SF - Charlton Heston, The Last Man on Earth
Charlton Heston (1924-2008) died yesterday at his family home, with his wife of 64 years by his side.
He will be remembered by many for his performances in epic movies such as Ben Hur and the Ten Commandments and rightly so. But for science fiction fans, he brought credibility and his undeniable charisma to three of the best science fiction movies ever made, all adapted from well respected novels.
Planet of the Apes (1968) was the first and most celebrated of them, adapted from the occasionally more thoughtful novel by Pierre Boulle. Heston played Colonel George Taylor, a misanthropic and disillusioned astronaut who is all to happy to leave the Earth behind and head for the stars. When his craft and crew crash land on an arid planet, they find their only female crew member was already dead, her suspended animation capsule having malfunctioned. They set off across the desert of this new world, only to encounter mute humans and a dominant civilisation of apes. Taylor finds himself thrown into this mad world and he fights to maintain his dignity, identity and freedom. Only to ultimately find on a deserted beach, the remains of the Statue of Liberty and confirmation that this is the Earth and those crazy fools really did blow it all up. It has become an iconic moment in cinema, as much due to Heston's wails of anguish as the revelation itself.
Heston, suitably athletic and good looking, brings a commanding presence to the roll. With a perfect performance as the cynical outsider, forced to care about his fellow man and become involved in the human race once more.
The Ωmega Man was a loose adaptation of Richard Mathesson's I am Legend, the story of the last man on Earth, who hunts vampires by day and is hunted in turn by night. Released in 1971, it has Heston as a determined, if somewhat haunted figure, Robert Neville. Heston plays a man determined not to let his mind unravel, and survive both physically and mentally from then End of Civilisation. He survives by making his goal the destruction of the survivors of a biological warfare attack who have become photophobic and lost their skin pigmentation and marbles. But finally, he sacrifices himself to bring about a new world.
Heston puts in a great performance as a strong man who is struggling against his weaknesses in a world where one mistake will be fatal. It has Heston at his most vulnerable of the three films.
Then came Soylent Green in 1973, adapted from Harry Harrison's eco-thriller Make Room! Make Room! in which Heston plays New York cop Robert Thorn opposite Edward G. Robinson's Sol Roth. It was the last role for Robinson, who was originally set to play Dr Zaius in Planet of the Apes. The movie is a bleak detective story in a world that has become overpopulated and suffering from severe ecological problems. Thorn is just out to survive, but becomes embroiled in a deadly conspiracy when he investigates the murder of a Soylent Corporation executive.
The final revelation that "Soylent Green is people!" has again passed into movie legend, but really that's just a side-effect of the real and more terrifying revelation, that the oceans are dead. Heston gives his cop an almost callous approach to everyday life, but shows a desperate compassion for his aged partner.
All of these movies are unthinkable without Heston who stands firm as a rock in each of them. Indeed, remakes of Planet of the Apes and Omega Man have both floundered without someone of his stature in the lead roll. Of course, Charlton Heston did so much more in his life and in his films. But we should be grateful that he brought his towering presence to three truly great SF Films, all of which shall live on for a long time, powered as they are by his exceptional performances.
He will be remembered by many for his performances in epic movies such as Ben Hur and the Ten Commandments and rightly so. But for science fiction fans, he brought credibility and his undeniable charisma to three of the best science fiction movies ever made, all adapted from well respected novels.
Planet of the Apes (1968) was the first and most celebrated of them, adapted from the occasionally more thoughtful novel by Pierre Boulle. Heston played Colonel George Taylor, a misanthropic and disillusioned astronaut who is all to happy to leave the Earth behind and head for the stars. When his craft and crew crash land on an arid planet, they find their only female crew member was already dead, her suspended animation capsule having malfunctioned. They set off across the desert of this new world, only to encounter mute humans and a dominant civilisation of apes. Taylor finds himself thrown into this mad world and he fights to maintain his dignity, identity and freedom. Only to ultimately find on a deserted beach, the remains of the Statue of Liberty and confirmation that this is the Earth and those crazy fools really did blow it all up. It has become an iconic moment in cinema, as much due to Heston's wails of anguish as the revelation itself.
Heston, suitably athletic and good looking, brings a commanding presence to the roll. With a perfect performance as the cynical outsider, forced to care about his fellow man and become involved in the human race once more.
The Ωmega Man was a loose adaptation of Richard Mathesson's I am Legend, the story of the last man on Earth, who hunts vampires by day and is hunted in turn by night. Released in 1971, it has Heston as a determined, if somewhat haunted figure, Robert Neville. Heston plays a man determined not to let his mind unravel, and survive both physically and mentally from then End of Civilisation. He survives by making his goal the destruction of the survivors of a biological warfare attack who have become photophobic and lost their skin pigmentation and marbles. But finally, he sacrifices himself to bring about a new world.
Heston puts in a great performance as a strong man who is struggling against his weaknesses in a world where one mistake will be fatal. It has Heston at his most vulnerable of the three films.
Then came Soylent Green in 1973, adapted from Harry Harrison's eco-thriller Make Room! Make Room! in which Heston plays New York cop Robert Thorn opposite Edward G. Robinson's Sol Roth. It was the last role for Robinson, who was originally set to play Dr Zaius in Planet of the Apes. The movie is a bleak detective story in a world that has become overpopulated and suffering from severe ecological problems. Thorn is just out to survive, but becomes embroiled in a deadly conspiracy when he investigates the murder of a Soylent Corporation executive.
The final revelation that "Soylent Green is people!" has again passed into movie legend, but really that's just a side-effect of the real and more terrifying revelation, that the oceans are dead. Heston gives his cop an almost callous approach to everyday life, but shows a desperate compassion for his aged partner.
All of these movies are unthinkable without Heston who stands firm as a rock in each of them. Indeed, remakes of Planet of the Apes and Omega Man have both floundered without someone of his stature in the lead roll. Of course, Charlton Heston did so much more in his life and in his films. But we should be grateful that he brought his towering presence to three truly great SF Films, all of which shall live on for a long time, powered as they are by his exceptional performances.
posted by paulvonscott at 8:53 AM
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