Despite the fact that just about everyone is familiar with Soylent Green’s twist, thanks in no small part to Phil Hartman’s riotous SNL impersonation of Charlton Heston’s character in the film, Richard Fleischer’s sci-fi mystery remains a cheesily effective snapshot of 1970s paranoia. Following closely on the heels of Planet of the Apes and The Omega Man, Heston cemented his reputation as a sci-fi titan with Soylent Green, turning in a performance that blends weary existential detachment with a deep-rooted mistrust of authority.
Heston’s Detective Robert Thorn works in a dystopian 2022 New York City teeming with 40 million inhabitants and plagued by pollution that (courtesy of some very dated special effects) gives everything outdoors a rusty orange-brown hue. With greenhouse gases having destroyed the world’s meat, dairy, fruit, and vegetable supplies, the hungry masses now receive nutrition via creepy multi-colored food products courtesy of multinational corporation Soylent.
Sent to investigate the death of a Soylent executive (Joseph Cotten), Thorn finds the man’s opulent apartment—replete with rare liquor, large bars of soap, and fresh meat—more interesting than the corpse in the living room. He takes a special liking to the murdered man’s concubine, Shirl (Leigh Taylor-Young), and the film’s portrait of the relations between men and women (Thorn lovingly refers to Shirl as “furniture”) is almost as dated as the chintzy, early-’70s décor, hairstyles, and technology meant to pass as futuristic.
As the ensuing investigation uncovers a diabolical plot involving the highest levels of government, Thorn acts the part of the tough guy, going so far as to steal from everyone he meets, though he puts up with his elderly roommate Sol’s (Edward G. Robinson, in his final screen performance) wistful recollections of the past. The film uses Holocaust-era allegorical allusions to fortify the story’s repeated warnings about the consequences of over-consumption and environmental carelessness, and the effect is about as strident as you might expect.
On the other hand, Fleischer’s film strikes a poignant chord with its chilling portrayal of a state-sponsored euthanasia program that utilizes movie-watching as a narcotic designed to help the sick and elderly die peacefully. Whereas Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 classic A Clockwork Orange posited the moving image as a potentially dangerous force to be regarded with skepticism, Soylent Green champions film’s transcendent power not only to replicate the real world, but also to enhance one’s appreciation of life’s boundless wonders.
Image/Sound
Arrow Video has transferred a new 4K restoration of the film from the original 35mm camera negative and the results are impressive. The image is presented in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, ensuring an impressive range of colors, from the pops of reds and blues in the wealthy characters’ costumes to the muted browns, greens, and grays that are abundant elsewhere. Blacks are nice and inky, particularly in the early assassination sequence and the chase scene at the end. The lossless mono audio is crisp and clear throughout.
Extras
Arrow’s release comes with two entertaining audio commentaries. In the first, historian Michael Brooke and author Johnny Mains delve into the film’s themes, the sociopolitical climate of the time, the actors’ backgrounds, and more. The second track, recorded in 2003, serves as a nice complement to the first, with director Richard Fleischer and actor Leigh Taylor-Young discussing Soylent Green’s impact and sharing stories about the film’s production. Elsewhere, we get a pair of long archival interviews with Fleischer and actor Charlton Heston, a vintage featurette on the film that includes behind-the-scenes footage, and a short tribute to Edward G. Robinson. Rounding out the package is a booklet with essays by Frank Collins and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, which delve into, respectively, the adaptation process of Harry Harrison’s 1966 novel and the film’s thematic threading of capitalism and cannibalism.
Overall
Richard Fleischer’s bleak, dystopian vision of the future gets a superb 4K upgrade and an impressive slate of extras from Arrow Video.
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