Soylent Green

Soylent Green has built a real following in Australia on HBO Max, and in the US on TCM among viewers who want their sci-fi to think as hard as it looks. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. With 1,439 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Charlton Heston sets the tone, and the world-building does the rest. Start it on HBO Max whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Soylent Green earns its spot. The world-building is meticulous, but it is the characters who carry Soylent Green through its more ambitious moments. In the year 2022, overcrowding, pollution, and resource depletion have reduced society’s leaders to finding food for the teeming masses. The answer is Soylent Green. Charlton Heston and Leigh Taylor-Young lead a cast that makes the ambitious moments land. It was released in 1973. Soylent Green resists the temptation to explain everything, trusting the audience to sit with ambiguity. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Sci-fi fans who want ideas alongside the spectacle will find Soylent Green genuinely rewarding. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Charlton Heston anchors it with a performance that makes the more abstract moments feel personal. If you have been burned by ambitious sci-fi before, this is the exception.