Sunday Wednesday Celluloid Spectacular: Soylent Green

By Matt for the TIB Network:

This review is brought to you by Soylent red and Soylent yellow, high energy vegetable concentrates, and new, delicious, Soylent green. The miracle food of high-energy plankton gathered from the oceans of the world.

Yes, folks, today's film is Edward G. Robinson's fimal curatin call. It is one of Charlton Heston's more famous films and it is one movie with Dick van Patton in it where you don't really notice him. Yes, folks, it's Soylent Green.

Tagline: It's the year 2022... People are still the same. They'll do anything to get what they need. And they need SOYLENT GREEN.

Plot Outline: In an overpopulated future Earth, a revolutionary and needed new foodstuff has an horrific origin. Here is the perfect illustration of the problem:

Okay folks, here are our two heroes: Robinson on the left (on an exercise bike tied in to the electrical system - the lights had dimmed earlier in the scene) and Heston on the right.

Thorn (Heston) is a cop. His boss (Brock Peters) puts him on the case of a high profile murder. Meet Shirl (Leigh Taylor-Young).

Shirl is "furniture." She comes with the victim's apartment.

The story is this: Soylent Green is made of people. That's the big secret that nobody is supposed to know and those that do get killed. The rest is just details.

Okay, it's a terrible film...it was done in a time when sci-fi was all about doom and gloom for the planet and misery for the people who lived there. Let's get to the fun stuff: the Obligatory Star Trek References. This is the Exchange Leader [head librarian](Celia Lovsky), do you recognize her?

How about now that you know she's "all of Vulcan wrapped up in a single person"?

Lovsky as T'Pau in the original Star Trek episode, "Amok Time"

Brock Peters is known for two roles in the Star Trek universe: Admiral Cartwright (Star Trek IV and VI) and Joseph Sisko (in 6 episodes of Deep Space Nine)Gov. Santini is played by Whit Bissell better known to Trek fans as Lurry from the classic episode, "The Trouble With Tribbles" and the DS9 espisode, "Trials and Tribble-ations." Morgan Farley is a librarian in Soylent Green, but Trek fans will remember him for two roles in the original series: Hacom in "Return of the Archons" and Marak Scholar in "The Omega Glory" Also from "Omega Glory" is Roy Jenson, who plays State Security Chief Donovan in this film, but in Classic Trek, he played Cloud William, the Guardian of the Holies, the Son of Chiefs and the Speaker of Holy Words.

Lastly, Leigh Taylor-Young (Shirl) plays Yanas Tigan [above, on the left](Ezri Dax's mother) in the DS9 episode, "Prodigal Daughter."

Islamofascism Delenda Est!