Soylent Green

Friday, February 14 - Sunday, February 16, 2020

*Please note the late-night screenings on Fri Feb 14 – Sun Feb 16 begin at 12:20am, not 11:59pm!*


DCP projection


“[Charlton] Heston’s Detective Robert Thorn works in a dystopian 2022 New York City overflowing with 40 million civilians and plagued by pollution that (courtesy of some cheesy special effects) gives everything outdoors a rusty orange-brown hue. With greenhouse gases having destroyed the world’s meat, dairy, fruit, and vegetable supplies, the hungry masses now receive nutrition via creepy multi-colored food products courtesy of multinational corporation Soylent.


Thorn is sent to investigate the death of a Soylent executive (an underutilized Joseph Cotton), but finds the man’s opulent apartment—replete with rare liquor, giant hand soaps, and fresh meat—more interesting than the corpse in the living room. Thorn takes a special liking to the murdered man’s hotel-provided whore Shirl (Leigh Taylor-Young), and the film’s ludicrous portrait of male-female sexual relationships (Thorn lovingly refers to Shirl as “furniture”) is almost as dated as the chintzy, early-‘70s décor, hairstyles, and technology meant to pass as “futuristic.” As the ensuing investigation uncovers a diabolical plot involving the highest levels of government, Heston’s Thorn acts tough, steals from everyone he meets, and puts up with his elderly roommate Sol’s (Edgar G. Robinson, in his final screen performance) wistful recollections of the past.


Fleischer uses Holocaust-era allegorical allusions to fortify his story’s repeated warnings about the consequences of over-consumption and environmental carelessness, but the film is too mindless and shrill to properly incorporate such historical symbolism into its unfocused narrative. On the other hand, the film strikes a poignant chord with its chilling portrayal of a state-sponsored euthanasia program that utilizes movie-watching as a narcotic designed to help the sick and elderly die peacefully. Whereas Kubrick’s ‘71 sci-fi classic A Clockwork Orange posited the moving image as a potentially dangerous force to be regarded with skepticism, SOYLENT GREEN champions film’s transcendent power not only to replicate the real world, but also to enhance one’s appreciation of life’s boundless wonders.” — Slant


Screening as part of our Winter 2020 series, “Waverly Midnights: Hindsight is 2020s.”


  • Country USA
  • Year 1973
  • Running Time 97 minutes
  • Distributor Warner Brothers
  • Director Richard Fleischer
  • Writer Harry Harrison (novel), Stanley R. Greenberg (screenplay)
  • Editor Samuel E. Beetley
  • Cinematographer Richard H. Kline
  • Cast Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Jospeh Cotten, Chuck Connors
  • Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.