25 | October | 2011 | Through the Shattered Lens

Lisa Marie recently wrote up her very unique review of the James Bond film Live and Let Die and I’ve decided to use that review as the springboard for the latest “Song of the Day” entry. It’s easy enough to figure out that the latest choice is the similarly titled song from the film by Paul McCartney: “Live and Let Die”.

This song remains one of the most recognizable songs made specifically for a film. Most songs that become part of a film’s appeal tend to be pre-existing licensed songs and music. Live and Let Die would be the first James Bond film that would introduce Roger Moore as the British superspy and 007 agent. The song itself, written by Paul McCartney and his wife Linda, would become even more popular than the film through the years.

While the song has been covered by many bands and groups through the years it would be the cover by Guns N’ Roses in 1991 as part of their Use Your Illusion I album that many consider the best cover. I consider both favorite songs of mine, but I must pick McCartney’s original over the GnR cover by the smallest of margins.

Live and Let Die

When you were young
and your heart was an open book
You used to say live and let live
you know you did
you know you did
you know you did
But if this ever changin’ world
in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
Live and let die

What does it matter to ya
When ya got a job to do
Ya got to do it well
You got to give the other fella hell

You used to say live and let live
you know you did
you know you did
you know you did
But if this ever changin’ world
in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
Live and let die

Hi there and Happy October 25th! For today’s treat from the ranks of horror films that have fallen into the public domain, I present to you one of the most important films in horror history. Though it wasn’t appreciated when it was first released back in 1964, The Last Man On Earth was not only the 1st Italian horror film but George Romero has also acknowledged it as an influence on his own Night of the Living Dead.

It’s easy to be a little bit dismissive of The Last Man On Earth. After all, the low-budget is obvious in every scene, the dubbing is off even by the standards of Italian horror, and just the name “Vincent Price” in the credits leads one to suspect that this will be another campy, B-movie. Perhaps that’s why I’m always surprised to rediscover that, taking all things into consideration, this is actually a pretty effective film. Price does have a few over-the-top moments but, for the most part, he gives one of his better performances here and the black-and-white images have an isolated, desolate starkness to them that go a long way towards making this film’s apocalypse a convincing one. The mass cremation scene always leaves me feeling rather uneasy.

The film is based on Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend and no, it’s nowhere as good as the book. However, it’s a lot better than the Will Smith version.

If you have 87 minutes to kill, please enjoy The Last Man On The Earth.