Soylent Green
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Movie Reviews of Soylent Green
Movie Review: Now this IS a thriller!
Summary: 5 Stars
Brushing aside the obviously-dated special effects, this film is amazing. It's a commentary on how people have to take care of the earth--or else the earth itself litterally 'takes care of us'.
With real food at scarce levels, everybody in the crumbling societies is now attempting to survive on 'soylent' for nutrition, but what is it REALLY made of? Such plot also has allusions to the then-emergent health food movement, which was still fairly 'countercultural' as opposed to the comparative public availability which I can today enjoy.
And yes, having 'Mr conservative' Heston in the title role as an investigative cop gives it more current oomph. Even I would expect a 'liberal' cast to be automatically associated with such a project. So this instead makes the film's compelling message of ecological survival all the more chilling. This is a film you are going to watch with the lights on.
Some movies might be a good idea to remake. But this is a screenplay which cannot be remade for 'contemporary' audiences, stick with the original screenplay and instead understand the context of the original filming.
We have increased sensitivity to global warming and technology to address environmental concerns when compared against 1972. But a 'new cast' would never be able to deliver their screenplay with a same impending sense of urgency and uncertainty. It would just be reduced to the 'trend of the month'.
Movie Review: The price of strawberries in the year 2022
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of those bleak future movies where there is a finite amount of resources and an unbalanced distribution of them. The one good point is that food processing as been perfected to the point that we get tasty blocs of colored nutrients. The best one, publicized as being made from plankton Soylent Green.
Detective Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston) is tasked with investigating a homicide in a ritzy section of town. During the investigation he, with the help of his friend Sol Roth (Edward G. Robinson,) discovers a dirty little secret.
Shocking for the time of the movie release. Nowadays we would take it in our stride. Still worth watching.
Soylent Green
Movie Review: Very disappointing....
Summary: 2 Stars
This film had great potential, but it blew it badly. Everyone by now knows the plot and the famous catch phrase "Soylent Green is people!" (it's now cinema folklore). While the idea of the film (overpopulation, evil corporation) is excellent, any impact the film may have is thwarted by bad dialogue, cheesy music, uneven editing, and worst of all, Richard Fleischer's lumbering, ponderous direction. Fleischer is a particularly bad director (he directed such awful films like Che!, Doctor Dolittle, and the wretched The Jazz Singer, yes, the one with Neil Diamond), and here he really ruins the film with questionable camera moves, bad framing, and just an overall sloppiness to the filmmaking.
The film has good performances. Charlton Heston is excellent (as usual) as a cynical, tough cop. Edward G. Robinson has a poignant role as Sol. This was Robinson's final film. He had cancer, and he died a mere 9 days after his role was completed, which gives his death scene here an extra poignancy. There's a scene in an orphanage where Heston talks to a burnt out priest that is especially powerful. But scenes like this are few and far between, and it's a shame, as it could have been much more.
Movie Review: More compelling than "An Inconvenient Truth"
Summary: 5 Stars
Also science fiction, but made in 1972 and without any political waffle (and starring an actor many would pin as "Conservative"), this movie projects - some 50 years into its future - a frightening set of events:
* overpopulation
* polluted atmosphere
* global warming causing high temperatures
* unusual food sources
* cynicism
Charleton Heston plays Thorn, a duty-driven cop/detective, assigned to find out why an executive from the Soylent corporation was murdered...
Of course, most people know what Soylent Green was made from (people), but having seen this movie yesterday, it was still gruesome to watch.
Okay, the styles of 1972, down to sideburns, are a revived fashion statement in 2022. Okey dokey. And given there were no home game systems or VCRs at the time, the prediction of such video game units was interesting, if a little dated (black and white screens). Still, the mindset of the time and showing off the disparity between social classes just cannot be understated.
I was also surprised by how much swearing was in the film. But keep in mind, the film is trying to say something about the decay of morality along with everything else in civilization. It's not about shock jock tactics. It's trying to be grim. That's the point of art, and our modern day media and its audiences keep forgetting about that: the underlying reasons. It's not about the explosions or special effects. All creativity has to have concepts, otherwise those explosions, no matter how well realized on screen, don't work.
I really have to admire Charleton Heston. If I may digress, it's interesting to note he was an actor who played many Biblical roles in the past; mostly due to his deep voice and stature. What's interesting is that, with "Planet of the Apes" onward, he plays roles of doomed or hapless individuals. Rather better too, when compared to lines like "Let my people go!" and it doesn't sound as boisterous as it could have been but still worked...
Right, back to the movie. Yes, it is slow going. But before modern day movies (think "Star Wars"), plots were moved along by plot, mystery, and suspense. Not raging fistfights and gunfights every fifteen minutes. I found little that could be legitimately described as "slow", mostly because the direction and camera angles offered glimpses into background scenery. Not quite the depth of "The Graduate", but significant nonetheless. Most of the underlying stuff is said by the characters anyway.
As for the DVD:
The film transfer is very good overall, with some surprising flecks dotted about here or there. But colors and brightness are excellent.
The sound is pristine.
The extras are of much praise:
* The commentary by the director and leading lady provides much insight into the movie, why it was made, and some interesting dish on the lives of the people playing their roles.
* There is a making-of doco on "Soylent Green", circa 1973. This extra was NOT color restored, so we get a glimpse of what the film would have looked like if it wasn't remastered. More importantly, it says a thing or two about the movie as well.
* The other bits, like Edward G Robinson's 101st film are appreciated as well.
Fans will definitely like the extras, and anybody who hasn't seen this movie really should. You'll then, if nothing else, understand why so many sci-fi and pop-culture shows refer to it. But it's a welcome film for its own merit.
Movie Review: Brilliant....
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is a work of genius; a truely terrifying portrail of a highly probable distant future. The acting is superb, the music cannot be ignored, and like the other reviewer pointed out, the final lines of the film are highly memorable.
However, there are those out there who may view this film as "boring". These are the same individuals who fail to realize that, before the sweeping changes in special effects brought about with Star Wars, science fiction was generally intelligent. So no, if you're looking for explosions, robots, and bright flashing lights, go someplace else. I shudder to think of what these people would think after watching Stanley Kubrick's 2001.