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The year is 2022. New York City is teeming with a writhing mass of 40 million citizens, most of whom are unemployed. Strawberry jam costs $150.00 a jar and voluntary death is encouraged by Government Clinics. Food as we know it is very scarce and the people rely on a biscuit-like foodstuff called Soylent. Detective Thorn (Charlton Heston) is a harried cop investigating the death of a rich magnate (Joseph Cotten) in the dictatorial Soylent company. Edward G. Robinson, in his final screen role plays an aged and wise researcher who remembers what the earth was like with trees, vegetables and democracy. As the threads of the murder unravel, Heston finds himself face to face with the hideous truth about Soylent. Displaying an intensity of poetic and visual invention, this provocative film is a nightmarish vision of a world slowly choking itself to death. Based upon the novel by Harry Harrison.
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How to watch
Stream, rent or buy via
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
305854
Language
English
Audience classification
MA
Subject categories
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Dystopias
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Human ecology
Fantasy & Science Fiction → Science fiction films
Feature films → Feature films - United States
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)