Logan's Run (1976)

I watched and episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation on the SciFi Channel the other day entitled "Half a Life" in which Lwaxana Troi falls in love with a man from a planet where the people must commit suicide at the age of 60. Of course he is only a few days away from that age and goes on to give the reasons behind this ritual that has existed for generations on his world. He says it takes the burden of care off the children, people do not suffer if they are terminally ill, or can be remembered as strong and with all mental faculties functioning. This story reminded me of the film "Logan's Run" made in 1976 and based on the novel written by William F. Nolan. It is a dystopian tale of overpopulation, war, pollution and the usual horrid scenarios envisioned for humanity in the not too distant future. To cope with these bleak conditions, people live in a protected society in which everyone is healthy, needs not work, has enough to eat, and appears happy, and the population is under control, the only catch being you must die at the age of 30 years. The inhabitants do not believe they are dying in the Carrousel ceremony but instead will be renewed and reincarnated in this quasi religious ceremony. The lead characters realize this is nothing more that a death sentence and charade and proceed to escape. It is an interesting movie and I was told they are doing a remake that should be out in 2010.
I like to ponder ideas such as overpopulation, quality of life, the right to have control over your own body especially if you have a debilitating disease and make decisions based current medical information whether to live or end life, when a government crosses the line in legislating how I should treat my body, and other things like how population control can be achieved in a humane manner, and on and on.
Well, here is a clip from the original movie, enjoy!