In the not too distant future, an overpopulated Earth government makes it illegal to have children for a generation. One couple, unsatisfied with their substitute robot baby, breaks the rules.
Oliver Reed Geraldine Chaplin Don Gordon Diane Cilento David Markham Bill Nagy Sheila Reid Aubrey Woods Wayne Rodda Ditte Maria Wiberg Birgitte Federspiel Lone Lindorff Belinda Donkin Claus Nissen Jeff Slocombe Dale Robinson Victor Lipari Michel Hildesheim Paul Secon Carlotta Magnoff Eugene Blau Bent Christensen Sam Maisel Anne-Lise Gabold Peter Ronild Birte Tove Birgitte Frigast-Hansen Brian Keifer Wladirmir Kandel Show All…
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The 70's are home to a plethora of sci-fi films that have sizable cult followings, from the obvious to lower budgeted gems like (personal favorite) "Phase IV". Which makes the lack of overt fandom for this solid little Danish-American production somewhat surprising.
Managing to get its big ideas across on the screen despite being saddled within the confines of it's limited budget, this well-intentioned film has a pretty good look to it, overall. It sets up it's concept early on, and them hammers it home for a good stretch of the movie...but stick with it. Where I figured I was getting another Orwellian tale of Government/Big Brother/The Machine vs our protagonists, this film hits that button while also revealing that…
They say that this is dystopian science fiction, but I hate kids, so other than the rotten turtlenecked jumpsuits and questionable interior design choices, this looks like a pretty decent plan for society to me.
We're in a future where the smog is so bad you need a full face mask to walk outside, most animals are extinct, and food is presumably made of soy, or perhaps pureed illegal children. Oh yeah - kids are illegal here. If you have a kid, you get the ick. And I think that's just great. That kinda law would have saved me about five or six uncomfortable conversations and ugly-crying breakups in my twenties, but based on the attitude of the flick, I…
ZPG starts out with an interesting well thought out premise of a dystopian future where child birth is forbidden due to the world being overpopulated.
Unfortunately once Geraldine Chaplin and Oliver Reed defy the rules and have a child the film quickly descends into maudlin sentimentality and endless scenes of the pair cuddling each other and the baby, dragging the viewers interest down with it.
The seventies and their weird-ass sci-fi. Z.P.G. focuses on overpopulation and how to get the numbers down, so no more kids for the people. For those that want one, there's the baby shop, where they can get some sort of creepy looking robodoll instead. Just looking at it made me feel uncomfortable. And that goes for many of the stuff that's going on in this bleak and depressing dystopia. Barely any budget, and it shows, but it makes up for that with a seriously unappealing world and ditto happenings. Cats are extinct here. Cats! And those neighbours, oh jeez. This film has flaws, definitely, but it also has a hypnotizing quality to it which keeps it going all the way to the end credits. Not bad.
Zero Population Growth achievable via:
- robot babies which emit a kind of hissing noise before they muster together the syllables MAH-MAH
- pairing Oliver Reed and Geraldine Chaplin together (mm, who was responsible for this casting decision, I want to know)
- smog, just lots and lots of smog, smog, smoG
- imposing a death warrant on future parents
Zero Population Growth not achievable via:
- Oliver Reed's strangely soothing voice
Top moments include people watching a clip on gluttony and obesity elimination when chunky Oliver Reed exists, sure, watcha been feeding the dystopian populace, dystopian government? Ain't any better. And I WANT THAT BABY AND I WANT IT NOW.
If you don't like babies, you will find this…
1972 In Review - May
#8
Concerned with population over-growth, the Earth government bans, under the penalty of death, all pregnancies, but one couple decides to risk having a real baby rather than legally adopt a cyborg child.
What we have here is another largely forgotten science fiction movie that really hasn’t dated well at all. It’s premise is a bit similar to Logan’s Run except here because of overpopulation no more children are allowed to be born for 30 years. If the people of this time want a child then the only option available to them, is to adopt a cyborg child, which looks incredibly like a really creepy doll.
Oliver Reed and Geraldine Chaplin (Charlie Chaplin’s daughter) play…
Smog enveloped skyscrapers, government enforced population control and oppressed, subservient citizens—no, not present day China, but a bizarre relic of seventies sci-fi cinema. Z.P.G. has an interesting premise that's incredibly prescient when viewed today—the idea that mass overpopulation and reckless use of resources will plummet humanity into a totalitarian dystopia doesn't seem so farfetched these days.
Unfortunately though, every other aspect has dated horribly and not even the subdued, burly charisma of Oliver Reed or the elegance of Geraldine Chaplin can rescue what is a clinically dull slice of downbeat hokum. The generous use of fog machines is effective only in that it disguises the low budget set design because this is one ugly, uncinematic film that moves sluggishly from…
Gesichtet wurde die Blu-ray von White Pearl Classics/daredo.
Fassungstitel: Zero Population Growth.
Im 21ten Jahrhundert ist die Erde überbevölkert. Daher wird ein weltweites Gesetz erlassen, das die Geburt von weiteren Kindern unter Todesstrafe stellt. Carol (Geraldine Chaplin) will dennoch Nachwuchs und weiht ihren Mann Russ (Oliver Reed) erst ein, als sie erfolgreich schwanger geworden ist, was den beiden das Leben nicht erleichtert.
Die dystopische Zukunft, die hier geschaffen wird, wirkt glaubwürdig und wird nachvollziehbar erklärt. Durch per Flugobjekt verbreitete Durchsagen werden die aktuelle Ereignisse verkündet. Da die beiden Hauptfiguren in einem Museeum arbeiten, in dem sie für die Besuchenden Szenen aus dem Leben des letzten Jahrhunderts vorspielen, erfährt man an diesem Ort zudem beiläufig durch…
Oliver Reed whispers for an hour and a half. Z.P.G. is part and parcel of the same zeitgeist that birthed SOYLENT GREEN, THE OMEGA MAN, SILENT RUNNING, and LOGAN'S RUN. It's just not as good.
Amidst a dying and overpopulated earth, having a child is now a capital crime. Creepy animatronic dolls are used as surrogates for couples wanting to experience parenthood instead. For Carol, the need to raise a real child is overpowering.
A dystopian paradise, companion to Soylent Green, Fahrenheit 451, Logan’s Run, Silent Running and such. Cowritten by Frank De Felitta (Audrey Rose, The Entity), raises lots of thought provoking scenarios, but the overall result is a somewhat surreal dull affair.
A truly grim dystopian sci-fi thriller set in an overpopulated, poisonous 1970's version of a bell-bottomed, 100% rayon future where childbirth is forbidden, and punishable by death. The government provides would-be parents with creepy robot babies, but one couple, played by Oliver Reed and Geraldine Chaplin, decide to defy them, with predictable results.
Unfortunately, this scaremongering, but relatively thoughtful film has been largely forgotten and overshadowed by the slew of more successful eco-disaster movies that were released at the beginning of the 70s, like Soylent Green, No Blade of Grass, and Silent Running. Definitely worth a look if you can find it.
Whenever you feel a touch overwhelmed by life or even 2020 in general, please take a moment to relax and reflect that at least you don't exist in a 1970s future. A disgusting smog-filled, bell-bottom infested ‘70s future.
