Soylent Green

U.S.A. / 1973 Directed by Richard Fleischer Starring Charlton Heston Leigh Taylor-Young Edward G. Robinson Color / 97 Minutes / PG Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC) Warner Home Video

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2007 "Keepcase" Edition

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After Planet of the Apes, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and The Omega Man, Charlton Heston capped his sci-fi movie career with Soylent Green, an unusual blend of detective drama and future shock. (Yes, Chuck did appear in another science fiction film, 1990's made-in-Japan Solar Crisis, but the less said about that one the better.) It's a depressing vision of modern civilization in decline, where everything's corrupt and nothing works. The planet has been poisoned. Life in general is terrible for all but a privileged few. Even in once abundant America, food is a precious commodity — and where food is scarce hope has an ever briefer shelf life. There is no happy ending for anybody. Only in the 1970s would a major Hollywood studio release such a grim, downbeat movie, much less an A-List actor appear in one. In the ensuing 30 years the film has become a genuine cult classic for its 'bummer' ending and Heston's final, unforgettable lines of dialog.     It's ironic that, given the personal politics of its star, Soylent Green plays like a liberal's worst nightmare of a conservative Republican America gone to hell. Corporations and business are in complete control of the government. With the countryside rendered toxic by massive pollution (due to total deregulation?), the people are crammed to overflowing inside dirty, smog-choked cities. Overpopulation has reached critical levels (were birth control and abortion banned?) while year-round temperatures in the 90s and 100s mean crops can't be grown to feed an increasingly hungry nation. Whatever social safety net once existed has either collapsed under the strain or been abolished. The government's main source of control comes from the distribution of synthetic food, produced by the all-powerful Soylent Corporation. In fact, Soylent pretty much is the government.     Which means that when New York police detective Robert Thorn (Heston) is called in to investigate the murder of one William Simonson (Joseph Cotton), a retired member of the Soylent Corporation's board of directors, he opens up a can of worms which could prove detrimental to his health. At first it seems like a plum assignment... Not only does Thorn help himself to some of the choice luxury items in Simonson's penthouse apartment, he also develops a relationship with the murdered man's "furniture" — the beautiful, sexy Shirl (Leigh Taylor-Young), a live-in companion who came with the lease. (So much for feminism!) Thorn's suspicion that Simonson's murder was a political assassination, not a botched robbery, proves to be correct. Helping him with the inquiry is his best friend and elderly flat mate, Sol (Edward G. Robinson), one of a handful of working class people left who can still read and are capable of doing detailed research. Thorn realizes he may be in way over his head when his police superiors start pressuring him to close the case. Regardless, he and Sol doggedly pursue the matter despite mounting danger. They'd probably wish they hadn't been so determined. Resolution of the mystery reveals an apocalyptic, soul-shattering truth: human civilization teeters on the very precipice of Entropy. Mankind isn't going out with a bang, but with a whimper.     This downer of a science fiction drama is terribly dated yet surprisingly relevant at the same time. It shows that scientists were concerned about the so-called "Greenhouse Effect" — now we call it Global Warming — over 30 years ago, when the script for Soylent Green was written; evidence of this condition has only been increasing during the interim. (Lemmings will doubtless cling to the opinion of that noted scientific authority, Rush Limbaugh, who states that Global Warming does not exist.) The film's concept of an America ruled by a corporate-fascist elite, while the masses struggle just to survive, is fairly chilling — it's like the Middle Ages with electricity, substituting businessmen-politicians for the nobility.     Director Richard Fleischer (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Vikings) does a solid job bringing this dystopian nightmare to the screen. In a science fiction film lacking any special effects to speak of, Fleischer focuses on the characters instead — he leaves it to the actors carry the story, and they're well up to the task. Thorn's determination to get to the bottom of the case is somewhat unclear at first (that is, until he sees what knowledge of the all-important secret does to his dear friend Sol), but we accept his actions because Charlton Heston's such a strong performer and screen presence. His 21st Century cop is simultaneously corrupt and heroic; he may loot a crime scene of anything that isn't nailed down but in the end you know he'll try to do the right thing. (This is easily Heston's best sci-fi performance after the cynical Taylor of Planet Of The Apes.) Robinson, in his final role, practically steals the film as the disillusioned Sol, a man old enough to remember the good ol' days when people ate real food. (His interplay with Heston is marvelous.) Tourist Trap's Chuck Connors is on hand as Simonson's sinister bodyguard; genre veteran Whit Bissell (Creature from the Black Lagoon, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein) appears as a corrupt politician. The then-29 year old Ms. Taylor-Young is, well, simply gorgeous.

NOTE: Look for a really bad continuity error during the otherwise brilliant euthanasia sequence... Just keep an eye on the microphone jack plugged into the control panel when the "SPEAKING PERMITTED" light is flashing on and off.

Warner's Soylent Green disc should readily please fans of the film, who've waited quite some time for its arrival on DVD. The anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) transfer is nearly flawless, the best the film has looked to this reviewers eyes since seeing it in the theater in 1973. (The grainy look of the daytime outdoor scenes is intentional, to achieve a "smog" effect.) The mono audio track is clear and strong.     We get more extras here than on the Omega Man DVD, chiefly an audio commentary with Fleischer and Taylor-Young. The director, well into his 80s now, tends to focus more on his working relationship with the leading actors; Taylor-Young shares anecdotes about playing opposite Heston and her thoughts on the devaluation of women in society as presented by the script. A 10-minute promotional featurette called A Look at the World of SOYLENT GREEN, made during filming, showcases behind-the-scenes footage, especially the big food riot sequence. A brief home movie-style piece recounts an on-set party thrown by MGM in honor of Robinson's 101st film appearance. The original theatrical trailer and the same sketchy text overview of Heston's science fiction films found on the Omega Man disc are also included. 9/10/03

UPDATE The disc reviewed here was reissued by Warner in November 2007, using keepcase-style packaging and different cover art. It went OOP in less than a year.

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