Charlton Heston was the Big Kahuna of the silver screen back in the 60s and 70s. Here are some posters from old Chuck's silver age of science fiction...
The Omega Man
(1971) was loosely based on Richard Matheson's novel "I Am Legend", and the first thing most people say is that it was a terrible adaption. Can't you say that about 90% of all movie adaptations? I had no idea about the source material and found Omega Man to be an entertaining movie. It's got Chuck living in a post-apocalypse nightmare, going up against Anthony Zerbe as Matthias, the leader of the zombie-like gang. I always thought Zerbe was a charismatic actor in any number of films and TV shows (Harry O, Centennial, Columbo, etc) that I watched. He was a good antagonist for Chuck.
Plus, Chuck got to kiss Rosalind Cash, that was pretty cool!
I'd rather see this version than the Will Smith movie any day.
Soylent Green
(1973) was another future that you wouldn't want to live in, where the only nutrition left is a food product called Soylent Green. The movie depends on the surprise ending, and the impact is greater if you're a kid that hasn't seen many films. The kicker stayed with me ever since. What Soylent Green and Omega Man both have in common are 70s-style downer endings.
SG has a great cast behind Chuck: Leigh Taylor-Young, Edward G. Robinson, and Chuck Connors (star of the Rifleman on TV).
Earthquake
(1974) wasn't set in the future, but it was very scary if you lived through a shaker, and I've been in several. I remember the SenSurround speakers generating a vibrating rumble through the movie theater, and while it wasn't exactly like an Earthquake, it did make the movie more of an experience. It had a large cast, in the tradition of the Poseidon Adventure and Towering Inferno. I can't remember anything about the movie beyond the SenSurround, other than Walter Matthau's cameo appearance as the drunk in the bar: What do you have to do to get a drink around here?
Thanks to IMP Awards for the source material! Nuff Said.
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