Tweet
Released by: Legend Films
Released on: 6/3/2008
Director: Michael Campus
Cast: Oliver Reed, Geraldine Chapman
Year: 1971
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
A bleak and pessimistic prediction of things to come, Michael Campus' 1971 Z.P.G. Zero Population Growth remains an interesting look forward that portrays the future as a pretty miserable place and which contrasts interestingly enough to many fifties sci-fi pictures where the 2000s (ha!) were meant to be a place of carefree living and utopian living.
Set sometime in the future on an Earth that has become so polluted human's must wear gasmasks outside, the president hosts a press conference and announces that due to overpopulation no one will be permitted to procreate for three decades. Anyone who tries to have children will be executed and those with maternal and paternal instincts will be awarded robotic kids to care for in place of real flesh and blood rugrats.
A woman named Carol (Geraldine Chapman) doesn't care about the consequences, however. She wants a baby of her own and is willing to risk her life to try and have one. Her husband, Russ (Oliver Reed), is cool with her idea but dictates to her how important it is that their efforts be as clandestine as possible so that they can avoid execution. Carol has her baby in secrecy and a cooperative old doctor checks everything out to make sure mother and child are healthy. Things are going fine until the jealous couple who live next door discover that Carol's actually delivered a real child...
On the surface, ZPG is a fairly stereotypical seventies science fiction effort. The uniforms worn by the entire populace, the dystopian world view and the set design are all dead giveaways pointing to the decade in which the film was made. That said, while it might feel a little date in those regards the story holds up quite well and, given developments in overpopulated countries such as China, it's probably even more topical now than it was when it was first made. Aspects of the picture are a little preachy but it makes for good and at times fairly thought provoking entertainment.
The film is well paced and well acted with Chapman and Reed (who is admirably restrained in his work on this film) both turning in worth performances. Michael Campus directs the film with a firm grip keeping things moving at a nice speed and really bringing the cold atmosphere of this futuristic world front and center in the film. The robotic replacement kids are creepy as Hell and they really lend the film an eerie vibe.
Video/Audio/Extras:
ZPG debuts on DVD in a 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that looks to preserve the film's original aspect ratio. Aside from the fact that the transfer is interlaced the presentation is solid. There is some slightly distracting shimmer in the background of some scenes but the mild coat of grain is never distracting and there isn't any real print damage to complain about save for some small specks here and there. Color reproduction looks appropriately cold throughout and skin tones look lifelike and natural. There's a bit of wear and tear in some spots but for the most part this is a perfectly acceptable presentation even if, like more than a few of these Legend Films releases, it really should have been properly flagged for progressive scan playback...
The sole audio option on this disc is an English language Dolby Digital Mono track that doesn't contain any noticeable background hiss but does contain a few clicks and pops in the mix. Otherwise this track is perfectly serviceable.
Save for a static menu and chapter selection this DVD is, unfortunately, completely devoid of any extra features whatsoever.
The Final Word:
A very cold and semi-creepy seventies sci-fi film, ZPG plays well almost four decades after it was made. The disc looks and sounds alright though more extras would have been welcome... where's the trailer?