The perfect follow-up to watching Planet of the Apes isn’t its sequel, but Soylent Green, a completely different science fiction movie from the original film’s star. In 1968’s Planet of the Apes, Charlton Heston played the unforgettable role of George Taylor, an astronaut who unknowingly finds himself in the future on a post-apocalyptic Earth. The film spawned a mulтιтude of Planet of the Apes movies, and though the original lead was only involved in two of them, George Taylor remains integral to the franchise’s success. After all, it’s not clear if Planet of the Apes would have been the household favorite that it is today if it weren’t for Heston’s performance.
Planet of the Apes’ George Taylor is without question Charlton Heston’s greatest contribution to the science fiction genre, but hardly his only significant one. Three years after briefly reprising his role as George Taylor in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Charlton Heston starred in his fourth sci fi movie, this one being Soylent Green. Released in 1973 and directed by Richard Fleischer, the film doesn’t surround Heston with ruthless, ape-like killers or send him on an adventure through time, but it offers an experience that’s likely to be enjoyed by fans of Heston’s first sci-fi movie role.
Like Planet Of The Apes, Soylent Green Is A Great Dystopian Movie Starring Charlton Heston
It Also Has A Shocking Ending Twist Reminiscent Of Planet Of The Apes’ Statue Of Liberty Scene
Similar to Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green takes Charlton Heston into a bleak future for humanity. It stops short of putting him in a post-apocalyptic setting akin to Planet of the Apes, but gradually reveals that the state of the world in Soylent Green isn’t any less dark. Civilization hasn’t collapsed as it had in Planet of the Apes, but it’s clearly on the brink of that. It’s made apparent early on that overpopulation – along with other issues – has decimated the world, leaving most of the planet’s population suffering due to worldwide food and water shortages.
Soylent Green is set in 2022, which, at the time of the film’s release, was 52 years into the future.
Many characters in Soylent Green are shown to be dealing with dismal living conditions, with some people even being reduced to what is essentially slavery. There’s also a mᴀssive class divide in Soylent Green’s world, with the rich and powerful having full access to the luxuries of real-life. But the rich and the poor do share one thing in common, which is their reliance on Soylent Green, the company that provides civilization’s primary food source, which is also referred to as “Soylent Green.”
Heston’s Soylent Green character isn’t an outsider thrust into an unfamiliar world, but a product of it
Soylent Green provides a deep dive into this dystopian world through Chartlon Heston’s Robert Thorn. Thorn is introduced in the movie as a New York City police detective investigating the murder of an executive of a food processing company known as Soylent Green. His search leads him to realize that the company is hiding a secret that would rock the world. In contrast to his George Taylor role, Heston’s Soylent Green character isn’t an outsider thrust into an unfamiliar world, but a product of it; living in extreme poverty and without food in a world dominated by humanity’s dependence on Soylent Green is the only life Thorn has known.
Soylent Green Is Charlton Heston’s Second Best Science Fiction Movie
Soylent Green Is One Of The Best Sci-Fi Movies Of The 1970s
Soylent Green may not be a Charlton Heston sci-fi movie with the legendary reputation of Planet of the Apes, but it does share of the film’s best attributes. There’s a lot to love about Planet of the Apes, from the uniqueness of the concept to the phenomenal acting, but what it will always be remembered for is the Statue of Liberty reveal, which is the moment where Taylor comes to the heartwrenching realization that he never left the Earth. Soylent Green has a similarly earth-shattering twist in its ending that also involves Heston’s character reaching a discovery that breaks him.
Between his roles in Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green, Charlton Heston appeared in 1971’s The Omega Man, which was also a sci-fi movie set in a dystopian world.
Albeit to a lesser degree than Planet of the Apes’ Statue of Liberty scene, Soylent Green’s ending is iconic in its own way, so much that it too has been the subject of various pop culture references, even decades after its release. Thanks to that, it holds a special place in Charlton Heston’s legacy as a movie star.
