The movie Soylent Green was based on Harry Harrison’s book “Make Room! Make Room!” which came off the presses in 1966. The counter-culture movement is waving its freak flag high, in protest against the war in Vietnam, rampant pollution, and discrimination. It’s not at all surprising that writers wrote alarming forecasts of what the future might hold if mankind didn’t change its ways. And it’s not at all surprising that several save-the-environment-themed movies would also be produced. A few years later, 1973’s Soylent Green provided a glimpse of a filthy, dystopian future where the only thing left is humans sweltering in their juices. The audiences who first saw it were still in a war with Vietnam; Nixon’s Watergate was happening; and peoples’ voices were being heard. The newly created Environmental Protection Agency had begun taking action against polluters. This movie contains the final performance of Edward G. Robinson, one of the truly great actors from a golden age in film. Unknown to the rest of the cast, Robinson was dying of cancer, making his deathbed scene in the film even more poignant. Charleston Heston, who had worked previously with E.G. in The Ten Commandments, was moved to tears in his own performance as acted across from Robinson. Robinson’s performance alone is reason enough to watch Soylent Green. But what remains most striking about this film is that all of its dire social and environmental warnings are still relevant today.
