Save the Green Planet! 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		0.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Save the Green Planet! 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 10, 2026

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' maybe slightly unexpected love affair with Yorgos Lanthimos appears to be continuing unabated, given the four impending nominations for Bugonia, but for anyone who understandably may feel that Lanthimos has already secured the "Weirdest Filmmaker Currently Pumping Out Best Picture Nominees Award" (there is one of those, isn't there?), it may be salient to note that Bugonia was in fact a remake of this South Korean cult item from 2003. Suffice it to say that writer and director Jang Joon-hwan may certainly give Lanthimos a run for his "weirdest" money with this effort, one which does have the same broad outlines of Lanthimos' later adaptation, but which is its own property in several salient ways, notably with regard to the gender of its "kidnap victim" and an almost Fellini-esque emphasis on carnival performers, and vis a vis a disjunctive, refracted structural conceit that probably adds even more of an askew feeling than Lanthimos' version offers.

Note: As can sometimes be the case, the transliteration of various Korean names varies in some of the supplements and printed material offered with this release. The supplements spell the focal character's name as Byeong-goo, whereas the cast listing in the insert booklet has it spelled Byeong-gu.

Byeong-gu (Shin Ha-kyun) is an obsessive compulsive conspiracy theorist who is convinced aliens are in the process of infiltrating our planet, maybe a bit comically like the little remembered Quinn Martin television series The Invaders. Partnering with his Gelsomina adjacent girlfriend Sooni (Hwang Jung-min), Byeong-gu kidnaps executive Chairman Kang (Baek Yoon-sik), whom Byeong-gu is convinced knows the truth as to what's "really" going on. As dark and demented as Bugonia may be, it's arguable that Save the Green Planet! is figuratively in "hold my beer" mode in terms of anyone wanting to compare the two properties. Byeong-gu's troubled background is explored much more troublingly in this version, and there's almost a "body horror" element to the narrative as things progress. Save the Green Planet! is probably more of a tonal roller coaster than Lanthimos' version (as incredible as that may sound), and can careen pretty wildly from physical shtick to black humor to disturbing gore.

Save the Green Planet! 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: This release does not include a 1080 Blu-ray, so these screenshots are taken directly from the 4K UHD disc and downscaled to 1080 and SDR. Color space in particular is therefore not accurate. The 1080 disc in this package is bonus features only, and so the 2K score for a feature presentation in that resolution has intentionally been left blank.

Save the Green Planet! is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information about the presentation:

Save the Green Planet! is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with 5.1 and 2.0 audio. The film has been restored in 4K resolution with HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

All remastered audio mixes were supplied by KOFA.

There's also a prefatory text card that offers this slightly reworded version:

The 2003 film Save the Green Planet!, directed by Jang Joon-hwan, was digitally restored in 4K in 2018 by Korean Film Archive and FRD, using the 35mm original camera negative.

In 2025, Fidelity in Motion produced a 4K HDR10 and Dolby Vision color graded version with the approval of Director Jang Joon-hwan.

Rather interestingly this is evidently the first high definition release anywhere in the world of Save the Green Planet!, and so there's no 1080 version to offer any compare and contrast comments about, but even without any baseline of "previous experience" comparison, this is often a very impressive looking 4K presentation. The HDR and Dolby Vision grades offer some nice shadow detail throughout, but it's an often lustrously suffused palette that will probably catch the most immediate attention. There are some really interesting uses of teals and blues placed against oranges or reds in elements of the production design (pay attention to backgrounds) that pop beautifully throughout. A lot of the cobalt blue material throughout also is very impressively vivid. There are several intentionally "distressed" interstitials like supposed broadcasts and the like, and a hyperbolically hallucinogenic vignette at the climax may show limitations of that era's special effects wizardry. On the whole, though, fine detail on all the practical sets and costumes is excellent.

Save the Green Planet! 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Save the Green Planet! features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 options in the original Korean. The surround track definitely opens up a lot of the film, including both some interstitial outdoor material where ambient environmental sounds are more immersive, as well as some of the FX sequences where the sound design can get as amped up as the visuals. Bugonia famously utilizes at least one memorable source cue, and while that particular tune isn't on tap here, another iconic song is, along with an enjoyable score by Lee Dong-jun. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Save the Green Planet! 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: The 4K UHD disc in this package offers the feature film and supplements, with the included 1080 disc containing only more bonus items (i.e., no 1080 presentation of the feature film).

