Z.P.G.

"Smog covers the earth. The oxygen is depleted. Love is encouraged. But the penalty for birth is death. The time Is tomorrow and there's no time left."

1972 1h 37m EN

😐

6.1

MID

⭐

5.6

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 60★5.6IMDB · 1,634

Science FictionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In the not too distant future, an overpopulated Earth government makes it illegal to have children for a generation. One couple, unsatisfied with their substitute robot baby, breaks the rules.

“Smog covers the earth. The oxygen is depleted. Love is encouraged. But the penalty for birth is death. The time Is tomorrow and there's no time left.”

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Cast

Oliver Reed
Russ
Geraldine Chaplin
Carol
Don Gordon
George
Diane Cilento
Edna
David Markham
Dr. Herrick
Bill Nagy
The President
Sheila Reid
Mary Herrick
Aubrey Woods
Dr. Mallory

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Campus
Writers: Frank De Felitta, Max Ehrlich
Languages: English
Countries: Denmark, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Denmark, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Campus, shot by Michael Reed. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jonathan Hodge. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dennis Lanning shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Oliver Reed and Geraldine Chaplin and Don Gordon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Smog covers the earth. The oxygen is depleted. Love is encouraged. But the penalty for birth is death. The time Is tomorrow and there's no time left.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0069530 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Campus directs. Michael Reed behind the camera. Jonathan Hodge scores. Dennis Lanning cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Denmark, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

154 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2International production across 2 countries: Denmark, United States of America.
3Directed by Michael Campus, shot by Michael Reed. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Jonathan Hodge. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Dennis Lanning shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Oliver Reed and Geraldine Chaplin and Don Gordon carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Smog covers the earth. The oxygen is depleted. Love is encouraged. But the penalty for birth is death. The time Is tomorrow and there's no time left.".
8IMDB entry: tt0069530 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 60 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Reed
Original score: Jonathan Hodge
Editing: Dennis Lanning
Production design: Anthony Masters
Costume design: Margit Brandt
Makeup / hair: Lene Ravn Henriksen
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Z.P.G. (1972)
IMDB rating: 5.6/10 · 1,634 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

1 win & 1 nomination total

Sitges Film Festival Best Actress award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Michael Campus

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-05-28
★ 5/10
Our planet is over-populated so the government introduces a strict no offspring policy. We must all make do with robot babies - anyone caught trying to have a real child gets shot! "Russ" (Oliver Reed) and "Carol" (Geraldine Chaplin) are determined to have a child, though, and the feature follows their escapades as they try to conceive and to keep their baby and themselves from the pervasive eyes and ears of the State. The concept is quite original, and it obviously spawned quite a few sequels (not least "Logan's Run" in 1976), but the execution and production really do let this down. Diane Cilento was a stunning woman to look at, but here, as was frequently the case, her acting - especially about something quite so visceral - lacks emotion or passion, indeed a robot baby might just have suited her character quite well. There's a decent amount of jeopardy as they try to escape with their bairn, and the socio-political criticism of a society that has lost any semblance of free will is writ large, but the whole thing is listless and, frankly, Reed is not the least convincing either. Pity - had potential, just undelivered.

Production companies