DVD Reviews

Soylent Green - Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Mar 30, 2011, 15:06 GMT

In an apocalyptic future after the head of the company that makes a much needed source of food called Soylent Green is murdered a detective tries to uncover the reason for the murder and discovers the secret ingredient of Soylent Green. ...more

Tuesday is Soylent Green day in more ways than one.  Maybe it should be Soylent Blu since the Charlton Heston dystopian future pic is making its high definition debut. 

In 2022, the world is a crowded place thanks to population explosions and shrinking resources.  Food is hard to come by anymore and the majority of the population is fed with soy based products that look like crackers dubbed Soylent Red, Yellow, and the new Soylent Green. 

In the midst of this dark reality, William R. Simonson (Joseph Cotton) is murdered while his “furniture” (read: concubine) Shirl (Leigh Taylor-Young) and bodyguard Tab (Chuck Conners) are out shopping. 

New York City detective Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston) and his “book” (read: researcher who combs through books for information – guess the Internet died from overcrowding) Sol (Edward G. Robinson) is called in to investigate the death. 

Simonson had friends in high places, hence his posh lifestyle, and was a former member of the board of the Soylent Corporation, which manufactures the food source.  As Thorn investigates the death of Simonson he discovers that there’s a deeper, darker secret beneath the surface - one that drives men mad. 

I don’t know if I want to tell you that secret ingredient found in Soylent Green.  It would be a pretty big spoiler.  However, I also imagine that even if you’ve never seen the film that you know exactly what Soylent Green is made of since it has become a pop culture punchline. 

There are three science fiction films that have a vision of the future but are firmly mired in the 1970s no matter what year they say they happen in.  They are Soylent Green (1973), The Omega Man (1971, also starring Heston), and Logan’s Run (1976).  There are probably more but those sprang to my mind.  Both Omega and Soylent benefit mightily, in my humble opinion, from Heston. 

They may be cheesy (which should taste great on your Soylent cracker), but Heston gives his all.  Soylent benefits from the added casting of Robinson in what would be his last role.  Supposedly he kept his fatal condition from all the cast but Heston, who he knew could use it during his character’s “going home” scenes. 

The result may be flawed as far as standing the test of time goes, but it does make a palatable film.  Certainly that twist ending put it in pop culture. 

Soylent Green is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.40:1).  Special features, all in standard definition, include a commentary by director Richard Fleischer and Leigh Taylor-Young, the 10 minute “A Look at the world of Soylent Green” which details the futuristic look of the film, a 4 minute featurette about this being Edward G. Robinson’s 101st film (and final film it would turn out) with some famous faces stopping by to celebrate, and the 3 minute theatrical trailer. 

You may not exactly think quality science fiction when you think of Soylent Green, but better than average performances elevate it above others.  The film is an upgrade from its DVD counterpart, but it doesn’t look brand new or anything (mostly thanks to the way it was shot) and offers no new special features. 

However, it will entertain you over your dinner of whichever Soylent is on special that day.

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