RIP Sci-Fi Author Richard Matheson!
Time to honor one of sci-fi’s greats, and look at some of the 70’s best science fiction! The Author of such classic books as “I Am Legend” and “Duel” died today…his work defined science fiction!
“I Am Legend” was turned into the classic 70’s sci-fi movie “The Omega Man” with Charlton Heston – one of the first “zombies on the loose” classics!
This classic 70’s science fiction film is thanks to one visionary writer!
RIP Brilliant Sci-Fi Author Richard Matheson!
RIP Author Richard Matheson – having given sci-fi fans dozens of books that will live forever…including the brilliant “I Am Legend”, which is the basis for “The Omega Man!”
Brilliant Science Fiction Author Richard Matheson – Author Of “Duel!”
Richard Matheson was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of “The Shrinking Man”, “Hell House”, “What Dreams May Come”, “Bid Time Return” (filmed as Somewhere in Time), “A Stir of Echoes”, and “I Am Legend”, all of which have been adapted as major motion pictures. And he launched Spielberg’s career, too!
He later adapted his 1971 short story “Duel” as a screenplay which was promptly directed by a young Steven Spielberg, for the TV movie of the same name. The success of this TV movie prompted Universal to take on the young Director, and the rest, as they say, is history!
Let’s look at one of his best works, “The Omega Man”!
[talking to his own image on a TV screen]
Robert Neville: Hi, Big Brother, how’s your ass?
The Omega Man!
Remember the tagline: “The last man on earth is not alone!”
Forget the Will Smith remake “I Am Legend”, this is the original version, with Charlton Heston as the last man on earth – it’s based on the classic sci-fi novel by Richard Matheson:
Here’s the trailer for the classic movie version – take a look:
Charlton Heston is the only survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. The plague caused by the war has killed everyone else except for a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people calling themselves “The Family”.
The plague has caused them to become sensitive to light, as well as homicidally psychotic. They believe science and technology to be the cause of the war and their punishment, and of course, they want to kill Chuck. But he won’t go easily…
The film turns Heston into a Messiah, and they give him a love story with a young black woman, also very edgy for the early 70’s…
RIP Richard Matheson, and thank you for the great work you left us!
The 70’s was a great time for science fiction – here are two more reasons!
Make Your Own Sci-Fi Double Bill!
In the 70’s, theaters showed double and triple bills – a great chance to see a lot of great stuff cheap!
Check out these pics of 42nd Street in Times Square – in the 70’s, there were side-by-side grindhouse theaters playing everything from mainstream Hollywood hits to low-rent exploitation movies…all day and night…”grinding them out”…
It was a great way to see a lot of different movies…and a number of different genres…and there was a period when sci-fi really started getting “trippy”, perhaps a way to take “2001” to a whole new level…
For sci-fi films in the early 70’s, there was a mix of action and esoteric – and a slew of crazy, 70’s sci-fi movies with some big name Actors!
Charlton Heston kicked some ass, and Yul Brynner took his face off!
And you will NEVER see a movie “trippier” than the one starring James Bond 007 – Sean Connery – as a warrior of the future – wearing THIS!
let’s look at some of the most iconic science fiction films of the 70’s as well!
Yul Brynner Is Steamed!
Thanks to blu-ray, you can now catch up on films that have been out of the mainstream for decades! For example, a classic Yul Brynner film! Or, you can see James Bond 007 looking like THIS!
Shake it off, I know it’s disturbing!
I just can’t get over this…the 70’s were all about some crazy head trips, and I’ve got three to share with you….so sit back and enjoy, because – to use a phrase from Westworld:
Have We Got A Vacation For You!
Westworld. Where nothing can possibly go worng…
This 70’s classic has a simple premise. As the opening voiceover proclaims: “Delos is the vacation of the future, today. At Delos, you get your choice of the vacation you want. There’s Medieval World, Roman World and, of course, Westworld.”
Here is the movie’s trailer:
Richard Benjamin and James Brolin star as two friends out for a fun weekend – a weekend where they can dress up and play cowboy….
