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Stars:
Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors, Joseph Cotton, Brock Peters,
Paula Kelly, and Edward G. Robinson
Writer:
Stanley R. Greenberg
Based
Upon A Novel By: Harry Harrison
Director:
Richard Fleischer
Feature
length: 97 minutes
Extras:
Feature Length Audio Commentary With Actress Leigh Taylor-Young and Director
Richard Fleischer, Vintage Documentary: A Look At The World Of Soylent Green,
MGM’s Tribute To Edward G. Robinson’s 101st Film, Charlton Heston
Sci-Fi Movies Essay, Theatrical Trailer
Languages:
English and French Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Snap Case
Chapter
Stops: 29
Sound:
Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1973/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Home
Video Distributor: Warner Home Video
MPAA
Rating: PG
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
After
Charlton Heston starred in “Planet Of The Apes” and reprised his role in the
first sequel “Beneath The Planet Of The Apes,” Heston made two more
apocalyptic science fiction films that were conceptually the opposite from each
other while both on their own contained cautionary messages about our world and
the fate of humanity. “Soylent Green” is loosely based on the Harry Harrison
novel “Make Room, Make Room” and it takes us into an all to believable
future New York City circa 2022. In Manhattan alone there is a population of 40
million. People are literally struggling to survive under third world
conditions. If you’re lucky you might be able to rent a step on a stairwell of
some building and if you’re very lucky you might actually have your own-shared
apartment. However New York has always been a place where you can have the
wealthy and the poor literally walking on the same streets. There is no getting
around it. Here the very wealthy live in luxurious and somewhat futuristic
complexes and are seemingly above the law. The effects of global warming have
created an ecological disaster. While travel to other crowded cities is
possible, travel out into the countryside is restricted. People are treated with
little regard. They are either property or fodder, but there is little civility
left to the common man. It is understood that law enforcement is corrupt and
despite the occasional food riots, the average citizen is nothing more than an
apathetic and unhappy soul.
Charlton
Heston is a police detective investigating the murder of a wealthy
industrialist. His “Book” Sol (Edward G. Robison) is perhaps the last of
remnant of a generation that remembers a different world. He was once a
professor, but now he is nothing more than a hired hand that can still read the
old texts in the crumbling libraries. No one reads so no one except for this
dieing generation can imagine a world different from what it is in 2022. Much
like “1984” you control one’s ability to conceptualize things be
controlling their language and thus the corrupt corporate government has an
easier time manipulating the people, which it rounds up in garbage truck like
“Scoops” when too many crowd into an area or when civil unrest occurs. The
greed of the corporate government overrules any concern for the environment and
public welfare. It is all about control. So not surprisingly Heston’s
character becomes the target of assassins eager to cover up the truth regarding
the death of the industrialist and its connection to the “Soylent
Corporation” whose new synthetic green colored product is being used to feed
the masses.
“Soylent
Green” is a depressing film, but a good picture never the less. It is a
science fiction picture in that it presents a futuristic society, in this case a
dystopian one, and comments on humanity’s inhumanity to itself and it’s
environment by depicting what the world could be like if global warming and
corporate greed and exploitation of the Earth’s resources are left uncheck. In
many ways the science of “Soylent Green” is sociology and in many ways one
can imagine a world like this coming into effect just as easily as we read about
the cutbacks in social programs, the raping of the Earth for its natural
resources, the growing unemployment rate, the pillaging of savings and loans,
the downsizing of the middle class, and the spreading of famine in the world.
Can America become a third world country? Yes it could. Some might say it is
already well on its way. A number of disasters both economic and ecological
could easily create a situation that might remind us of “Soylent Green” and
other cautionary science fiction tales ranging from what is in some ways the
inverse of “Soylent Green” like “The Omega
Man” where a few survivors from biologically engineered worldwide plague
struggle to survive or we could have a bureaucratic nightmare like “Brazil”
or a number of bizarre possibilities that intermix various elements of popular
science fiction and fact. The saddest comment I can make is that there will be
people who see a film like “Soylent Green” and ten minutes later just forget
about it because it is depressing or disturbing or because they don’t care.
However the important thing to remember even when viewing “Soylent Green” is
that it doesn’t have to be this way and just as much as it is possible to have
a dystopian future so it is that maybe we can also have a more utopian future
too. It is just human nature to expect and accept the harsher visions of the
future rather than the more hopeful ones, which is why it is so important to be
careful of how you think since it is true that one’s thoughts do effect the
outcome of their perceived reality.
This
was Edward G. Robinson’s 101st and final film and he does a great
job especially when one realizes that according to Director Richard Fleischer,
he was almost stone cold deaf at the time of the production. This was also
Joseph Cotton’s final feature film. While Cotton’s role is much smaller than
Robinson’s, both actors lend the film a dignity of purpose that elevates it
above the average sci-fi feature. Chuck Connors also gives a memorable
performance and Heston’s final words in the film are nearly as memorable as
the classic unforgettable closing scene from the original “Planet Of The
Apes.”
Warner
Home Video has done a miraculous job with bringing “Soylent Green” to DVD.
The anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio presentation has never looked
better. There are a few imperfections to the print that are most noticeable
during the outdoor scenes where a custom made filter was used to create the
terrible urban environment depicted in the film. This is definitely the best
home video presentation of “Soylent Green” that I have ever seen. I think it
is so good that the outdoor scenes show the inadequacies of the filter used more
so than the times I remember seeing it on cable. The TV broadcasts give it a
more pea soup like appearance while the DVD gives it a grittier look. It took a
little while for me to get used to because I was already accustomed to the
murkier cable broadcasts, which dulled the detail of the outdoor scenes in favor
of a more uniform effect. While it is obvious that the special effects of the
present could create a more frightening vision of this nightmare, I warn you all
to remember how bad remakes of some films can be. I mean take a classic like the
original MGM feature film version of “Rollerball” and compare it to the
abomination of the remake and I think you can see what I mean. I think one
“Soylent Green” is more than enough thank you…
The
English Monaural Soundtrack is clear and free of any analogue background hissing
and crackling. It is also quite full on it’s own. This holds true for the DVD
release of “The Omega Man” from Warner Home Video that streets day and date
with “Soylent Green,” but will be sold separately. A French Monaural
Soundtrack and English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired as
well as French and Spanish Language Subtitles are encoded as options too.
Director Richard Fleischer and Actress Leigh Taylor-Young give an excellent
feature length audio commentary track that touches upon the changes between the
novel and the film, the nature of the characters, and of course the fond
memories of working with Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson. The memories
Fleischer shares about Robinson are quite touching too.
This
aspect of the commentary is complimented by two featurettes. One shows MGM’s
tribute to Edward G. Robinson and the completion of his 101st film
complete with an introductory speech by Heston (4:51) and the other is a
behind-the-scenes look at “The World Of Soylent Green” (10:03), which also
contains some footage from the MGM tribute short. The theatrical trailer (3:29)
and text notes detailing Heston’s contributions as an actor in genre films and
a listing of the cast credits wrap up the extra features included on this DVD.
The
menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. For the
low suggested retail price of only $19.98, I sincerely hope anyone who admires
this film will not miss the opportunity to add it to their DVD libraries when
“Soylent Green” debuts on DVD on Tuesday, August 5, 2003 from Warner Home
Video.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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