Streaming Kino: The Last Man On Earth (1964) - Vincent Price

"Streaming Kino" is a new series of articles: from time to time, and in no particular order, we will present recommendable and acclaimed movies, that are free to watch right here and now!

Many movies are freely available nowadays, for different reasons. In some cases, copyright has expired, in others, the movie was made available by the copyright holders, and some are even made for the open public in the first place.

Our first movie is:

The Last Man On Earth (1964)

"L'ultimo uomo della Terra", USA/Italy, directed by Ubaldo Ragona and Sidney Salkow

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lastmanonearth1960s.jpg

A couple of years before "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) there was a movie that depicts the apocalypse with striking resemblance: "The Last Man on Earth" with Vincent Price is about vampires, but doesn't look at all like spiderwebs, dungeons, or the black cape from 1897. It's happening right here, in our modern world, on a scale that hasn't been seen before. Society has collapsed entirely - the enemy is out there in the streets, it's inside your head, and the struggle is to the bitter end.

"The Last Man..." is based on Richard Matheson's novel "I am Legend" from 1954, and George A. Romero did take a peek or two at Matheson's work for "Night...". The similarities are undeniable, "The Last Man..." being the prior almost feels like a template for "Night...".

Nonetheless the films are quite different. Vincent Price and the vampires are still connected to the romanticism associated with Dracula and Hammer movies, personal tragedy plays a big role in "The Last Man...", science still has an ace up it's sleeve. In "Night...", on the other hand, it's the naked horror of society disintegrating, on all levels.

In 1971 Matheson's novel has been (re)made into a movie called "The Omega-Man" with Charlton Heston, again in 2007 as "I am Legend" with Will Smith and "I Am Ωmega" featuring Mark Dacascos - but "The Last Man on Earth" from 1964 is still and by far the most gripping and touching version.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058700/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Man_on_Earth_(1964_film)

video source:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv2WUewBx8U

  https://www.youtube.com/@CultCinemaClassics

 

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