This was the original 2000 FSM edition of this classic sci-fi score. It is long out of print but used copies may become available from time to time, or see the new (and improved) "2.0" edition here.

In the almost three decades since its release in 1971, The Omega Man has become a cult classic on the level of Charlton Heston's other science fiction forays Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green. In The Omega Man, Heston portrays Robert Neville, a military scientist who has developed an experimental vaccine just in time to spare himself from the onslaught of a devastating biological war. Neville has become the last man on Earth, doggedly keeping up the appearance of a civilized existence in his heavily fortified townhouse in the midst of the ghost town that was once Los Angeles.

But the last man on Earth is not alone. At each sunset a vicious tribe of Lluddite barbarians, the "Family," emerges from the shadows to loot and burn. They're led by Matthias (Anthony Zerbe), a former news commentator who's determined to reverse the terrible effects of humanity's stewardship of planet Earth. Neville is the last remaining symbol of the world Matthias and his diseased followers mean to destroy, and every nightfall he fights off hordes of these zombies while trying to track down their secret nest. The Omega Man is an action-adventure, a nightmarish thriller, a vivid comic book melodrama and a parable with strong political overtones, with Heston as an archetypal conservative hero facing down an army of counterculture terrorists intent on destroying what remains of human technological society. While Heston's Neville was clearly the hero, Zerbe's unctuous, robed villain Matthias was equally compelling.

One of the lasting artifacts of the film is composer Ron Grainer's beautiful pop-flavored score, which mixes a witch's brew of elements (baroque, pop, jazz, avant garde and straight dramatic orchestral scoring) into a seamless and highly melodic whole. Launching with a gorgeously elegiac baroque theme, Grainer's score boasts distinctive and accessible melodies for Neville, the Family, and the orphaned remnants of humanity that Neville discovers have been hiding from them both. With strong orchestral performances, unusual percussion effects and the distinctive sounds of two vintage electric organs, Grainer's The Omega Man score earns its reputation as one of the most asked-for and unforgettable genre scores of the '70s.

Film Score Monthly finally delivers this long-lost Ron Grainer masterpiece in stunning stereo sound, with unused score cues, specially arranged source music and a rejected, alternate end title theme. Filling out the packaging are extensive liner notes, which include comments from star Charlton Heston, producer Walter Seltzer, and famed percussionist Emil Richards, who invented the distinctive water chime effect used in the score.