Yul Brynner is the Robot designed and operated by the resort – challenging them to gun battles – which of course, the guys always win…
It’s all male fantasty – taking part in shootouts and killing bad guys, but things go very, very wrong…as the movie’s movie poster brilliantly said:
Where Nothing Can Possibly Go W-O-R-N-G…
John Blane: [after Being Bitten By A Robotic Snake] “The hell, god dammit, that’s not supposed to happen!”
And with that, the two friends find themselves being hunted down by the robot – let the games begin!
Best-selling Author Michael Crichton became inspired to write this film after a trip to Disneyland, where he saw the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and was impressed by the animatronic characters.
Crichton also directed the film, which was a huge box office success, and spawned a sequel called “Futureworld.”
And how about this trivia, courtesy of IMDB: “Westworld” used the first computer digitized images as part of a feature film!
A great film for sci-fi fans…and now, time once again for the wackiest sci-fi film of all time! First, check out 007!
The Gun is good! The Penis is evil!
Um, WHAT?!?!?!?!
I mean – LOOK AT SEAN CONNERY HERE! How can you NOT want to know what in the world is going on here? Well, wonder no more! Here are three examples of mind-blowing cinema…
Zardoz. 1974. Directed by John Boorman.
Ready to have your mind blown? I mean, BLOWN BLOWN BLOWN?
Check out this trailer, and be ready for madness to descend…
This film was directed by John Boorman, who had made the brilliant “Deliverance”…As you can see from the trailer, is is one CRAZY FILM – starring James Bond!
In the distant future Earth is divided into two camps, the barely civilized group and the overly civilized one with mental powers. A plague is attacking the second group, after which its members cease to have any interest in life and become nearly catatonic. When Zed, one of the barbarians, crosses over, the tenuous balance in their world is threatened.
And here are the opening lines of the movie….a a huge huge huge stone head floats over the English countryside…
“I am Arthur Frayn, and I am Zardoz. I have lived three hundred years, and I long to die. But death is no longer possible. I am immortal. I present now my story, full of mystery and intrigue – rich in irony, and most satirical. It is set deep in a possible future, so none of these events have yet occurred, but they *may.* Be warned, lest you end as I. In this tale, I am a fake god by occupation – and a magician, by inclination. Merlin is *my* hero! I am the puppet master. I manipulate many of the characters and events you will see. But *I* am invented, too, for your entertainment – and amusement. And you, poor creatures, who conjured *you* out of the clay? Is God in show business too?”
AND THEN IT GETS EVEN WEIRDER!!!!!
If you think that opening monologue was crazy, there’s more! Soon after, the Stone Head delivers these gems:
[the gigantic Stone Head hovers before the worshipful horde of Exterminators]
Zardoz: Zardoz speaks to you, His chosen ones.
Exterminators: We are the chosen ones!
Zardoz: You have been raised up from Brutality, to kill the Brutals who multiply, and are legion. To this end, Zardoz your God gave you the gift of the Gun. The Gun is good!
The Gun Is Good! And 007 Dons THIS!
Exterminators: The Gun is good!
Zardoz: The Penis is evil! The Penis shoots Seeds, and makes new Life to poison the Earth with a plague of men, as once it was. But the Gun shoots Death and purifies the Earth of the filth of Brutals. Go forth, and kill! Zardoz has spoken.
And look at this! Yes, Sean Connery fights back against the “evil penis!”
To completely understand how warped this movie is, stop for a moment: take a deep breath, then get your head around this fact:
“Zardoz” is a film that has a giant rock head flying over the countryside saying “the penis is evil!”
Look, this is one warped classic, wildly and weirdly entertaining – if Sean Connery as James Bond 007 wasn’t enough for you, then you have to check out some of his wilder movie efforts like this one – so check it out!
Categories: 70's Cinema, Academy Awards, Action Films, Awards, Books / Media, Exploitation films, Grindhouse, Horror films, Movies, Obscure Movies, Politics, Revenge Movies, Talent/Celebrities, Technology, Uncategorized
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