NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Ostalgica Blu-ray (January 2024): Ostalgica have transferred three versions of Ubaldo Ragona + Sidney Salkow's The Last Man on Earth to Blu-ray. These are all "English-friendly" with the black + white and color versions offering English audio and optional English subtitles while the longer Italian Cut has optional English audio. There are German subtitle and DUB choices for all three. NOTE: The English DUB is incomplete with a few short sequences of un-DUB'ed Italian dialogue (English subs are available.) We've compared Kino and Shout! Factory Blu-rays to DVDs of the 1964 The Last Man on Earth HERE as well as below. The 1080P image quality is suitable - with the b/w versions slightly 'lighter' than the 2021 Kino dual-layered Blu-ray. But the contrast is decently layered. The color version is zoomed in a shade and the Italian cut maybe a small notch below the original English transfer. All three show the same damage marks as the previous Blu-ray editions. With the reasonably short film (at less than 1.5 hours) in 2.35:1 - having the three versions on one dual-layered Blu-ray doesn't seem to make the visuals suffer with compression, banding or other negative issues although bitrates are on the low side. The appeal is having the color and Italian cut curiosities in 1080P.

NOTE: All three have the ending where Ruth Collins (Franca Bettoia) talks to the women with the crying baby - "Don't cry... there's nothing to cry about... we're all safe now." - instead of abruptly cutting to a wide shot of her exiting the church.        

NOTE: We have added 94 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their three Blu-ray versions, Ostalgica use DTS-HD Master dual-mono (16-bit) tracks in the original English language, optional German DUBs and the original Italian or the Italian version. Being shot in Italy the entire films is Post-DUB'ed but it is not poorly rendered. The Last Man on Earth doesn't have many aggressive moments, there are few, but is fairly passive. There isn't a lot of dialogue (our protagonist basically alone for the majority) and some explanatory narration, flashbacks and newspaper clippings. The dramatic score is by Paul Sawtell (Jungle Queen,  A Game of Death, Inferno, Silver City, The Fly, Denver and Rio Grande, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea etc.) and Bert Shefter (teaming with Sawtell on 5 Steps to Danger, The Bubble, She-Devil and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea). It adds significant drama - often, inappropriately, over-the-top intensity. I've always felt that adds to the film's apocalyptic flavors. Ostalgica offer optional German + English subtitles (only German for the Italian Cut that does offer an English audio option) on their Region 'B'-locked Blu-ray.

The Ostalgica Blu-ray offers a 2015 English-language commentary featuring pop culture media professor, Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg (co-author of Zombiemania: 80 Movies to Die) along with G2V Productions producer, Scott Woodard. They talk about the dissatisfaction of writer Richard Matheson and even Charles Heston (for his The Omega Man - based on the same story) and how the film productions didn't capture Matheson's switcheroo intent that the protagonist is the killing monster against the dominant new species of humanoids, it being shot in Italy and the possibility of a Hammer version back in the day... Val Guest directing - called The Night Creatures (also the US title for Captain Klegg) and then perhaps a Fritz Lang directed version. They spot inspirations for Romero's Night of the Living Dead, the TV series The Walking Dead etc.
Post DUB'ing of voices (made in Italy) references to Jacques Tourneur's I Walked With a Zombie and more. I thought when they exported information - it was mostly quite professional but they frequently devolved into mocking sarcasm, silly voice impressions, and giggling at each other's comments. I'm not a fan of that - despite their amusing wit. There is also a 3-minute interview with voice actor Martin Schäfer in German (no subtitles.) The package has a 16 page liner notes booklet (in German with photos) and a reversible cover with alternative artwork.

I have a huge soft spot for The Last Man on Earth - the pioneering precursor of iconic Matheson's 'zombie apocalypse' story that launched an entire genre - that still flourishes today. I've watched this so many times that it was very cool seeing it in the colorized version and it did have a different impact - as did the 2-minute longer Italian version - also in 1080P. The subtle twist of Price's 'Dr. Robert Morgan' protagonist being an indiscriminant killer of infected humans ('carried in the winds') that sneaks into the finale with survivors scarily prophesying a future police state. Fascinating - a film that continues to be rediscovered, analyzed and reassessed for its societal themes. The Ostalgica Blu-ray has appeal for one of my more re-watchable discs - with both the color and longer alt-cut curiosities. The commentary exports some interesting observations. Thanks to our Year End Poll for selecting it for inclusion in 2023. Somewhat comforting knowing that I am not the only one who has this public-domain gem as a 'not-so-guilty' pleasure. Recommended to that niche.  

Gary Tooze