There is something uniquely charming about predicitve science fiction films: while there are often many surprising paralleled to the fictional world and modern day, there are just as many hilarious blunders. I don't know about you, seeing wealthy people in the year 2022 playing Asteroids and on a behemoth of a machine with a disproportionateely tiny screen simply puts a smile on my face. And yet, it does not remove me from the world, but better informs me of the world through the context and time period of the film's production. "We're playing Asteroids in 2022?" I say, in awe. "What a world we are living in."
1973's Soylent Green, adapted from the 1966 novel Make Room! Make Room! By the phenomenally named Harry Harrison, paints a picture of a dystopian future where famine and overpopulation defined a generation in one if the densest cities on planet Earth: New York City. I think it paints this picture well.
The characters are engaging, and their struggles are relatable. In particular, Thorn and Roth's relationship is heartwarming and effectively understated. The essence of stageplay in the dialogue and intimate character moments do the tone and story of Soylent Green many favors. The camera seems most comfortable in wide shots in this film. Not my favorite style, but typical of the era.
The sound design was surprisingly mediocre: this is most noticeable in the scoop scene, which features bizarrely sparse and illogical footstep sounds. In general, most scenes in this film feature has poor levelling, noticeably missing or out of sync footsteps and foley, or the absence of essential sounds: things like cloth foley, bodies thudding, etc. The sound in this film usually does the job, but it is noticeable more often than it should be.
Overall, Soylent Green seems to me a sci-fi classic. It makes a point and makes it well.
The characters are engaging, and their struggles are relatable. In particular, Thorn and Roth's relationship is heartwarming and effectively understated. The essence of stageplay in the dialogue and intimate character moments do the tone and story of Soylent Green many favors. The camera seems most comfortable in wide shots in this film. Not my favorite style, but typical of the era.
The sound design was surprisingly mediocre: this is most noticeable in the scoop scene, which features bizarrely sparse and illogical footstep sounds. In general, most scenes in this film feature has poor levelling, noticeably missing or out of sync footsteps and foley, or the absence of essential sounds: things like cloth foley, bodies thudding, etc. The sound in this film usually does the job, but it is noticeable more often than it should be.
Overall, Soylent Green seems to me a sci-fi classic. It makes a point and makes it well.