Soylent Green (1973)

[Dave]

Soylent Green (1973) 97 minutes

http://uk.imdb.com/Title?0070723

Directed by Richard Fleischer

Writing credits Harry Harrison (novel Make room, make room)
Stanley R. Greenberg
http://ascifi.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=3257

Charlton Heston Police Detective Thorn
Leigh Taylor-Young Shirl
Chuck Connors Tab Fielding
Joseph Cotten William R. Simonson
Brock Peters Lt. Hatcher Chief of Detectives
Paula Kelly Martha Phillips
Edward G. Robinson Sol Roth

I've already written a plot summary for the book, but there are more here:
http://uk.imdb.com/Plot?0070723

I like this book, the film changed the ending, but it had to update it somehow (it was set in 1999). The problems it looks at are still with us.

After watching the recent news regarding President George W. Bush and his view of the Kyoto Accords maybe he should watch it.

There is an excellent review of this film here:

http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue55/classic.html

 

[A_A]

Soylent Green

anyone here of this movie its pretty good

 

[Dave]

AA I've merged your thread with my existing one. I like the film, I like the exchanges between Edward G Robinson and Charlton Heston, but I liked the book better, and they aren't the same.

I think some of the things have already come true, so the images are no longer as shocking as they were in 1973.

 

[Foxbat]

Soylent Green

Well. I've just acquired and watched this film on DVD and I'd forgotten how much I love it (and how much we still have to learn from works like this). Now I'm awaiting the arrival of The Omega Man ( okay, I know it's not a patch on the book but it still has its moments). It's plain to see that good ol' Chuck Heston was THE man of the moment where 70's Sci-Fi was concerned.
Just thought I'd share that with the world ;D

 

[snlash]

Re:Soylent Green

ooo I have always wanted to see that movie!!!! I have never gotten a chance to see it, but I have heard a lot about it. It seems like the kind of movie I would like, but it has never been ran on cable here where I live, and none of the local rental stores carry it Hopefully someday I can watch it...it seems like too much of a classic to miss it.

 

[GnomeoftheWest]

Re:Soylent Green

Yes, great film......I'll credit the director Richard Fliescher over Chuck though.

 

[Foxbat]

Re:Soylent Green

What amazed me was the fact that it was made around '71 or 72 but talked about the Greenhouse effect. Many of us have been led to believe that this is a relatively new concept. It's not.

On the subject of Chuck..yes, I admit it, I'm a big fan...and you're probably right about Fleischer

 

[nemesis]

Re:Soylent Green

The Greenhouse effect was born in the 1970s. It was believed to cause a future global cooling. It changed to warming in the 1980s.

 

[mac1]

Re:Soylent Green

Great film, and the ending is beautiful!

I may be wrong (I'm working from memory) but I think the film was made in 1973.

 

[littlemissattitude]

Re:Soylent Green

You are absolutely correct. "Soylent Green" was released in 1973, according to Leonard Maltin's 2003 Movie & Video Guide.

Good movie. It was also Edward G. Robinson's final film, which lends his death scene a certain poignancy.

 

[mac1]

Re:Soylent Green

Indeed it does. I didn't know that actually.

On a completely different note - It's amazing how many times the film has been referenced in modern day TV, and everyone gets the references, yet very few seem to have actually seen the film. Odd.

 

[littlemissattitude]

Re:Soylent Green

Well, I assume that it's on video. However, I don't believe that it's on television all that often - maybe I just don't get the right cable stations? I remember seeing it in the theatre when it was first released - well, that dates me, doesn't it?

 

[mac1]

Re:Soylent Green

BBC2 aired it about 7 or 8 years ago, other than that British TV doesn't seem to air it either. It is on KaZaA if any of you have Broadband though.

 

[littlemissattitude]

Re:Soylent Green

I imagine television tends to shy away from showing it because of its subject matter. And I don't just mean where they were getting the food from. There are several themes in the film that are still quite controversial today, not the least of which is the subject of assisted suicide.

 

[tangaloomababe]

I hadn't seen this movie for years and came accross a copy in a DVD store a few days ago. I had to buy it, I loved this movie, or thought I did, time makes our minds a little hazy.

