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April 06, 2008
Charlton Heston, Sci-Fi Visionary
When I think of Charlton Heston, who died yesterday, I think of him in his three epochal sci-fi roles: Planet of the Apes (1968), The Omega Man (1971), and Soylent Green (1973). I saw the latter two when they first appeared, Planet of the Apes as an adult. I found all three hugely entertaining and among the very few movies I have watched more than once.
'SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!!!!"
Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. I feel better now.
Of the three, The Omega Man had the biggest impact on me when I saw it as a 13 year old in 1971 at the venerable Border Theatre in Mission, Texas. Everything in the movie dazzled me, from the eerie, empty streets of Los Angeles to the extreme irony of Heston, as sole survivor scientist Robert Neville mouthing the words to "Woodstock" as he watches it in a theater. What really gripped my imagination? Hint: what would most appeal to a 13 year old curious about the many-splendored possibilities between a man and woman?
That's right: Heston's relationship with fellow survivor Lisa, played by the late Rosalind Cash. They get off to a rocky start -- her first statement to him is something like "Your name is mud, motherf--er!" -- but things warm up, and get warmer still, and if I recall she becomes pregnant, promising new hope for a multicultural world to emerge from the ashes. As a 13 year old, I was mostly interested in the getting-pregnant aspects of the film.
I'll have to find the movie and give it another viewing to see how well it holds up.
Any other Heston sci-fi fans out there? What's your favorite scene or line?
Van | 04/06/08 at 07:43 PM | Categories: Sensual pleasures
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