Logan's Run
|
List Price: Our Price: $9.50 You Save: $0.48 (5%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.58 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of Logan's Run
Movie Review: Logan's Run - A true Sci-Fi classic from the 70's!
Summary: 5 Stars
Of the many great Science Fiction movies that were released in the seventies, "Logan's Run" can definitely be counted as being among the best of them. There have been so many Science Fiction movies and novels over the years that depict either a bright or a not so bright future for humanity and many of them could've been cut right from a "cookie cutter," being the same tired story over and over yet "Logan's Run" stands out as being brilliantly different from the rest. I vividly remember going to see this brilliant film at seven or eight years of age and having been totally enamored with the overall theme. A few years later, I read "Logan's Run," "Logan's World" and "Logan's Search" by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, all of which not only served to further this brilliant story but turned it into an extraordinary Science Fiction trilogy!
Michael York, Richard Jordan and Jenny Agutter all perform superbly in this silver screen classic! Between the films overall success, the exceptional actors and the demand for a sequel, I'm quite surprised one never followed.
If one were to make the comparison between "Logan's Run" and other big budget, extraordinary Science Fiction films of the seventies, like "Star Wars? you could definitely say that it holds its own quite well.
The premise:
Imagine a future some two hundred years down the road where most of humanity has been wiped out leaving the remainder to build and live in domes with limited resources and the measures that would be taken to continue survival. That is the "basic" premise behind "Logan's Run." The more explicit premise is human nature at its need to expand beyond where it's at and its need to question everything.
In "Logan's Run," the society of the future has a need to limit the number of people due to limited resources, therefore when born; everyone has a life crystal placed in the palm of their hand. Run by the domes central computer, this life crystal goes through stages based on its owner's hand. At certain ages it changes colors. Upon nearing the owners thirtieth birthday it starts blinking, meaning it's nearly time for renewal. Renewal being when the respective thirty year old human is blown up quite spectacularly in a huge ceremony. For those that do not wish to end their lives, they become runners who are chased down by "Sandmen." It is the job of the Sandmen to track down runners, wherever they may go, and kill them.
Logan, who is one of the Sandmen does his job perfectly, tracking down a runner and kills him. After doing so, he removes the runner's possessions; among them is an Anck, which he does not yet know what it is. The next day, when he attempts to turn in the runner's possessions, the domes central computer asks him if he knows what the Anck is, which of course he doesn't. The central computer then effectively turns him into a runner by adding several years to his life clock and orders him to determine what and where "Sanctuary" is. Sanctuary is the mythical place where runners are trying to run to. What follows is nothing less than one of the best Science Fiction films of the seventies!
I highly recommend this film to any and all fans of the genre! {ssintrepid}
Special Features:
- Feature Length commentary by Michael York, Director Michael Anderson and costume designer Bill Thomas.
- Behind The Scenes documentary - A Look into the 23rd Century
- Remastered soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1
- Theatrical Trailer
Movie Review: Don't Make the Mistake of Comparing the Film to the Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
Anyone who compares this movie to the novel, especially in highlighting differences as a failure to "be true" to the authors' vision, is making a mistake. The book and the film share a title, and some other elements, but the tone and even the conflicts are distinct. Take each on its own. While I encourage you to read the book, and strongly encourage you to see the DVD, I hope you will appreciate the very different minds they each explore. The world of the novel is noir-dark, universal, and consciously cynical. Though folks only live to 21 (vs. 30 in the film), there are lots of doubters and many weird little subcultures, such as Molly's giant, or the "culture of one" who is the terrifying Box (yes, there is a Box in the film, but only some details, and the name, were kept to nod to the book; the Box in the movie is a machine acting on programming, dangerous but not evil, a contrast to the damaged human psychopath artist of the book). Blade Runner has more in common with the novel Logan's Run than does this movie.
So, why do I love the movie so much? It displays the mindless innocence of the subjects of ubiqitous fascism. The children in the City of Man have known nothing else, are swaddled in this shallow, stifling cocoon of a society, without a history (there are no books or elders to carry history), and immersed in a pale, candy culture where no one creates anything. The only signs of human endeavor are in the Runners, whose dissent makes them enemies of the State/City who must be killed, and in the Sandmen, who at least develop skills as hunters.
