The Omega Man; Soylent Green

After requesting that those damn, dirty apes remove their stinking hands from his person in 1968's Planet of the Apes, Charlton Heston went back to the sci-fi well a few more times during the five years following, most notably in Boris Sagal's 1971 film The Omega Man (based on Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend) and Richard Fleischer's 1973 Soylent Green (based on Harry Harrison's Make Room! Make Room!). In the lesser of the pair, The Omega Man, Heston stars as Robert Neville, the (apparently) last man standing in an eerily deserted post-apocalyptic L.A. (following a global germ warfare catastrophe), where he fights an ongoing battle with half-dead mutants led by an after-the-fact Luddite named Matthias (Anthony Zerbe). On the minus side, the period-popular zooms will give you whiplash, the dialogue is Cheese Whiz personified, Zerbe's Manson-nicknamed "The Family" are dressed in a hooded getup that bears more than a superficial resemblance to that worn by the nuclear fallout geeks in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and we have this film to thank for one of the Police's lesser songs ("Omega Man"). Still, I loved Neville's regular routine of watching (and reciting the dialogue to) the three-hour Woodstock in an empty theater; plus, his interracial relationship with fellow survivor Lisa (Rosalind Cash) was ahead of its time for a mainstream movie. Boasting a decent widescreen transfer and serviceable Dolby Digital mono sound, the disc also includes video interviews with costars Eric Laneuville and Paul Koslo, and co-screenwriter Joyce H. Corrington; a vintage 10-minute "making-of" (with Heston shooting the breeze with anthropologist Ashley Montague, no less!); and a text essay on Heston's sci-fi films. Very optional. If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium…no, wait, it's Soylent Green day in NYC, circa 2022, where the starving in this city of 40 million struggle for food that looks just like miniature tile samples in baby poop green. In Soylent Green, Heston plays world-weary detective Robert Thorn, whose investigation into the brutal murder of an upper level businessman (Joseph Cotten) brings him ever closer to a rather nasty culinary secret (which I won't reveal here). Edward G. Robinson in his 101st (and final) film role steals his scenes as Thorn's research assistant Sol Roth (the scene where Roth and Thorn savor a small meal of some real food--that Thorn has never seen, let alone tasted--is still wonderful). Thorn is also aided by love interest Leigh Taylor-Young, who costars as furniture (literally, in a big giant feminist step backward, women are supplied with the sofas, refrigerators, and other mod cons of rental apartments). Although somewhat dated today, Soylent Green remains a minor cult classic (check out Chuck Braverman's way ahead of its time quick-cut faux newsreel during the opening) with a fervid following who will no doubt be thrilled with Warner's mostly nice-looking (except for some exterior shots) anamorphic widescreen transfer, if not bowled over by the lackluster commentary track by Fleischer and Taylor-Young. Other extras include clips from a party feting Robinson, and a vintage "making-of." Recommended, overall. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 29, 2011—Warner, 97 min., PG, $19.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1973's Soylent Green features a great transfer and a DTS-HD soundtrack. Blu-ray extras are carried over from the previous DVD release, including audio commentary by director Richard Fleischer and costar Leigh Taylor-Young, the vintage featurettes “A Look at the World of Soylent Green” (10 min.) and “MGM's Tribute to Edward G. Robinson's 101st Film” (5 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a welcome Blu-ray debut for a minor sci-fi cult classic.]