Soylent Green - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Soylent Green



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


AV NIRVANA is member and reader-supported. When you purchase an item using our links, we might earn an affiliate commission.
​

Movie
It’s been so long since I’ve seen 1973’s Soylent Green that it was like watching an entirely new film by the time I got to watching this 4K UHD disc from Arrow. Well, all but the infamous ending, which every film fan knows by heart unless they’ve been living under a rock (kind of like the ending in Planet of the Apes). I think it’s been roughly 28 years since my last viewing (I think it was 1998 in my Jr. year of High School film class) and I remember it creeping me out quite impressively back then. Nowadays my horror scarred psyche isn’t nearly so terrified, but I find it all the more poignant in today’s society. Maybe not with the whole “running out of food” plot, but rather what our government does behind our backs, expecting the masses to just lap it up without question. Is it a great film? Nah, Soylent Green is far too messy to be great. But it most certainly is an entertaining and thought provoking film, even some 53 years later.

If you go in thinking that something is off, or that the ending is a bit telegraphed, then you’re not alone. Soylent Green pretty much gives away the infamous ending in the trailer, and the entire film is basically pointing directly at the third act reveal if you pay attention to the film in the slightest. But that’s kind of the joy of the film really. The audience figuring things out early, but watching with baited breathe as the protagonists of the film slowly reveal the sickening truth. It starts out in 2022 (oh, how they thought the future would look), with the world over populated to the point that most of nature has died out. Only the super rich and elites afford even the basics of what we call “normal food”, where a jar of strawberry preserves will run you $150 (and that’s $150 in what would be considered 1973 dollars) and beef is something people only dream about. Food consists of scraps and a government product known as Soylent Green. A plankton produced food source that is keeping the population of the world alive as best they can.

New York officer Frank Thorn (Charlton Heston) makes due with what he can, but after a prominent member on the board of directors for the Soylent production company dies, he’s forced into a world of mystery and intrigue. The man’s death is simple enough. A robbery turned murder without any real leads. And while it seems simple, Frank can’t get over the fact that something is off. Especially when he becomes a target by a mysterious group of people, including the butler of the very man who was murdered. With the help of his old time partner Sol (Edward G. Robinson, who died of cancer days after the the film was released), he starts to unravel a terrible secret. Maybe, just maybe, the very thing keeping themselves alive is death itself.

Bluntly put, Soylent Green is not exactly a classic film. And while it has gained a cult following over the years, was considered a box office failure in 1973, pulling in less worldwide than its budget. And I kinda get why. The film is very disjointed and fractured, jumping from scene to scene with sometimes HUGE leaps that has the audience trying to mentally fill in the gaps surrounding the continuity leaps. But at the end of the day, it’s a fascinating look at a dystopian future where humanity is starting to turn on each other. And even more insidious, our own government looming over our shoulders with promises of “taking care of us”, only to be the one s with their boot on our necks. The film itself looks and acts out of date at times, but if you look closer at the message underneath it all, it sparks chills down your spine in 2026 when you realize that it isn’t as far fetched as one might think.




Rating:

Rated PG by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

As per usual, Arrow has done the restoration process and gone back to the original 35mm camera negative for this new restoration. The film was scanned at 4K 16bit via Warner’s MPI lab, then color graded at Silver Salt before being reviewed by Pixelogic.

End result? A stunning example of 1970s filmography. It’s distinctly improved over the Warner Blu-ray from what I can see (it’s been years since I even looked at the screen caps, but this is night and day better than anything I ever remembered), and showcases a wonderfully thick layer of grain over the entire production. Indoors has that distinctly “70s” look, complete with brown and maroon walls, thick heavy amber/green tinges, and the super saturated reds. Some of the outdoor shots are intentionally layered with a thick (and I mean THICK) layer of green, and in those shots we sometimes see some excessive grain. But fine details are fantastic, and the primaries incredibly rich thanks to the Dolby Vision. All in all, I can’t think of a better presentation of the film, or it ever being much better. This is about as peak as it can go in my opinion.








Audio:

The 1.0 Mono track in LPCM lossless isn’t exactly fancy, but it is very impressive considering the age of the mix and the low budget that the film was shot on. I’m rather pleased with Arrow LPCM track, with strong dialog and a some good ambient presence from the score. It’s of course less immersive than a 5.1 or even 2.0 track, but still, the experience is about as good as you can get from the type of track that it is. Fred Myrow’s eerie score comes through impressively well, and the fidelity is spot on all the way around. There were only a few moments where I felt we had some muffled dialog, and I naturally took it down a half star as a result. Other than that flaw, I can’t find fault with the mix.

.




Extras:

• 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

Final Score: ​

As much as I’d like it to be so, Soylent Green’s ideas are nothing new, and have been done multiple times in the past. The oldest similar comparison dates back to the days of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”, and has created more than a few knock offs as well. The film looks a bit dated and feels a bit dated at times, but the underlying theme still rings truce over half a decade later. Arrow’s new 4K UHD disc raises the bar quite a bit from the aging Warner Blu-ray, and adds in a hefty dose of extras as well, making this the definitive release for the film to date. The film itself isn’t AMAZING, but still worth a watch, so this garners a “recommended” status from yours truly.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors, Brock Peters
Directed by: Richard Fleischer
Written by: Stanley R. Greenberg, Harry Harrison
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: LPCM Mono 1.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Arrow
Rated: PG
Runtime: 97 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: July 28th, 2026

Recommendation: Recommended