"Last Man on Earth" movies?

[alansl]

So I've come to realize that I really like these movies about a person who seems to be the sole survivor of some catastrophe and finds himself/herself in a modern city as the last person on earth (sure, there turns out to be a bunch of zombies and a small group of other survivors, but you get the drift).

But I wanted to come up with a complete list of movies with this premise, and I could only come up with a few:

Omega Man
Night of the Comet
28 Days Later

I've found mention of a movie called "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" in an old review of "28 Days Later", but I haven't seen it. Any impressions (without giving spoilers, of course)?

I was hoping Resident Evil: Apocalypse would follow the trend, but it really spent too much time showing how it happened and introducing other characters from the video games to really create that same "abandoned civilization" feel that was so powerful in the final shot of the first film.

Surely there's more than those few?

Thanks,
alansl

[Iceblink]

sole survivor of some catastrophe and finds himself/herself in a modern city as the last person on earth


Well.......... they're not movies, but there are several twilight zone episodes like that!

Perhaps you'd like one called "Time Enough At Last" with Burgess Meredith!

[alansl]

Perhaps you'd like one called "Time Enough At Last" with Burgess Meredith!I think I know the one you're talking about. Not to give away the ending, is it the one about the guy who loves books? And I do remember a couple more, since you mention it.

I also need to add another movie to my list titled, ironically enough, "The Last Man on Earth" starring Vincent Price, IIRC. I think it was based on the same book that the Omega Man was based on. Has anyone seen them both?

Thanks,
alansl

[B1]

I think Dawn of the Dead, and Reign of Fire might fit into this category. They both have a small group of survivors, not really a sole survivor. One has to deal with zombies, the others with Dragons.

[riverplate]

1964's The Last Man on Earth was an Italian movie based on a book by Richard Matheson entitled "I Am Legend." This book was also the basis for The Omega Man, but that film was far different than the book or the Vincent Price film.

Matheson's main contributions to film are his screenplays for the Roger Corman/Edgar Allen Poe/AIP movies of the early to mid 60's. Terrifically atmospheric on a shoestring budget.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire is a great science-fiction picture. It starred Edward Judd as a British newspaper reporter, a much under-rated and misused actor who died before his time. The Earth is sent out of its orbit towards the sun because the United States and Soviet Union set off simultaneous nuclear test explosions which change its orbit. It's a serious film with a serious ending. Look for it.

A few other pictures you may be interested in are Arch Oboler's Five from 1951. A very difficult film to locate, but very literate and lacking special effects. It's been many, many years since I've seen it, but it concerns five survivors of some nuclear conflagration. No zombies, it's on the psychological side. Race also plays a part, something you didn't see in many movies back then.

Oboler was a well-known radio man so he put the emphasis on script and dialogue. This may turn some people off, but the picture certainly comes across as odd and distictive. Unknown actors are in it, and the acting style is very naturalistic, something else you didn't see much of back then. It certainly doesn't have the studio gloss, almost like an independent film.

The World, the Flesh, and the Devil from 1959 was much the same type story. But it had the advantage of a high-powered cast of Harry Belafonte, Mel Ferrer, and Inger Stevens. It's another tough movie to find. It starts off with Harry thinking he's the only one left in a deserted 1950's Manhattan. It was shot in Cinemascope, so widescreen is the way to see it, if you can. Needless to say, racial problems also are present in this one.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire, Five, and The World, the Flesh and the Devil are all in black-and-white.

Speaking of Twilight Zone, there was also an episode called "Two" which starred Charles Bronson as a American soldier and Elizabeth Montgomery as a Russian one after a nuclear war has taken place and they're the only two left. I won't give away the "surprise" ending, but it's typical Rod Serling. Not a great episode, but interesting because of its stars.

[MeridianFC]

"The Quiet Earth" is a great NZ flick from the 80s of a similar theme. It turns out there are actually two other people alive but the idea is basically the same. I don't want to give the rest of the film away, but it's a good 'un. I hope they release it on dvd someday.

While they don't strictly meet your criteria some great end of the world laughs can be had with "On the Beach" and "A Boy and His Dog".

[billreeves]

"The Quiet Earth" definitely fits these criteria, it was the first movie I thought of from reading the subject.

The British TV series "Survivors" from the 70s is similar, a plague wipes out most of the world's population and those who are left try to rebuild society, but it has a larger number of, um, survivors than "The Omega Man" (and no zombies that I can recall).

[alansl]

Thanks for all the recommendations!

I'm really more interested in the last man or last few survivors theme than the zombies - it just seems like zombies go hand in hand with the theme. Some of these sound like they may be hard to find, but fortunately my town has a couple artsy video stores, so hopefully I'll have some luck.

Thanks again,
alansl

[Mad_Bishop]

NOt sure if one exists, but I always thought Vonneguts' "Cat's Cradle" would have made a stellar movie