nicholasttalbot
Of the few science fiction films starring legendary actor Charlton Heston, Soylent Green (1973), directed by Richard Fleischer, is perhaps the most plausible. It depicts a not-so-distant future 2022 New York as a city plagued by overpopulation, pollution, and food-shortages. In the film, the industrialization of the 20th century has rendered the earth untillable. Food is -allegedly - obtained by harvesting phytoplankton from the ocean, through an operation headed by the mysterious and omniscient Soylent Corporation. Their product, a synthetic food called Soylent Green, feeds most of the city. The plot follows NYPD detective Frank Thorn, (Heston) investigating the murder of William R. Simonson, a wealthy lawyer and former member of the board at Soylent. As Thorn delves further into the case, he discovers a disturbing conspiracy between the Soylent Corporation and the world's government to keep the human race ignorant of a horrifying truth: Soylent Green is not as it seems.
The film opens with an artful and effective montage, charting the destructive power of humanity's technological development. Within the first few minutes we understand the director's intent: to warn audiences of the environmental destruction humans are imposing on the planet. As a result, the forty million residents of 2022 New York live in squalor. Crowds of homeless bodies litter the sidewalks and fire escapes. Food and water is distributed through measly rations. Human 'progress' has pushed past the point of no return, where all of earth's beauties have been destroyed. Sol Roth, Thorn's good friend, played by Edward G. Robinson, remembers what life was like before the devastation. In the film he frequently recalls the beauties of the natural world, acting as a bridge between the past and future. His most memorable line is, "People were always rotten but the world was beautiful." The audience, as citizens of a not-yet-destroyed earth, represents the Sol of the past. We take for granted clean air, clean water and fresh food. To us, our environment is a novelty- something that provides some modicum of pleasure, only to be discarded when forgotten. In one of the more powerful scenes of the film, Sol and Thorn witness images of the natural world, set to Beethoven's pastoral symphony and Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt, just as Sol is euthanized. He says to Thorn, "I told you!" to which Thorn replies, "How could I know? How could I ever imagine?" True beauty, the type of sensual pleasure felt through listening to classical music or observing nature, is a mere memory - it is Fleischer's dissatisfaction with the direction of modern culture, being transposed onto a science fiction future - the idea that true romanticism is no longer appreciated. This scene challenges the audience: in fifty years will we end up like Sol, reminiscing of the long-lost awe-inspiring beauty of our earth?
The implications of this post-apocalypse reach further than environmentalism. Incumbent Governor Santini, has connections with the Soylent Corporation and police department. After catching wind of Thorn's meddling, Santini orders the investigation to be closed. An observant viewer will notice Santini's campaign poster hanging in the office of Chief Hatcher (Brock Peters). As nature deteriorates, so does the status of women. Almost every woman in the film is a prostitute, including Thorn's love interest Shirl (Leigh Taylor-Young). She serves the men of high society, staying in one apartment as different tenants come and go - hence 'furniture.' These luxury apartments are stocked with video games, liquor, beef and even strawberry jam - something Thorn had never heard of before tasting himself. The poor live on the streets, in tenements or shelters and can look forward to eating their Soylent Green, which is sold every Tuesday. The film, which premiered post-civil rights movement, does not shy away from showing a brutal police force bent on riot control. Fleischer and company's pessimistic view of the future is a product of the perceived deterioration of the American dream, as witnessed by so many disillusioned Americans in the early 1970s. Government corruption, sexism, and inequality are not science fiction, they are modern fact, and according to Soylent Green things are only going to get worse.
The question remains, why is this film important for environmentalism? Why not just watch An Inconvenient Truth for the tenth time? The answer: how faithfully it captures the human spirit, for better or for worse. We are selfish and destructive, yes, but we are also inquisitive, freethinking, moral beings. Thorn fights against complacency in pursuit of the truth. As a species united, it is no longer acceptable for us to stand idle while our environment crumbles around us, nor should we allow the continued mistreatment of women, minorities and the poor. We have a right to information, and, in the eyes of environmental philosophers like Richard Hiskes, we have a right to clean air for our generation and our children's generation. In other words, do not eat Soylent Green, before you know what is in it.
Not once in the film do you see the barren wastes outside the city or the dying oceans. The focus is on us, the human race - the only ones capable of preventing a Soylent Green future from happening. Now, the camera is rolling and we are the stars of the show. Will we step up to the mark and perform, or collapse under the weight of our own hubris? Let us ensure that Soylent Green remains fiction, before we all become Sol Roth.
Prismark10
Director Richard Fleischer could me some odd looking campy films and I am afraid the costumes in this Dystopian futuristic film makes you wonder why the male characters are dressed in such a foppish way.Set in 2022, the planet is suffering from the greenhouse effect and global warming. There is overpopulation, homelessness and an increased divide between the rich and the underclass.Pollution has meant food is in short supply and Soylent Industries makes from plankton called Soylent Green. Real food whether it is meat or vegetable is a rare luxury.When an executive of Soylent Industries is brutally killed Detective Thorn (Charlton Heston) investigates. Thorn lives with an elderly scholar Sol Roth (Edward G Robinson) who tells Thorn about the old days and helps with his investigation. Thorn enters a world of the rich with their fancy apartments, treacherous bodyguards and accompanying furniture who are young beautiful women who come with apartment.Thorn soon finds out that the rich and powerful are trying to disrupt his investigation by applying pressure to his bosses. The murdered executive felt guilty about something and confessed to a preacher who himself has been executed. There is a secret about the food chain which Thorn is determined to find out.Charlton Heston despite his increasing right wing views as he got older did make several films about an environmentally degraded world. The film has a famous reveal about what exactly is Soylent Green but it really does looked aged in parts, slow going and not very convincing despite its interesting premise of an environment destroyed by humans. The treatment of women as just playthings is despicable.This was the last appearance of Edward G Robinson who died soon after the film was completed. The most emotional scene is regarding his euthanasia surrounded by images of fields, forests, mountains, animals, rivers, sunsets and piped classical music.
dworldeater
Soylent Green is an excellent dystopian science fiction classic starring Charlton Heston. Along with Planet Of The Apes and The Omega Man, Soylent Green is in the same vein and is very entertaining, cerebral and well made all around. This very bleak, but socially relevant and thought provoking film is a cautionary tale that is grounded in scientific fact and where we could be headed if we don't make drastic changes. The year is 2022 and is set in NYC, where it is overcrowded, polluted and resources such as food and water are scarce. Charlton Heston is a police detective that is investigating a murder, which leads him to uncover some disturbing facts that are trying to be buried by The Soylent Corporation, who is a primary food source and distributor to the majority of the population worldwide. Leigh Taylor Young is "furniture", owned by the building and her job is to please her wealthy male tenants, while getting to live a life far more comfortable than most people could dream of as her reward for her services. Her husband/tenant was murdered and ends up being love interest for our leading man Heston. Heston, was a lucky man and Leigh Taylor Young was gorgeous. This was the final film for screen legend Edward G Robinson and had a great rapport and chemistry with Heston. The film is gritty and grimy and paints a nightmare picture of the future. Richard Fleisher did his best work with this film and is a great sci fi thriller with lots of social commentary and suspense. Soylent Green is an absolute classic and is every bit as good and as important as the original Planet Of The Apes.
