I was quite excited when I discovered this DVD collector's edition of L'Ultimo Uomo Della Terra, as it contains both the US and Italian cuts of The Last Man on Earth, the first film adaptation of I Am Legend. (And since the film was shot in English, both versions have an English soundtrack.)
The disc contains a featurette highlighting the differences in the two versions (a few different cuts during the opening, and an extended dialogue sequence with Ruth towards the end of the film).
The package also includes a 32-page booklet ...
... five still reproductions ...
... and these reproductions or promotional images.
There has been quite a bit of speculation about who really directed the film: the credited Italian director Ubaldo Ragona, or US director Sydney Salkow. It's widely known that Matheson removed his name from the script, and the US release bears his pseudonym Logan Swanson alongside William Leicester. The Italian screenplay is credited to Ragona and Furio Monetti (available on the disc as a PDF download).
Since Matheson's original screenplay has since been published, it's easy to determine that his published draft was somewhat removed from the script that was ultimately shot.
And while I have since upgraded to Blu Ray version of the Italian cut (in order to preserve it in the best resolution available), the collector's package will always be a keeper!
Come back next week for treasures from my I Am Legend archive!
