The future we currently live in with food and resources being sparce and us needing to find a way to continue as a society is not as dark a future as Harry Harrison’s book Make Room! Make Room! predicted. In 1973, Richard Fleischer (Conan the Destroyer) brought that prediction to movie screens by way of a screenplay written by Stanley R. Greenberg (Skyjacked) based on Harrison’s book.

Soylent Green focuses on Detective Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston) as he investigates the murder of a board member (Joseph Cottten) of the Soylent Corporation. He’s a good cop; he wants to do his job, solve the murder, and close the case, but he ends up stumbling across a conspiracy, revealing a horrifying reality.

While it’s unlikely you are unaware of what Soylent Green is, we are not going to sit here and openly spoil it for you. The reveal has been referenced in pop culture to an extent that it’s become part of the North American lexicon. And that’s the largest issue with movies like Soylent Green, they live and die by the shock value of their reveal. Whether there’s still something in the movie of interest for you to engage with varies from one film to another. The milage on rewatches of movies like Shutter Island (2010), Signs (2002), The Sixth Sense (1999), and Se7en (1995), varies greatly from person to person.

SOYLENT GREEN 4K UHD packshot. Photo courtesy of Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment Group.

No matter your level of enjoyment of Soylent Green, the Arrow 4K release is far more interesting. This is a movie that did not have striking visuals, did not boast a powerful color scheme, didn’t really provide that wow factor in performance, and simply lived on shock factor. It’s a testament to Arrow’s restoration process how clean and crips this 1973 movie looks in this release. The film is restored from an original 35 mm camera negative. It’s neither dark and dim nor bright and overblown. The feel of the ‘70s movie it is hasn’t changed and the original presentation is still intact. The original lossless mono audio is also included, resulting in the best visual and auditory presentation of Soylent Green yet.

In terms of special features, there are five archival features, one new feature, and, of course, the new collectors’ booklet with new writing by Frank Collins and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. Of the archival features, we have an older commentary; on-stage interviews at the BFI with Charlton Heston and Richard Fleisher, respectively; a vintage featurette; and MGM’s tribute to Edward G Robinson’s 101^st film. The new feature is a new audio commentary with film historian Michael Brooke and author Johnny Mains which offers an interesting discussion of the prevalence of Soylent Green and Fleischer’s direction from a film historian perspective, providing some great insight and extra knowledge that deepens the appreciation for Fleischer’s work and the film.

This 4K release is worth the pickup for Arrow 4K completionists, those who enjoy the film, those who never saw the film and are unaware of the twist, and fans of Fleisher’s and/or Heston’s.

Soylent Green 4K UHD Special Features:

• *NEW* 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
• *NEW* 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

Available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray July 28^th, 2026.

For more information, head to the official Arrow Video Soylent Green webpage.
To purchase, head to the official MVD Entertainment Soylent Green webpage.

Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews

Tags: 4K UHD, Arrow Video, Brock Peters, Charlton Heston, Chuck Connors, crime, Edward G. Robinson, Harry Harrison, home release, home video, Joseph Cotton, Leigh Taylor-Young, Make Room! Make Room!, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM Studios, MVD Entertainment Group, mystery, Paula Kelly, restoration, Richard Fleischer, science fiction, Soylent Green, Stanley R. Greenberg