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ZPG played recently on the Science Fiction channel, and I found it dull. Only the fourth PLANET OF THE APES film, and THE OMEGA MAN, could compare to this lame mid-70's sci-fi (except for maybe LOGAN'S RUN). Yes, I dare to say it, all those films were pretty lame, but ZPG is the leader of the pack.

Oliver Reed is living in a society where the government controls everything, especially reproduction. He and his woman have a child, and they have to conceil it. Well, that's the plot, and it goes on and on like that. I could've cared less, honestly, because the film lacks dramatic thrust. Perhaps I didn't allow myself to become as emotionally attached to this film as some people may, but I found it thought-provoking only in the sense that I was think,'When is this going to end?'

Don't get me wrong, I respect the sentiment behind the story. And the movie is professionally mounted, the costumes and sets are wonderfully drab. But, somehow I just couldn't get into the spirit of this cynical view of what our future holds. BLADE RUNNER it isn't.

But, ZPG is not bad exactly. It is just exceptionally mediocre.

If you are a fan of Logan's Run this film is an interesting must see since it plays as a decent prequel (story wise) to that better known sci-fi film. Since LR was made after ZPG I suppose one should say LR plays like a sequel to ZPG. ZPG takes place in an over-populated future so polluted that people wear gas masks outside (we eventually find out it is war related), animals are found only in a museum (stuffed), and food is found only in paste form. The edict: no more babies (or face death), so those born to already pregnant women have an invisible BE (Before Edict) scanned onto their foreheads. In Logan's Run, much later in the future, babies have small crystals placed in their palms that light when the human turns 30. In ZPG we are introduced to a couple (Oliver Reed and Geraldine Chaplin) who work and live as a 1971 typical swinging couple exhibit in the museum along with another couple (best friends/neighbors). When the couple decides to have a baby anyway they are forced to share it with their neighbors or face certain death. There is a scene where Oliver Reed is checking out premature births in a futuristic library very reminiscent of the scene in Logan's Run where Logan researches Sanctuary. Both films deal with escaping the restrictions of a society so messed up it restricts life itself. Eventually the film becomes an escape picture much like Logan's Run. I can't help but think the baby grows up to be the Peter Ustinov character in Logan's Run. Just a thought.

It has been years since I've seen this film and I remember enjoying the premise very much.

Like "LOGAN'S RUN", it takes a similar "What If?" scenario, and places it in a bleak, controlled society. While the film itself may not be great, the concept does prove interesting and qualifies as good science fiction.

In my opinion, Oliver Reed is always worth watching. Along with Geraldine Chaplin and the great (and often underrated) Don Gordon, Reed delivers a solid performance, giving the film it's real thrust rather than placing it in the usual special effects laden territory.

In closing, "THE BLOB" is a great film. And, anyone who may think otherwise can join a previous reviewer and soak their head.

Thank you. -NM.

Usually most any film with Oliver Reed has its moments, even the worst, and he made some stinkers (LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF, SPASMS). This little sci-fi offering about a LOGAN'S RUN type society where babies are disallowed, animals exist in stuffed form only and the weekly roast comes out of a tube, just never engenders any audience interest.

No ONE particular fault - direction is competent, cinematography suitably bleak and the cast suitably depressed, just no SOUL to the thing and inclined towards the so-whattish?

If you want to see Reed and Chaplin on the run having been way too naughty one night, then this is the film for you. I carry a permanent memory of this film in my head as a mini black and white "trailer" Good companion piece to the much bigger budgeted but in the upshot, no better, LOGANS RUN.

I love dark sci-fi films--particularly those that portray a dystopic future (where society is horrid and NOT the nice Star Trek sort of world). "1984", "Soylent Green" and "Brave New World" are just a few dystopias that I adored--so I really, really was hoping I'd love "ZPG". However, sadly, the great story idea was completely undone by horrid directing...and I mean horrid.

The film is set sometime in the future--and apparently in the near future. Disease has been virtually eliminated and the resulting population boom has made the planet unsustainable. Most animal life has been destroyed and the air is semi-toxic. And so, to try to stop the rapid decline of the planet and feed everyone, the governments of the Earth implement a new program--making having children illegal for the next 40 years. And, a young couple (Geraldine Chaplin and Oliver Reed) are determined to somehow have a baby and not face immediate execution. I loved this story idea--and it really was strongly reminiscent of "Soylent Green" (a great film).

So why if I loved the plot idea did I give the film only a paltry 5? Well, the director did a particularly lousy job. The film completely lacked life and emotion--and it felt as if almost everyone was half asleep during the film. You'd think there's be LOTS of emotions concerning this birth edict...but Chaplin and the rest muddle through the film in a somnambulistic state. It could have easily been renamed "ZPG--Zero Plot Growth"! And this completely sterile and muted look of the film can only be blamed on the director--especially since the film had some very talented actors (in addition to the leads, Don Gordon was quite capable). I would really love to see this film remade--as the film should have been a clear winner.