screen" VHS version that Orion put out around ten years ago. Are you in for a treat! This is Panic in full wide screen! Not cropped like another reviewer suggested. I did a side by side comparison with the VHS version and it is just amazing how much of the VHS version is missing. I would say over 50%. No, Rick's sister Karen didn't get out of the back seat of the car somewhere along the way, their she is in full wide screen. Finally you get to see this great movie the way director Ray Milland intended.
A Worthwhile Double-feature Entry in MGM's MIDNITE MOVIE Series.
Two films on a double-sided disc:
PANIC IN YEAR ZERO (1962)
This post-nuke survival story features Ray Milland (he also directed) as an average middle-class American father who fights to protect his family from pillagers, rapists, and murderers. Forced into brutal resourcefulness and often required to make snap moral decisions, the real challenge that Milland and family face is the struggle to maintain their traditional values in the face of chaos. Yes, it's one of many SF-ish cold-war dramas, but what sets this one apart from others is Jay Simms and John Morton's intelligent script, which is gritty and relentlessly unsentimental. Unfortunately, it is somewhat hindered by Milland's mediocre direction and often stilted performance, but it's still a better-than-average flick. And it's refreshing to see Frankie Avalon--who here does a fine job playing Milland's son--in a setting other than a beach.
THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964)
This first cinematic incarnation of Richard Matheson's novel I AM LEGEND--the second was the 1971 Charlton Heston vehicle THE OMEGA MAN--features Vincent Price as the sole survivor of a global pandemic that has transformed the rest of mankind into vampire-like zombies. While more loyal to the novel than the Heston film, the pace is often excruciatingly slow. Still, Price's performance is as entertaining as ever, and the scenes that flashback to the origin of the plague are very well done and chockfull of grim imagery. Worth a look if for no other reason than to see why George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) is often compared to it.
*******
The two-sided disc from MGM offers both movies their original 2.35:1 widescreen format (enhanced for 16x9 TVs), and the digital transfers are beautiful (especially THE LAST MAN ON EARTH, which far outshines the cut-rate DVD releases already floating around). Each flick is paired with its theatrical trailer, and THE LAST MAN ON EARTH also includes a cool featurette in which co-scripter Matheson explains why he was unhappy with the final script and chose to be credited using a pseudonym.
All in all, this double-feature from MGM's Midnite Movie series is well worth the price of admission.
Half a Decent Double Bill
Purchase this disc for the inclusion of "The Last Man on Earth". As for "Panic in Year Zero", strictly Dullsville, Daddy-O. Having seen the big budget rendering of Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend", "Last Man" has it all over "The Omega Man". Where I felt "Omega Man" suffered from a certain cheesiness, "Last Man" is blessed with a great sense of visual style and a plethora of imaginative ideas. The film also has a compelling central performance by the inimitable Vincent Price. "Panic", on the other hand, feels like a civil defense film stretched out to feature length. What little imagination there is in the script is torpedoed by flat direction(by star Ray Milland) and wooden acting. My four star designation is for "Last Man". As for "Panic", I give it a resounding two.
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