Based on the 1966 work, Make Room! Make Room! By Harry Harrison, Soylent Green is a dystopian sci-fi film which illustrates a desolate future where overpopulation and globing warming have led to pervasive ecological disasters. Unemployment and poverty are widespread with real fruit, vegetables and meat rare and exclusive to those who can afford them. Much of the population sustains itself on processed foods and rations known as “soylent green” wafers.

The film is a superb mixture of sci-fi and police procedural which fans of movies such as Blade Runner will appreciate. New York City police detective Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston) and police researcher Sol Roth (Edward G. Robinson) are investigating the brutal murder of businessman William Simonson (Joseph Cotton), a member of the board of the Soylent Corporation. As Thorn and Roth begin to unravel the mystery they suspect there is more to the slaying than a botched robbery.

Soylent Green is a cautionary tale with Heston as its Prophet of Doom, a role that he played so well in many other flicks. Thorn is the morality gauge, the one fighting the many to save humanity from its complacency and corruption. He is the quintessential tragic hero who will give his life to save his world from destruction.

This would be the final and 101st performance for Edward G. Robinson who passed away nine days after shooting was complete. His portrayal of Roth as the sensitive reminder of better days sometimes steals the spotlight from Heston.

Often parodied, the film is a serious testament to what may become of us if we are not good stewards to the planet. In an age where processed foods, pollution and global warming are all constant concerns, this movie deserves a more solemn place in the annals of motion picture history rather than fodder for some old, worn out, SNL skit.

Director: Richard Fleischer

Writers: Harry Harrison (novel)
Stanley R. Greenberg

MPAA Rating: PG some adult themes