The film was directed by Ubaldo Ragona and Sidney Salkow. Horror icon Vincent Price played the lead character, here named Dr. The first adaptation was titled The Last Man on Earth (1964) and hit theatres while the book was still relatively new.

What I want to explore is how the films changed the ideas of the novel, whether those changes were successful, and if there is a lesson to be learned in how we reshape the details while keeping the core concept intact.

What’s interesting is how one of the film versions is the closest to the details of Matheson’s book but the furthest, I feel, from his intended tone. Not one of the three adaptations is a perfect translation of the text but each has things about them that I enjoy. I Am Legend has officially been officially adapted for the screen on three occasions since it was published (as well as one unofficial adaptation and the countless pieces of fiction, comics, and film that were influenced by Matheson’s apocalyptic vision). In the daytime, Neville explores the ruins of Los Angeles, but he must return before sundown because the night belongs to the vampires. The plague has made the rest of civilization into vampires. The book tells the story of Robert Neville, the sole survivor of an apocalyptic plague that was spread by dust clouds and insects. His most popular piece of fiction is the 1954 science-fiction/horror novel I Am Legend.

From Duel to Stir of Echoes, his stories have repeatedly made the trip from the written word to the TV or silver screen (Duel in 1971 and Stir of Echoes in 1999). Richard Matheson is one of the all-time great writers of horror.

I am legend richard