Logan's Run, the movie, therefore tells a story that is closer to the peril of many still-comfortable U.S. Americans, content (and able to) drown their doubts in busy pursuit of easy, vapid pleasures that discourage independent thought. Comforted by the assurance that the City will care for them and that the pale religion of the city promises the salvation of Renewal, and the chance to live life after healthy, silly, fun, worry-free life, the young people of the mall-city remind me of the blinkered folks of our culture who only see suffering rarely, and can change the channel if it threatens to awaken them from the padded cells of their colonized minds.
I love watching those sweet, dumb kids, Logan and Jessica, progress through the slow satori of this movie, as well as the classical mythic elements of labyrinths, secret doors, birth canals, underworld, pinnacle and other symbolic elements which are scattered all through the film, but which no other review here has yet mentioned. These children, who seem to lack even fairy tales, traverse the same psychic landscape fairy tales illuminate in other cultures, but do so in real physical peril.
See this film, and critique the uneven directing and the dated look, but go ahead and explore the Hero's Journey (which myth famously informed Star Wars). That myth may be more relevant to those of us lucky enough to be in cyberspace in the form explored by Logan's Run. For the priveleged (and if you are reading this, you are priveleged far over the majority of the world's folks), the risk of sleepwalking in the dreamworld of friendly fascism is very real. The evil Empire of Star Wars is an open oppresser, inspiring rebellion; The City of Logan's Run, by contrast, is a mindless, benevolent dictator, inspiring nothing, assuring risk-free consumerism forever.
Movie Review: "Logan's Run" RENEWED and Looks Great at 27
Summary: 5 Stars
This review refers to the WB "snap case" DVD edition of "Logan's Run".......
In a story where your time is running out at 30 years old,this film has been restored beautifully, and in the nick of time! A 27 year old film that has a crystal clear picture and fabulous sound is what you'll find on this DVD.
"Logan's Run" takes place in the year 2274. The whole population lives in a "Domed City", that is Utopian like.Everyone lives blissfully..no one has to fight in wars, no one is homeless, no one is starving, no one has to worry about pollution, and NO ONE is over 30!
Upon turning 30 all citizens of the dome, must go through a spectacular, ritualistic ceremony where they will be "Renewed" by the powers that be.But what happens to these citizens? What about the few that don't want to be renewed and want to grow old? Well, they must go on the run, and it is the job of the "Sandman" to hunt them down and end their lives.
Logan 5 is one of these Sandmen. It is beyond him why anyone would want to get old and sees no problem with shooting down these "runners". That is until it is his turn, and "The Sandman" becomes "The Runner".
Go on the run with Logan 5 and Jessica 6 as they try to find "sanctuary" and discover "life" in the outside world. It's a wonderful cinematic experience with some special effects that were used for the first time in this film and recieved a special academy award for it's visual effects achievemnets.It's not only a thrill ride but a beautiful story as well.
The film stars Michael York as Logan and Jenny Aguttuer as Jessica. You'll also see a young Farrah Fawcett and as the only "OldMan", Peter Ustinov is outstanding.It was directed by Michael Anderson, who gives us a wonderful peek into the future.
As I mentioned above, the DVD transfer is magnificent! The colors jump out at you, and the picture is crystal clear. The sound and soundtrack(remastered in 5.1) is also excellent. This edition has feature length audio commentary by the director and the costume designer(very significant in this film). There is a "Behind The Scenes" look with some commentary by the stars at the time the film was being made. It may be viewed in English or French with subtitles in both. There is another edition, with a few more "extras" and a keep case for only a few dollars more, if you choose.
I don't review alot of Sci-Fi, but there are a few that really stayed with me for many years, this is one of them. The first time I saw this I was not yet 30, and naturally thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Now that I am, well, closer to Ustinov's character, I see it from a new light and still think it's one of the greastest sci-fi flicks around.Now that WB has given it such a beautiful "Renewal", it can be enjoyed by all ages for years to come. It is rated PG, but parents should note that there are some nude scenes.
"Run, Runner, Run" and get this classic Sci-Fi for your collection!....Have fun.....Laurie
also recommended:
Planet of the Apes
Sci-Fi Channel Trivia Book
Movie Review: The Spirit of '76 (in 2274)
Summary: 5 Stars
Ah, 1975. Black Sabbath releases "Sabotage." Saigon falls. (Incidentally, this also just happens to be the year of my birth.) Finally, Michael Anderson's sci-fi epic "Logan's Run" is filmed (primarily on location in Dallas, Texas), though the film would see release the following summer, just in time for the bicentennial.
