Soylent Green

Soylant green are people!

Amen

This is great news! One of my fav SF apocalyptic-future movies. I have a widescreen laserdisc of Soylent & have held off for many yrs to get the DVD, hoping it'd make it to BD.

Other classic SF movies I'd really like on BD -

Abyss - obvious choice considering it's Cameron
Andromeda Strain
Rollerball (original)
Fantastic Voyage
Voyage to Bottom of the Sea (movie)

and add First Men in the Moon for Harryhausen aficiandos

All of these, restored/remastered would be highly collectible for scifi fans.
I'll be getting Soylent for sure! I hope it does decent sales to help convince studios to do more classic non-B movie SF titles.

Both Solyent Green and Logan's Run are a bit too old-school and campy for me, and I wouldn't really agree that Soylent really nails a "post apocalypse" vibe that was mentioned that well. Maybe I should revisit it though, because I get these two mixed up -- I'm pretty sure Logan's Run along with Flash Gordon are the ones that I know I don't care for because they are a bit too cheese ball.

With that said, I'm proud to hear about this because I may revisit. I'm also waiting on The Abyss, Westworld, Stepford Wives, and They Live to really enhance my sci-fi collection. Wow, feel like I'm forgetting a few but maybe not -- we have some great sci-fis already on BD.

You wouldn't consider Westworld and They Live! to be a bit cheesey/campy?

For the record, I love those kind of movies (See sig)

...Yeah, it's a funny thing about taste. Somebody can claim SOYLENT GREEN is campy and still have no trouble with a movie where wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper puts on fancy sunglasses so that he can see aliens walking among us.

I really look forward to this. Movies from the late 60's and early 70's have an odd vibe that seems to have sprung from that time of radical changes in society. These are great period pieces.

And I always like to see ANY catalogue getting a BD release. That's always encouraging.

I will be buying this one. Can't wait.

Correct. Soylent Green (along with Logan's Run) is really splicing too close to the 60s for me (which primarily was concerned with the theming of "overpopulation" which I find uninteresting because I actually know too much about that), lacking the imagination that I require by being more about social commentary and structure of the environment (which is fine, but it seems rather dated to me in every respect) without any of the substance that I crave. My real gripe isn't necessarily its age, but the time period and the themes (one of which I've already mentioned) and how they choose to exploit it — they simply don't do enough with their set design, visuals, and require too much on classicism (which comes out being artificial and almost like a dated drama tale, similar to an 80s movie called "Enemy Mine" which is a terrible movie in every respect). In-fact, Soylent Green is actually more "drama" than it is "sci-fi", which tells you much of what I am getting at. Sorry, but I don't remember Soylent nor Logan's Run immersing me into the environment, and really sprucing my sci-fi requirements that I so desire, creating something that I would crave to ever watch again. I'll continue to pass, but as I said before, I respect this release tremendously and I'm proud it's on the BD format.

THX-1138 on the other hand, actually interests me, and it's probably very similar to these two movies. Why is that?

Again, that's not to say that Soylent Green isn't a great movie with some good themes, great characters (especially Heston), and a good plot — this isn't what I'm after. For a sci-fi movie, it just doesn't make me forget about life and take me somewhere new, nor really kept me engaged with what it had to say — all of which is dated by now. Even upon release of this title, it's probably going to have a very limited market that will be after it. Flash Gordon was also recommended to me, and that was the cheese pinnacle.

As far as They Live; you guys are being very presumptuous. First off, we are talking about a 20 year gap, which brings about many new things. Secondly, They Live captured an apocalypse environment much better than Soylent Green (one that was actually relevant in the late 80s, and sadly, an environment that is still relevant today if not even more) and They Live was also conservative in what it set out to do — it was never meant to be set "50 years into the future" like Soylent Green (or Ghosts of Mars), so it never tried to overstep its boundaries. They Live was and still is a smart movie showing not only the social structure, but the political structure of its current times (remember — still being relevant), and the humor that you have been referring to is all metaphorical and symbolic which only seems "cheesy" to the people who cannot think — which refers to the mainstream audience (any maybe a few on this thread ) which makes the movie even more relevant in its meanings. They Live absolutely bends Soylent Green over and spanks the living life out of it, and I could make a safe bet that "They Live" had a MUCH smaller budget and still has much more to say. I would even show new audiences They Live over Soylent Green on a 100:1 ratio as well.

As far as Westworld, I have a different explanation, but I shouldn't be required to defend my opinions. We can start by realizing that Westworld is the first Terminator, for starters.

A true sci-fi collector will collect "ALL" sci-fi-...cheezy or not! The problem is, if you collect sci-fi, you already have it on DVD, so whatever they release on BD is redundant.

Double dipping is the biggest hurdle for us collectors...is the upgrade worth it? What do you do with the DVD that you spent your money on (that's a rhetorical question) which probably cost more that the BD....decisions, decisions!!!

That's all on the DVD, but let's hope the picture is an upgrade.

