"It’s the year 2022… People are still
the same. They’ll do anything to get what they need."
Natural food like fruits, vegetables, and meat among
others are now extinct. Earth is overpopulated and New
York City has 40 million starving, poverty stricken
people. The only way they survive is with water rations
and eating a mysterious food called Soylent Green with
an unidentifiable source. A detective (Charlton Heston)
investigates the murder of the president of the Soylent
Green company. The truth he uncovers is more disturbing
than the Earth in turmoil when he learns the secret
ingredient of Soylent Green.
If you think the world is going to the dogs, then
Soylent Green will confirm your worst fears.
Based on Harry Harrison’s classic science fiction novel,
Make Room! Make Room!, the script is an
apocalyptic vision of the future set in the year 2020.
Pollution, overpopulation, and a chaotic social order
have turned New York City into a giant roach trap for
humans. But that’s not the worst part. Wait till you see
what they’re serving for lunch! Synthetic wafers made
out of plankton. Or is it some other top-secret
ingredient that the government refuses to reveal?
Although Soylent Green remains one of the most
popular science fiction films of the seventies (it won
the much coveted Nebula Award), it did take several
liberties with Harry Harrison’s original novel,
resulting in some major disagreements between the author
and MGM, the studio that made the film.
Despite its flaws the film remains an
interesting dystopia with a lot of entertainment value,
and not just on a kitsch level. Like ‘Planet Of The
Apes’ even people who have never seen Soylent Green
know the twist ending, but it doesn’t really matter one
way or the other, there’s still more than enough to
keep you watching. Heston’s performance and the great
supporting cast make this a very enjoyable experience.
Screen legend Edward G. Robinson is particularly
excellent and very touching in his last role, and the
rest of the cast includes Joseph Cotton (‘Shadow Of A
Doubt’), Chuck Connors (‘The Rifleman’), Whit Bissel
(‘Invasion Of The Body Snatchers), Leigh Taylor-Young (‘Looker’),
Brock Peters (‘To Kill A Mockingbird’) and Roy Jenson
(‘The Getaway’). |