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Blu-ray Review HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: I Am Legend (1 Viewer)

Edwin-S

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Just watch the last 10 min of the last chapter. You will see the entire alternate ending from that point. Both endings from this film were disappointing, but I thought the alternate ending was even worse than the theatrical ending; however, it is more consistent with what is occurring with the zompire leader. I bought this film blind, but then found out I could rent it. After watching it I'm pretty sure I'm going to return my copy. This film was not worth spending 35 dollars on it.
 

Alex Yang

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Dean,

When the movie starts there are two choices, play theatrical or play "alternate". If you play theatrical first and then decide to watch the ALTERNATE, simply hit the menu button and the menu bar pops up, select the "special features" button and choose the FIRST option at the top, Alternate Version "play" button...

The Menu isn't obvious as the title at the top simply says Alternate version and a line down below say play.

The menu itself is "contect selctive play", in other words if you are playing the Alternate version and you go into the special features the top of the menu will say play theatrical and vice versa, if you play the theatrical. Hope this helps. Also note there the ALT version has about 1 minute of original footage (spoiler alert...)








This is in a scene after Robert, Anna and Ethan meet up and when he's feeling better they take a stroll around manhattan and wind up at the Museum and Ethan jumps into the "pond" and starts playing with the fish. Most people only concentrate on the last 10 minutes of the film and "miss" this bit of additional dialog. I'm still on the fence on which ending is better, but IMHO, Alt ending is good, but is spoiled but Robert still being alive. Theatrical ending is too "up beat" happy in comparison to the original ending in the book, although Robert does die as he was meant to in the book. The whole village and Anna/Ethan is a bit too goody two shoes to swallow...


-Alex
PS. My words sounds harsher in this post than I really mean to, because I really do like this film alot...
 

RickER

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Wow! I have this coming as a blind buy from Amazon, only because they had it for $18. I wont get it for a while. Paired it with something else to get the free shipping you know.
 

Goko

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I just saw this film at my local $1 movie theater. I'm glad I only invested $1 because I can't say one positive thing about this movie. I much preferred the C Heston version which I have on DVD. But I know this, I would not care to see this version again which is my own criteria for buying titles.
 

Mike Frezon

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Watched this for the first time with my 17-year old son this afternoon.

Enjoyed it very much...but as most everyone has noted...both endings leave you a bit disappointed. Both son and I preferred the original theatrical ending...

although my son said he would have liked to have seen Will Smith's character survive in the original ending. That's the teenager in him speaking, I suppose.

Also, the whole "butterfly" thing seemed rather contrived...in both endings.

The SQ is absolutely fantastic...and I'm using analog outs from my Panny BD-10. Even my wife (who was working in another room as she is not a fan of loud, action-type movies) commented on the aggressive sound mix. :D

Quite a feat for Will Smith to pull of the bulk of that movie all-by-himself. :emoji_thumbsup: He is a very engaging, charismatic actor.
 

Michael Osadciw

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funny...you can tell they weren't sure what to do with the ending...Anna has her hair up a few times in the film...no butterfly...
 

Bleddyn Williams

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I just finished reading the novella on the train this morning. Paul's passion for the book and a curiosity about the original material made me want to read it.

I loved the book! Having seen both "Omega Man" and "I Am Legend," I can say that neither has really scratched the surface of despair that permeates the book. The "Legend" filmmakers obviously loved the setting, but have produced a film that is so different in tone and action that I wonder why they didn't just go with an original screenplay.

Having said that, "Legend" is a lot better than "The Omega Man." I saw that one as a kid and thought it awesome. Revisiting numerous old favorites on home video is often a treat to find a degree of depth that totally went over my head as a kid.

No such luck with "Omega." This clunky production was one of those films that had me shaking my head and laughing. I can see why I enjoyed it as a young one, but boy has it not aged well!
 

Paul Arnette

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Bleddyn, I'm glad to hear I turned on at least one person to the book, and I am even happier to know you enjoyed it so much. I think most people that read it will at least understand my disappointment with each movie adaption that has been done since its publication better, even if they don't necessarily share my exact same opinions of those movies.

You might want to consider watching The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price. For my money, it is the most successful adaptation of I Am Legend, but it is not without its flaws. Richard Matheson wrote the majority of the screenplay for that film, but some changes were made, particularly to the main character's name and the end, and Matheson wound up using a pen name because he wasn't completely happy.
 

Bleddyn Williams

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I'll certainly pick it up. I'm surprised I haven't seen it already, being a rabid Price fan in my youth! I'm going for the Midnight Movies version, with Panic in Year Zero on the other side.

Hard to believe that people could fight over the main character's name. Is Robert Neville that hard?
 

RickER

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I picked this disc up last year on sale. The Price movie is OK. It has a European feel to it, and was made in Rome if i recall. But of course its supposed to be the US. Cant really put my finger on what i dont like about it, but its rather dull and hard to sit through, for me anyway. Now Panic in the Year Zero was a surprise. I had never seen it. What a fine movie! I have never seen a movie from the early 60s touch on some of the things they did. They didnt pull any punches with the story. Of course it may seem quaint now to younger people. But, if you think about the era it was made, it was shocking! Hope you enjoy both movies Bleddyn, and let us know what you think!
 

Lou Sytsma

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Good to see some book love here. If only someone could make that version.
 

DeanR

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I saw the movie last night and preferred the Theatrical ending. I agree with previous posters that the film is good for the first two thirds and the last third was a dissapointment. The picture quality was really good but the CGI was bad, almost as bad as the CGI in Along Came a Spider. I was thinking about The Omega Man all throughout watching this film. After I finished watching the movie I went on the internet and read that Chuck Heston had passed away, :frowning: RIP.
 

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