Arrow Video has unveiled a new 4K UHD restoration trailer for Charlton Heston’s 1973 dystopian classic “Soylent Green,” arriving on 4K UHD and Blu-ray on July 28 with a new restoration from the original 35mm camera negative, archival and new audio commentaries
A city that’s already falling apart. a detective who’s too smart for his own safety. and a movie that still feels uncomfortably close to home—Arrow Video is bringing that world back into sharper focus. The trailer for “Soylent Green” in 4K UHD has arrived. timed with the release of the film’s special edition on July 28.
Directed by Richard Fleischer. the 1973 sci-fi police-procedural genre mash-up is set in 2022. where New York City has been decimated by environmental deterioration and dwindling resources. Charlton Heston stars as Robert Thorn. a police detective trying to keep up in a society that runs on less and less—food included. The investigation begins when Thorn starts looking into the murder of a corporate executive. but the case quickly turns dangerous as he learns where the food everyone is eating actually comes from.
Fleischer’s career. stretching across roughly 40 years. moved through noir and family-friendly studio fare. then into classic adventures. offbeat true-story adaptations. and cold. unsettling horror. He built his name with gritty films like “Armored Car Robbery” and “The Narrow Margin. ” then widened his range with “20. 000 Leagues Under the Sea” and Doctor Dolittle. He later tackled big-screen adventure in “Fantastic Voyage” and “The Vikings. ” before turning to ice-cold horror such as “10 Rillington Place” and “See No Evil. ” and finishing with an era of eccentric sequels including “Amityville 3-D. ” “Conan the Destroyer. ” and “Red Sonja.”.
In “Soylent Green,” the bleakness lands with particular force. It was the third in an unofficial trilogy of dystopian thrillers starring Heston—after “Planet of the Apes” and “The Omega Man.” In its own time. the movie fit an era when Hollywood seemed determined to outdo itself in gloom. but “Soylent Green” has held up in part because of how Fleischer and screenwriter Stanley R. Greenberg imagined collapse with vivid sharpness, then tempered the dread with Heston’s wry black humor and intermittent action heroics.
Other sci-fi films of the period tapped into the same shared anxieties. including “Logan’s Run. ” “Westworld. ” and “Silent Running. ” and the influence of “Soylent Green” can be felt later across dozens of films and TV shows—from the “Mad Max” and “Hunger Games” movies to “The Matrix” and Apple TV’s “Silo.” Even with the present day not matching the grim forecast of Fleischer’s 2022. the film’s portrait of extreme class inequity and scavenging for resources still reads as painfully familiar.
The new home-video release leans into that enduring bite. “Soylent Green” is arriving on 4K UHD for the first time from Arrow Video. The special edition will also be available on Blu-ray and includes a brand new restoration taken from the original 35mm camera negative. Bonus audio commentaries come in two waves: archival tracks with Fleischer and star Leigh Taylor-Young. plus new commentaries with film scholars Michael Brooke and Johnny Mains. The package also includes extended BFI interviews with both Fleischer and Heston.
Rounding out the extras are vintage featurettes about the making of the movie and costar Edward G. Robinson, marketing materials, and a booklet with newly commissioned essays by Frank Collins and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.
Arrow Video will release “Soylent Green” on 4K UHD and Blu-ray on July 28. Below, viewers can watch Arrow’s new trailer for the film—an IndieWire exclusive.
Soylent Green Arrow Video 4K UHD Blu-ray Charlton Heston Richard Fleischer Robert Thorn Leigh Taylor-Young Stanley R. Greenberg dystopian sci-fi police procedural Arrow’s trailer July 28 release