Review: Soylent Green 4K UHD
Soylent Green (1973)
Soylent Green (amazingly NOT written by Richard Matheson) is part of the early 1970s American sci-fi/dystopian canon of films.
Directed by Richard Fleischer, and starring Charlton Heston as Robert Thorn, it tells the story of a weary NYPD detective (Heston) investigating the suspicious death of wealthy and influential William R. Simonson (Joseph Cotton), a member of the Soylent Green Corporation board.
Was it an assassination? Is there a global cover-up?
Set in New York in 2022, overpopulation, global warming, and pollution have brought human civilisation to the brink of collapse, with worldwide shortages of food, water, and housing. Only the elites (who are all men) can afford spacious apartments, clean water, and real food in walled-off communities patrolled by armed guards.
Their homes are fortified, with moats, security systems, and bodyguards for their tenants. Usually, they include ‘furniture’; a live-in woman to do with as they please. Meanwhile, the rest of the population live in squalor, and their food is highly processed food wafers made by the Soylent Corporation – Soylent Red and Yellow are staple foods, and the latest product, a new, more nutritious, and flavourful wafer derived from plankton, is Soylent Green.
Considering this was made in 1973, it’s quite a shocker even now. In fact, the only thing missing is AI. Heston does his usual anguished Heston acting to great effect and it’s fantastic to see Edward G Robinson in his last role.
Still a great film, still a scary story, and looks fantastic on this new 4K UHD release.
4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films
- 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original lossless mono audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Archive audio commentary with director Richard Fleischer and star Leigh Taylor-Young
- Brand new audio commentary with film historian Michael Brooke and author Johnny Mains
- Charlton Heston at the BFI, an archive on-stage interview with the star of Soylent Green
- Richard Fleisher at the BFl, an archive onstage interview with the director of Soylent Green
- A Look at the World of Soylent Green, a vintage featurette
- MGM’s Tribute to Edward G. Robinson’s 101st Film, a vintage featurette
- Theatrical trailer
- Image galleries
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Frank Collins and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Released 27th July 2026 and available to pre-order.
Review by Tina from a disc kindly supplied by Arrow Films via Fetch Publicity.