4K UHD Disc

• Audio Commentaries

Commentary by Jang Joon-hwan & Ha-kyun Shin




Commentary by Pierce Conran & Dan Martin

• Introduction by Jang Joon-hwan (HD; 1:56) is subtitled in English.


• BFI Q & A with Jang Joon-hwan (HD; 32:28) is from October 2024 and features moderator Goran Topalovic. Interestingly, Joon-hwan seems to understand the English language questions with no problem, but there is a translator there offering English versions of his responses in Korean.


• Stills Galleries

Complete Script Book Gallery (HD)




Complete Storyboard Book Gallery

1080 Disc

• Extraterrestrial Perspectives (HD; 28:15) is a new interview with director Jang Joon-hwan. Subtitled in English.


• Bringing the Truth Into Focus (HD; 15:36) is a new interview with cinematographer Hong Kyoung-pyo. Subtitled in English.


• Exfoliating the Truth (HD; 2:09) is a kind of hilarious unboxing video of the evidently quite rare South Korean DVD release, which contained some extra swag.


• Short Films

Jang Joon-hwan on 2001: Imagine (HD; 5:38) is an archival interview with Joon-hwan. Subtitled in English.




Early Imaginings (HD; 14:36) is a new interview with Joon-hwan offering more background on 2001: Imagine. Subtitled in English.




Hair (HD; 15:04) is from 2004.




The Lazy Mirror (HD; 2:52) is a sweet silent stop motion opus from 1993, offered here with a subtitled commentary by Joon-hwan.

• Archival Extras

Making of Featurettes are subtitled in English:

CG Featurette (HD; 14:40)




Double Vision (HD; 22:39) looks at production design.




The Special Make Up Effects of the Green Planet (HD; 9:40)




Make-Up (HD; 4:36)




Stunt Practice (HD; 14:19)




Music from the Green Planet (HD; 14:35)




Days of the Green Planet (HD; 11:16) features candid footage.




Real Circus (HD; 3:44) looks at some of the circus performers in the film.




Hello from the Set (HD; 15:57) has various actors saying hi.

Interviews feature Joon-hwan and other crew members:

The Director's Room (HD; 5:47)




The Concept (HD; 6:18)




On Production (HD; 3:57)




On Location (HD; 3:38)




The Detectives (HD; 7:30)




The Aliens (HD; 4:02)

Promotional Featurettes

Korean Premiere (HD; 11:10)




Questions from the Fans (HD; 18:50)




Talk With the Fans (HD; 10:56)

Deleted Scenes with Director Introductions

Removing the Penile Ring (HD; 1:37)




A Noise from Below (HD; 1:17)




Detective Chu's Death (HD; 1:57)




Byeong-goo and the Bird (HD; 1:20)




Chu's Drugs (HD; 1:35)




Byeong-goo's Pills (HD; 1:26)




Chu's Discovery (HD; 2:00)




Dog and Bone (HD; 00:58)




Byeong-goo's Curse (HD; 1:20)

Trailers

Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:46)




Teaser Trailer (HD; 1:33)




TV Spot (HD; 00:32)

Still Galleries

Production Image Gallery (HD)




Poster Gallery (HD)




Hidden Images Gallery (HD)

This is another really nicely packaged Limited Edition from Arrow. An O ring type slipcover encloses a slipbox, which itself holds the keepcase, a perfect bound collectors' booklet and a double sided fold out poster. The booklet has both new and archival writing, and the keepcase sleeve is reversible.

Save the Green Planet! 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's definitely an ADHD element to Jang Joon-hwan's film that just isn't part and parcel of Lanthimos' remake, but I have to say for me personally the deconstructed narrative in this version only added to the impact, and I'd rate this overall as at least the equivalent of Bugonia, and arguably its superior. Arrow is offering a release with solid technical merits, outstanding supplements and handsome packaging with some nice swag. Highly recommended.