Obviously, you won't be buying this one

That said, I don't understand how you could say Soylent was "only" relevant to the 60's. Ever hear of the SF novel by John Brunner, "The Sheep Look Up"?

I find Soylent surprisingly relevant especially today with scientific evidence piling up about global climate change, massive arctic ice melting and possibility of stopping the cold/warm water elevator which drives the ocean currents & marine ecosystems. If the current elevator stops, the world as we know it is in a heap of trouble.

Besides over-population, Soylent depicts an over-heated "hot" environment, where food supplies & ecosystems have failed.

Unless you're one of the ones who think global warming is a hoax , the causative agents leading to the backdrop of the story are just an extension of current trends.

And yes, besides nuclear war or virus mutations & outbreaks, the usual fodder for apocalyptic stories, I would categorize Soylent Green as a post-apocalyptic movie. I certainly wouldn't call it paradise

But everyone has his own tastes and you are entitled to yours.

I have to ask, are 2001 Space Odyssey & Planet of the Apes too 60's for you, too?

+1
I would add the scenes where Robinson is "going home" and Thorn is watching the clips of wilderness with Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony playing. And he breaks down in tears saying how could he have known how beautiful the world once was. That part always gets to me.

But I liked Silent Running, too. I guess that makes me one of those tree-hugger types

If it is as good as Omega Man pq wise'which looks great to me then it might be worth buying.The movie was decent'Not nearly as good as Planet of the apes or Omega Man but worth renting at least.I love Scfi and have Crack in the World coming tomorrow.yippe.

They said they would change the recipe, but it's still people!!!

You are a SF fan!
Crack in the World - a good one

Correct sir! I think I've built a good case and explained myself well. Curious though, what are your thoughts on "Enemy Mine"?


The theming of overpopulation and food shortage isn't very relevant (or interesting) today. Global Warming also bores the piss out of me because I've heard it all too much (I am not a republican, either).

Part of my previous response was aiming at this point of "The Sheep Look Up", as the novel was describing a dystopian and "futuristic" environment in the US. My previous point, is that I really don't like how the environment was shown in "Soylent Green" or in "Logan's Run." It certainly did not immerse me, or make me feel that I was there. For awesome, repressive, and immersive dystopian environments, I find "Blade Runner", "Escape From New York", "A Clockwork Orange", and "THX-1138" much more encumbering, mind settling, and less prone to aging of their associated time periods. "Westworld" on the other hand, can be a bit corny at times, but it still pulls me in, especially during the western period, and allows my mind to swim wondering about the theming that it offers. The premise of Westworld still fascinates me, but I guess that's just the nerd in me.


Until we reach more valid scientific conclusions, I'll have to still think otherwise. That is not to say that I fault you for finding it interesting, along with how the film portrays this. I'm just saying that for me: I don't find it interesting or engaging, even from the getco, and I don't think it makes more any "less" of a sci-fi fan from some implications I've seen.


Precisely — a sci-fi film about food. Give me replicants or eye devices that forces human nature to behave a certain way instead!


I still need to watch Planet of the Apes (I know I know, don't hate me for it). 2001 is not very 60s either — some of its optical effects and set designs are more realistic and amazing than most movies even shot today. Certainly, the clothing and hair styles are a bit old, but Kurbick intentionally showed such things to a bare minimum and kept things as minimalistic as possible, as I think 2001 is a film that doesn't really age. We call those, you know, "masterpeices."

I enjoy the chat!

You've just made me a happy guy, Soylent Green along with Rollerball and Demon Seed are my Sci-Fi Blu ray missing titles.

Now we're talkin' .. one of my all time favorites .. when I saw it at the cinema many years ago, it was quite the shocker ..

I added "Rollerball" on my list because I've never seen it, and you guys have mentioned it twice already.

Now, please explain to me, how "Rollerball" is different or more entertaining than "The Running Man" or "Death Race 2000." I'm a little bothered by it's 125 minute run time, but that's just some first thoughts.

I also like Arena (1989), but that's just the stupid imaginative kid in me speaking.

Didn't like it from seeing it on the CBS Late Movie (their answer to Carson) during the early seventies; was surprised how good it seemed upon re-viewing up until the halfway mark, at which point it seemed to me to really wear out its welcome.

I did appreciate the late, great Edward G. Robinson and the business concerning his demise. I suspect such a solution will actually happen sooner or later.

...only to those that moved away from So Cal!

Andromeda Strain is really really good! You have a good taste Sir.

Well said; while the film may be somewhat dated in terms of its science and message it more than makes up for it with some great performances (the final scene between Thorne and Sol is heartwrenching). This is one of my favorite sci-fi films; that fact that it is very much of its time is, like Logan's Run, part of its charm. Its as much as window to the past as a dystopic look at the future and that is part of its appeal for me.

Day one purchase on this one, although I will be curious to see how certain scenes - especially the ones with the fake smog - translate into hi-def.

and final film. If this is a quality retrospective, it would be a very nice bonus.

Thanks for the compliment! So do you

Hey, don't spoil it!

/thread