I love Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend novel. Matheson is one of my favourite sci-fi writers and with his most famous tale he brought together such a clever plot, a great lead character and such open-ended themes and ideas that it’s impossible for the book not to remain with you for months after you’ve read the last sentence.
He has a great ending in the book. Very dark, very shocking and one without hope for mankind and human nature. I mean essentially that’s the book is about, hope in a hopeless situation and what happens to us when that hope slowly drifts away day after day.
All previous adaptations of I Am Legend, including the Charlton Heston 70’s version have come a little unstuck with how to end the tale of the last man on Earth. For some reason, I’m continually baffled as to why they don’t use the powerful ending from the novel and although I do like how dark both The Omega Man and the Francis Lawrence film ended, I still they were rushed and uncomplicated endings when they didn’t know how to finish the picture.
So we’ve heard for a while now about the alternative ending which was originally set in place for the film before the ending was re-shot when the execs at WB weren’t sure about how “commercial” or “mainstream” it was. Though clearly this ending is nowhere near as dark as the original picture, but it is certainly more complex and gives us more to chew on.
But that doesn’t mean it’s good.
And of course, the theatrical ending easily screams out sequel a little more than this one does, despite the – well see for yourself…
ALTERNATIVE AND ORIGINAL ENDING TO I AM LEGEND AS TAKEN FROM THE DVD IS BELOW…
Just horrible and contradicts everything the book and film had been building towards.
These vampires had no soul. No feelings. No remorse. They don’t have loved one’s. They are to be killed before they kill you.
And weren’t all the bridges destroyed?
And an adaptation of I Am Legend where Robert Neville survives. PLEASE. That’s going completely against the main theme of Matheson’s book, what a horrible ending.
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6 Comments
First of all, doesn’t the book end with Neville discovering that, to the mutants, he was a monster? Wasn’t that the irony that concluded Matheson’s story?
Well, this ending does that to some degree, doesn’t it? Here, Neville discovers that his experiments to “save” these creatures was, to them, ruination and death.
And frankly, this clip is the only time those horrid CGI creatures look good throughout the film.
Yeah that’s correct but personally I found it was more creepy in the book because the woman he was with was the one who turned on him.
I don’t think the irony works with him still alive. He has to die. He is the new virus on the new society, I found it completely against character of the vampires that the film had built up for him to stay alive.
I think Lawrence has gone for the “having the cake and eat it” with this ending. He tried to make them scary vampires (which didn’t work with BAD CGI) to appeal to the mainstream audiences instead of going for the more human-like vampires, who taunt neville with their constant screams and night time activities.
And them to have them “suddenely” become emotional, was something I couldn’t buy.
The film really missed out on not making them human.
I do admire what they were trying to do with this original ending but it’s just not quite there for me.
For me, he needs to be executed for being the monster. He becomes as much a “legend” to the vampires, as vampires to us… a mythical monster that is the plague of nightmares… and his death after years of striving to survive is the only conclusion.
Though you right, it’s a commendable effort and is more in tune with the novel than the theatrical version.
Can you put the video up again I think it’s been deleted
Looks like the lawyers from WB have contacted Youtube, and all copies have been taken down.
I see, this is random but just wondering when the Dark Knight release date is??
18h July U.S. or 25th July U.K. (which just happens to be my birthday, wouldn’t ya know).
Expect a second trailer for the movie soon. Very soon.