I first saw this movie in a showing on WTBS when I was in high school. That was the better part of 20 years ago, and until I recently bought the DVD, I had not seen it since. I am happy to report that this film, now nearly 35 years old (like me, sigh), has aged remarkably well. It seems to be heavily influenced by classic '60s "Star Trek," but that was a show so far ahead of its time as to be timeless, and so is "Logan's Run." It has all the basic qualities of "Trek" -- it is beautiful to look at, and seeing it on the print I viewed it on DVD is especially revealing. It possesses that lustrous technicolor image quality that you just don't see in movies anymore. And it presents sights that you just didn't see in motion pictures up to that point in the pre-"Star Wars" era. This was back at a time when all special effects had to be manually crafted from scratch, whereas today's video game like computer generated effects can have a less imaginative and more sterile quality to them. It came as no surprise that this film won a special Academy award for these very visual effects that I refer to.
Not only are the special effects beautiful to look at, but just like vintage "Star Trek," it presents legions of young, gorgeous women in extremely short skirts (and sometimes much less), not the least of which is then 22-year-old British actress Jenny Agutter, co-starring as Jessica 6. Here she was a mesmerisingly beautiful girl, and her quaint English charm and mannerisms don't hurt a bit. My eyes were glued to the screen every moment she was on.
Sci-fi movies were not too common during the first half of the '70s, and "Logan's Run" was truly revolutionary, and while influenced by "Trek" it proved to serve as an influence for a fair share of pictures of its own in the years to follow. For the sets, 1980's "Flash Gordon" comes to mind. And I've never heard this stated as such, but I think that some plot points from "Logan's Run" would serve as an influence to John Carpenter for his 1981 futuristic sci-fi actioner "Escape From New York" (another favorite of mine). The very fact that Logan (Michael York) will cease to exist if he doesn't complete his mission recalls Snake Plisskin's essential plight in "Escape." Finally, the restricted quadrant that the two leads enter early on in "Logan's Run," which is actually an abandoned cathedral, reminds me of Carpenter's Manhattan Island of the near future in "Escape," as they both are crumbling areas of lawlessness away from civilization, filled with roaming bloodthirsty criminals (in Carpenter's film they were dubbed "the Crazies").
All in all, with its amazing effects, great acting and sense of fun and adventure, "Logan's Run" is a classic through and through and comes highly recommended to any fans of the old "Star Trek" or any other vintage sci-fi.
Movie Review: We Came Through The Ice. We Got Past Box.
Summary: 5 Stars
Logan's Run is the last great science fiction film of its era, before Star Wars came along and changed our idea of what a science fiction film is.I loved watching this movie in the theater when I was ten, and I still love it. Logan, played by Michael York, lives in and enclosed domed city in the future. This city offers every creature comfort, and plenty of leisure time for its citizens. Logan is a Sandman, and his job is to hunt down and kill runners who do not participate in the ritual of carousel when they turn 30. In this society, it is the belief that there is the possibility of renewal, for those who must die when they turn 30 in the fiery ritual of carousel.
After hunting down and killing a runner, Logan brings back to Sandmen HQ items he retreived from the dead runner, including an Ankh, which is an ancient symbol for life, and also for what is known by the city's computer as Sanctuary. After having seen this movie dozens of times, I wonder if the computer was preprogrammed to allow a Sandman to explore outside the city and bring about the collapse of this enclosed and protected world because conditions outside the dome were acceptable again for humans.
Logan has already seen the Ankh. A woman he met the night before named Jessica, played by Jenny Agutter, was wearing it around her neck. After the Sandmen HQ computer has ordered Logan to find Sanctuary, the computer has changed the crystal in his hand, also known as a life clock to a red that flashes with light, indicating that he has reached last day, and in order to survive, Logan must become a runner too.
Logan asks Jessica for her help, and they go to a plastic surgeon to make Logan look younger. The surgeon finds that Logan is both a Sandman, and a runner, and tries to kill him. After a really bizarre series of events, they escape the city, and to the outside. I loved the scene in this movie where both Jessica and Logan see the sun and the outside world for the first time.
After traveling on foot through a world that is entirely new to them, they stumble upon the ancient ruins of a large city, which they both assume to be Sanctuary.
The best part of the whole movie was when they meet the old man, played by Peter Ustinov, living in what once was our nation's capitol. I loved how Logan relates the story of how they got where they are to the old man, and the old man tells them about the cats that live with him by quoting T.S. Eliot.
After having bought the DVD, and having listened to the commentary, I found that this story was really rooted in 1960's and 1970's culture. It was a common saying, "Never trust anyone over 30." At the end of the story, those who meet the old man for the first time learn that those over 30 can be trusted after all.