When I was a kid in the early 70s, NBC played "The Omega Man" on TV quite a bit. Unfortunately, I had never seen the entire movie, uncut, from beginning to end until I bought the DVD. And I have to say that I enjoyed it just as much as, if not more than, I did when I was a kid.
The period in which this film was produced was conducive to movies made with an evident passion. This is a movie with more heart than nearly any big modern studio film you'd care to name. Yes, there are some holes (if I had Neville's arsenal and time, I'd sit on my balcony and snipe The Family until they were no more), but the story (and the music) more than makes up for it. Its flaws aside, this is a powerful story about a man under siege who finds a reason to live, and not just to survive.
Certainly there are aspects to the movie that may be off-putting to modern viewers--the early-70s fashions, the too-good in-studio lighting, Neville's insistence on calling his female partner "baby"--but after Beyonce Knowles's "Foxxy Cleopatra," at least Rosalind Cash's "Black Power diva" Lisa is funky fresh again.
I am entirely unapologetic about my love for this movie, and yes, the ending still brings tears. The movies I saw during my formative years will always, no matter how good or bad, be special to me, and "The Omega Man" will forever rank as one of my all-time favorite movies, right up there with "Silent Running" and "Voyage Into Space."
The period in which this film was produced was conducive to movies made with an evident passion. This is a movie with more heart than nearly any big modern studio film you'd care to name. Yes, there are some holes (if I had Neville's arsenal and time, I'd sit on my balcony and snipe The Family until they were no more), but the story (and the music) more than makes up for it. Its flaws aside, this is a powerful story about a man under siege who finds a reason to live, and not just to survive.
Certainly there are aspects to the movie that may be off-putting to modern viewers--the early-70s fashions, the too-good in-studio lighting, Neville's insistence on calling his female partner "baby"--but after Beyonce Knowles's "Foxxy Cleopatra," at least Rosalind Cash's "Black Power diva" Lisa is funky fresh again.
I am entirely unapologetic about my love for this movie, and yes, the ending still brings tears. The movies I saw during my formative years will always, no matter how good or bad, be special to me, and "The Omega Man" will forever rank as one of my all-time favorite movies, right up there with "Silent Running" and "Voyage Into Space."