MOVIE of the MONTH, March 2016: The World, The Flesh and The Devil

I think they were trying to show how they need each other, for even the little things.


The trivia said that they filmed those scenes very early in the morning, and they could only film for about an hour or two each day before the streets filled up. Remember, that was back in the 50's. There weren't as many cars around as there are now.

I wonder if NYC officials would ever agree to block off streets for filming these days? I don't know if they do that anymore in big cities. At any rate it looked very impressive the actual city being empty like that.

Have you seen Omega Man with Charleston Heston recently? There's a scene in that movie where Heston goes to a car dealer and takes a 1970 Mustang convertible. That scene is almost identical to the one in TWTFTD, even the camera angle and placement is the same.

They still film a lot of movies and TV shows in NYC, so I'm sure they block off some streets when they have to, but probably not for as long as they'd like to. They find ways to re-route traffic when necessary, but that just causes more traffic jams. (I stay out of NYC as much as possible. I'm usually only there on weekends when we have a convention.)


I don't think I ever saw Omega Man. If I did, it must have been a LONG time ago because I don't remember anything about it. (That's another "last man on Earth" story, isn't it?)

Yup you're right it is...Omega Man (1971) is a reboot of The Last Man on Earth (1964) also done in 2007 as I Am Legend.

I saw The Last Man on Earth a while back, and it was okay. I also saw I Am Legend, but I hated that movie.

I like The Last Man on Earth which was based on a successful novel. I seen I Am Legend with Will Smith but I hardly remember it. It seems like it was more action based.

Dinners done, gotten go...Thanks GBG for watching the Movie of the Month, I enjoyed posting with you about the film.

this looks like a very intriguing film, Citizen, will definitely be making time to see this, THANK YOU for hosting and suggesting such a film

I'm gonna try to watch this later this week. Expect a review soon!

Glad to hear it False Writer! you won't be bored, I guarantee that it's a fun, yet thoughtful movie.

I look forward to your review. And that makes me think of something, if anyone watches this MoM (and I hope you do) please don't feel the need to write out something really long or elaborate (unless you want to)...even a few sentences about what you thought would be very cool!

BUMP! I hope my fellow MoFos aren't going to leave me out in the cold Come on guys give this movie a watch.

You would think that some of the people here would have rushed to see a movie with the words "The Flesh and The Devil" in the title.

The Movie of the Month idea is a really neat idea and I've tried to support and watch the other MoM. I hate to see interest in this wane. False Writer has put a lot of effort into it and what's neat is, if you watch some of these MoM, then you can have you turn at being a host.

I haven't forgotten about this, I'll be watching.

Thank you Cricket. You've been a good supporter of the MoM and I think you will be your turn to host soon. I got wait to see what you have in store for us.

Thanks for all the support Citizen! It's really nice to see someone that believes in this idea. I'm gonna be watching this in a couple days for sure, Friday more than likely.

Also remember that there's a lot of time left, in all of the months so far there have been stretches of time where there's been little to no posts. I expect there to be an influx of activity down the stretch!

The World, The Flesh, and The Devil Review:

Going into this I was intrigued by the plot, it seemed like a plot that would only be possible to make in the 21st century. I was curious how a film from 1959 would portray a post-apocalyptic NYC.

This film really wasted no time introducing the apocalypse. Only a minute or so in a black man named Ralph Burton, one of only 3 characters in the whole film, is working in a mine when an atomic bomb hits above ground. He is stuck in the mine for days until he eventually finds a way back to the surface only to discover everyone is gone.

The one thing that really stood out for me was the set design, I was very impressed with how convincing this film was at producing an authentic post-apocalyptic landscape. Ralph wanders alone in vast, barren city streets with abandoned cars parked right in the middle of the road. One of the most impressive shots was the bridge which literally had hundred of abandoned cars covering it.

Ralph wanders from building to building, looking for some form of life. The farther he goes the more he becomes emotional distraught, this part I feel is the strongest part of the whole film. Both the set pieces and Belafonte's acting makes it quite a memorable scene.

Midway through the film is when Ralph discovers a woman named Sarah Crandall, they become friends but also get into some disputes over some racial tensions which I thought didn't make a whole lot of sense given the situation. Then later in the film the third and final character, Benson Thatcher, arrives in a boat. After he settles in he starts taking a liking to Sarah, which inevitably causes tensions between Ralph and they eventually find themselves in a climatic situation.

Overall this is a strong film that was very interesting watching unfold. The biggest problem for me is that I thought the acting was only so-so between the 3 actors. Props for Citizen for picking this, because if he didn't I would have never known this movie ever existed, much less watch it!

Very well written, False Writer! I noticed on these MoM that you do a really nice job on reviewing all the movies. I'm glad you liked it and it's not a well known film so I'm glad you seen it.

I see what you're saying, but I think if you put yourself into the mindset of a black man who was born in the 1930s and grew up with bigotry and segregation...and was an adult in the late 1950s, then the reaction by Ralph (Harry Belafonte) to Sarah (Inger Stevens) does make some sense. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but there's a line where Ralph says something like: "I can't set down!". That line gives insight into Ralph's feelings.

Thanks Citizen, I try my best to act like I know what I'm talking about.

I understand that was his mindset, but at that point in the movie both were fully convinced that they were the only 2 people left on earth, or at the very least the only people on the East Coast US. Even the woman wasn't thinking like that at all. I just thought that with him wandering and being alone for so long, and understanding what happened to the world, that he wouldn't be so caught up in old customs.

Never heard of this movie before. Definitely going to check it out!

I was skeptical about this going in, because I'm not generally a fan of movies about the apocalypse. To me, this movie ended up being mostly about a love triangle, and I think the end of the world was an original and brilliant backdrop for it. It was a bit of a strange watch for me, in that I enjoyed much of the movie, not while I was watching it, but in retrospect after scenes had passed. It was as if I was enjoying it more as I gained context, at least until the final third. One weird thing to me was the dialogue in the first third or so of the movie. It seemed that the main character was speaking as if he was at an audition so people could hear him, rather than talking to a mannequin or the second main character naturally. That suddenly stopped, but it's something I noticed early on. Once the third character enters the picture, I thought there was some excellent dialogue and drama. The main character was not very likable to me, but he was interesting and I liked to watch him, and that's the important part. It seemed odd to me that he brought race into the issue, but it's realistic because that's something I think often happens unnecessarily to this day. However, I don't know what his previous experiences are, and I haven't had to live with the black man's history. I also agree with Gb about the digging himself out part, that had me wondering too. The movie looks fantastic, and certainly brings the desired feeling of isolation. I liked this more than I thought I would. An interesting title too.