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Z.P.G. (Zero Population Growth) (1972)

 
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Sun May 09, 2021 11:29 am    Post subject: Z.P.G. (Zero Population Growth) (1972) Reply with quote

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_________________________ Z.P.G. Trailer


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Z.P.G. (1972) is was rarely shown on TV. I'd heard about it since the mid-seventies and finally had a chance to see it on the Sci-Fi Channel back in 1995 or so. Then a DVD release finally happened about a year ago.

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This film follows along the same lines of other seventies sci-fi pictures in predicting a rather unpleasant future Earth, usually based on our present disregard for the planet's ecology (Soylent Green, No Blade of Grass, Silent Running).

I recently read a comment on IMDb which also made the case that Z.P.G. could be regarded as a prequel to Logan's Run (or, Logan's Run is an unofficial sequel to this). However, Z.P.G. lacks the energy of those other films.

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The scenario presented here is quite grim.

Pollution is so bad that everyone wears gas masks when outside. Any exterior scenes are always smothered in what must be smog, like a continual mist. At the start, the government issues an edict which does not permit any more births. Women are heard wailing & screaming.

The tone is ultra-serious, but I found a lot of the concepts to be slightly absurd. Women are so desperate for the feeling of holding a child, they mollify themselves with creepy-looking dolls as substitutes. Strange zoos or museums depict stuffed animals such as house cats, which are obviously now extinct.



All this sound intriguing, another glimpse into a possible dark future for our civilization, but most of the film is sleep-inducing.

Oliver Reed and Geraldine Chaplin star as the couple who decide to have a child anyway, even though, if caught, the penalty for them is death. They, like most everyone else, sort of sleepwalk through their roles. Don Gordon and Diane Cilento play another couple who cause them a few problems. The ending, though dull like the rest of the film, is tantalizing to those familiar with Logan's Run. This illegal child of theirs — could it not grow up to be Peter Ustinov's character in the latter film? It does fit together.

BoG's Score: 4.5 out of 10



BoG
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Pow
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 1:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Legendary special effects artist Derek Meddings who created terrific models for many of the Gerry & Sylvia Anderson sci~fi television series, as well as the James Bond movies, worked on Z.P.G.

Derek created the life-sized realistic animatronic children for this movie.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 18, 2021 11:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

POW wrote:
Derek created the life-sized realistic animatronic children for this movie.

I don't think I've seen this movie, and I'm curious about those animatronic kids.
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