Anyway I still enjoyed it, Charlton Heston (Thorn) was still good, his acceptance of the world as it is and not to expect to much more, but more worry about what might be taken away. He does it well. I particuarly like in his role as a police officer that he has ransacks the wealthy deceased guys home, collecting up stuff in a pillow case, taking advantage of the "furniture". I love his dash through the Soylent Factory reaching the inevitable realization.

Edward G Robinson as the book is also wonderful. I particuarly love when Thorn brings home the spoils and presents them to the book finally showing him the beef, where he breaks down in tears.

BUT... I hate Rifleman Chuck Connors, who thought they could take him away from his horse and rifle must have been a lunatic. He is truly terrible, utterly unconvincing as a bad guy.

Now I am wondering could we make this movie again, who could play the roles , My money is back on Clive Owen for Charlton Heston's Thorn. He has that element of not so nice guy in him, if you have ever seen him in Closer, he can play the "not so nice guy" very convincingly. But we need a good bad guy and I can't think of any.

Need Help!

 

[unclejack]

Yeah, I just watched Soylent Green like three weeks ago for the first time and I loved it. And I agree, Heston and the guy that plays his roommate as well are both great in the film. Their reactions to society as it is in the film and their efforts to deal with it are very human and I think add a very real feeling to the movie. As far as a sequel goes...well, I wasn't alive when this movie was made so I can't say with any degree of accuracy as to how popular it was at that time and how much of a hit it was but I know that I had never even heard of the movie until a couple of years ago. That being said, I don't know how probable it is that there would be a sequel because let's face it, it is very rare that people of my generation (I"m 30) and especially people younger than me actually take an interest in classic movies that go that far back. There are so many people that just go for the big blockbuster hits and ignore the classics that I don't know how marketable a sequel to Soylent Green would be but I know I would watch it if they did make it.

 

[Snowdog]

I don't think they can make these kind of films anymore. How old was Heston when he did this? Far older than most leading men are allowed to be nowadays. Also, the perceived need to incorporate huge stunts and action sequences would ruin the film. My feelings towards remakes are: could the original be bettered, and, is there something more to say? If the answer to these questions is 'no' then it's just an exercise in making money and the result is almost always inferior to the original.

The thing I always remember about this fim, apart from "Soylent Green is people!", is the euthanasia centre Edward G Robinson goes to when he's had enough. Apart from the use they put put their customer's remains to, I always thought that this was a highly civilised way to end one's life when one was tired of it.

 

[unclejack]

I really don't think that the increasingly high standards in movie making in regards to stunts and special effects make it impossible to make a sequel to any particular movie but I will say that I think it makes it harder to make a movie that doesn't meet those standards that will be marketable to people particularly the younger generation. People have come to expect to be wowed and blown away by stunts, action and special effects and most people have either forgotten or never knew what things like drama and character development are apart from those things. But nevertheless I stand by my original statement that a sequel to Soylent Green will never happen because I don't think most people have even heard of it so there wouldn't be many people who would go see it. There's always the possiblity for a remake....and believe me, I say that with no fondness for the idea. I'm tired of remakes, I think original ideas are dropping like flies and all hollywood knows how to do anymore is to remake great movies with bigger special effects and stunts ultimately tarnishing the memory of the original. Case in point, the omen remake, the body snatchers remake (the second remake) soon to come to theaters, the psycho remake, and many others.

 

[Foxbat]

This is indeed a fine film but I think it should be left alone. There are just too many remakes nowadays.

Incidentally, this was Edward G. Robinson's 101st and last film. He died not long after it was released. He was a fine actor and there are not many as good as him around today.

 

[Snowdog]

There are still some fine actors who learnt their trade the hard way and are now themselves quite old, like Tommy Lee Jones and James Woods, Christopher Walken - that generation. It's the new crop I have problems with, who are picked for their looks rather than their ability. Some can still surprise you but if they turn in a good performance it's the exception rather than the rule.

But, as been noted, most films today don't require actors to be that good.