I suppose modern cinema, technology, and the wonders of CGI has spoiled me; this is the second mid-1970's I've watched in the past couple days and it's just almost hard to sit through even a relatively short hour-and-a-half-long film that's this bad by today's standards. The acting was atrocious, the dialogue ridiculous, the storyline itself was so thin you could see the conclusion as early as 20 minutes into the film…and then it's wait another 110 minutes to plod through this awful thing. Not only that, the "conclusion" (that was supposed to be so shocking) was shouted at in one sentence at the very end of the movie. Very anticlimactic, one would think. It might have had more effect if…well, no...scratch that. I don't think there's any saving that conclusion; in fact, by today's standards, there's no saving this film AT ALL. This might have had some impact in 1973, when it was release but as I told someone, "When a futuristic movie starts out with the opening scene reading The Year: 2022 you can't expect it to be all that great." (Hint: We're a year past "the future" already.) The "fight" scenes might have been laughable had they not been expected to be believable but these were like something out of the old 1960's "Batman" TV show...only worse. There was absolutely nothing dramatic, redeeming, or socially enriching about this movie: it was just a bad movie. If you haven't watched this one, don't. Save yourself 186 minutes of your time and watch two episodes of your favorite TV show. This movie was just terrible. Absolutely awful.
A bit melodramatic and woeful treatment of women, but still worth watching in my opinion. The two leads are great, and it is very capable of transporting you into that world for an hour and a half.
There's interesting ideas here but damn everything is so cheap, fake and lame.
The scariest dystopian film, given mankind’s past, this world could become our future reality
Interesting world that is set up. It's slow but not boring.
Worst Sci-Fi movie I ever seen. Soo boring, nothing never happens.
Are there really some alt-right idiots in these comments calling the plot paranoid or outlandish?
Look at this movie, then look out your window. This is another proof environmentalists and the left were right the entire time. They were right 60 years ago, and we're in this mess because you rightwingers were to ignorant / sociopathic to acknowledge that. Thanks.
Still very watchable and entertaining in 2023.
The big reveal is not presented well, but the rest is still very good and, of course, way ahead of its time story-wise.
In the far-off year of 2022, pollution and overpopulation have relegated most of the planet’s population to the streets. There, in teeming piles, they await the next delivery of clean water and highly processed food products. The projection is that New York City alone houses some forty million people, and we see evidence around every corner. Police detective Thorn (Charlton Heston), fortunate enough to afford a tiny, one-room apartment amidst such squalor, literally trips over the homeless as he navigates the lobby staircase each morning. His latest job whisks him to the environs of the über-wealthy, whose spacious, luxurious furnished quarters include video game consoles and conveyable live-in concubines. There to investigate a high profile murder, he happily samples such forbidden fruits and entrenches himself on the wrong side of powerful people with dark secrets.
Although its climactic reveal has been spoiled by half a century of references and punchlines, the actual context of Soylent Green is still, mostly, apt. Shot in the early 70s, but inspired by a mid-60s science fiction novel, it’s very much an of-its-time depiction of a bleak and hopeless future. The metaphorical slope wasn’t quite slippery enough to get the real world to this point, fortunately, but it’s easy to understand the older generation’s concerns... mostly because we still share many of them. These big ideas are realized quite effectively on the big screen, and they’re the primary reason to tune in. The murder plot and corporate cover-ups, marred by Heston’s excessive histrionics, haven’t aged half as well.
The movie is definitely showing it's age. Having said that, it's still kinda fun to watch. It's a time capsule of what we thought future tech would be like. It's a great story, inexpertly told with the limited means of that time. And even though 'soylent green' is kind of a 'meme' so many years the story still manages to grip you till the end. The only points it loses in my book are lost on the sub-par acting. Look past that and this is a great way to while 90 minutes away.
Actually a pretty good and solid idea. Why don't we do it?
this feels like something that came out in 1963 rather than '73. painfully old-fashioned and full of dumb paranoia
Cool concept but it's uninteresting and extremely dull. Put me to sleep like 3 times. 97 mins but it felt like I'm watching a 4 hour film. The characters are shitty and sexist. I regret wasting my time watching this.
Classic science fiction, although its seventies aesthetic takes its toll, but it is still very well, although it is very depressing
Shout by moonkodiBlockedParent2017-03-19T21:20:05Z
Slow paced but the idea works well. Shot really well - it's grimy. A powerful scene later that contrasts the tone beforehand and it has an impact on the senses and is thought provoking. The company secret was pretty predictable. The half romance wasn't needed but also didn't ruin the movie.
I recommend this for people that like older sci-fi