Amazon.com video review:
Charlton Heston seemed fond of starring in apocalyptic
science-fiction films in the late 1960s and early '70s. There was Planet of the
Apes, of course, and The Omega Man. But
there was also 1973's Soylent Green, a strange detective film
(based on Harry Harrison's Make Room! Make Room!) set in 2022
and starring Heston as a Manhattan cop trying to solve a murder in the
overpopulated, overheated city. His roommate (a necessity in the
overcrowded metropolis), played by Edward G. Robinson, tries telling
him about a better time on Earth before there were no more resources
or room left; but Heston doesn't care. Directed by Richard Fleischer
(The Vikings),
the film has a curious but largely successful mix of mystery and bleak
futuristic vision, somewhat like Blade Runner but
without the extraordinary art direction. This was Robinson's last film
and he's easily the best thing about it; his final scene seems
terribly appropriate in retrospect. Joseph Cotten makes an appearance
as the man whose murder results in the revelation of a shocking
secret. --Tom Keogh
