Set in a post apocalyptic world where war, poverty and pestilence are non-existent, civilisation exists inside a great domed city. Menial tasks are completed by computers. All negatives have been eliminated, including the emotional attachment of spouses and families. Life is free. Love is free. Everything is free.
Everything, that is, except time. It is finite and limited. From the moment the crystal clear "life clock" is inserted into a newborn baby's palm, it ticks away inexorably toward Lastday. Lastday, your 30th birthday, when the clock turns black and life is over.
The life clocks march through color coordinated phases, from white at birth to final red. When blinking red, Lastday is approaching. On Lastday, those born 30 years before report to Carosel. The rotating Carosel sends its riders high into the waiting lasers, to be blasted out of existence and into "Renewal", supposedly reborn into a brand new life. Carosel, far from being viewed as public execution, is embraced as a joyous spiritual journey toward rebirth.
This is the world of Logan Five(Michael York), a "Sandman", one of the few working humans required by this society. Logan's job is to make sure the system works. The population accepts the rules by which life is lived. If they do not, if they are "one of the misfits", if they choose to "run"... Sandmen hunt down, and "terminate" runners, assuring that the status quo is maintained.
Logan is proud to be a Sandman, and enjoys his job. It's exciting, hunting live prey. Early moments of the film show him summoned from Carosel to chase a runner. With friend Francis Seven(Richard Jordan), he successfully terminates the man. Francis is even more dedicated than Logan, not only accepting the rules of society unquestioningly, but embracing and defending them fiercely.
There are drawbacks. Sandmen are apart from society, and have few friends other than Sandmen. Logan connects to the "circuit", a tunable transporter beam, where one can dial up a willing sexual partner. He settles on Jessica Six(Jenny Agutter).
She refuses him, however. Admittedly curious about the private life of a Sandman, she is repulsed by his job and saddened because a friend was killed on Carosel. Logan questions this assessment, and she offends him by using the same term to describe his profession. ("I've never 'killed' anyone in my life! Sandmen 'terminate' runners!"). Their debate is cut short by the arrival of Francis with two girls who have no problem being with a Sandman. Jessica leaves and the party begins. Logan's world is, for the most part, perfect. And its all about to change.
A number of runners have managed to escape Carosel. As the city depends on strict regulation of consumption and available supply, this is serious. It has been determined that a group of insurgents is operating an underground network assisting runners. A Sandman must infiltrate this network and bring about its destruction.
Presumably, Logan is chosen because he retrieved an ankh from a runner's personal effects. The Ankh has become a symbol of runners, those seeking "Sanctuary", a haven beyond society's control. His briefing by the disembodied computer voice rocks his world. 1056 runners escaped? Maybe some renewed on Carosel... No one renewed on Carosel? As his repeated question goes unanswered, the foundation on which his life long belief is based begins to crack.
Logan questions his credibility. He is, after all, only 26. How would these people believe he was running? The computer initiates a Retrogram. When completed, his life clock is blinking. There is no answer when he asks if, upon completion of his mission, his four years will be returned to him. Told to reveal his mission to no one, he is given the runner's ankh and leaves the briefing, shell shocked.
He decides to seek out Jessica Six. Not only for her radical views, he remembers she was wearing an ankh around her neck. She refuses at first, and relays his request to the underground. They send her back as a Judas goat, to lead him to assassination. The plan is interrupted as Logan gets a report of a runner in the old Cathedral section of the city. Jessica begins to believe him when she sees him let the runner go. She agrees in earnest to help him escape and find Sanctuary.
What makes Logan's Run such a good film is the story underlying the sci-fi. Micheal York's Logan is a man who suddenly finds his whole life is based on a lie. His awakening is further complicated by his growing feelings of attachment to Jessica. His friendship with Francis is seriously compromised as he becomes the hunted one, and he cannot explain his actions. Beautiful Jenny Agutter's Jessica changes as well, confronted with the realities of life beyond the one she has always known and the beginnings of love for Logan.
Their 'run' gives us glimpses into darker aspects of this lighted world: The underground members surviving in the bowels of the city, the outcast children, Box(Roscoe Lee Brown) and his uncomfortably Soylent Green-like food supply. Yes, the script could have had a bit more back story. But the costuming was marvelous, the sets fascinating (who cares its a mall?), and there were memorable moments underlined by Jerry Goldsmith's excellent score, especially the sunrise. Peter Ustinov has some of the best moments. (Cats! Caaats!)
Logan's Run is classic sci-fi, uncluttered by a barrage of special effects. I understand a remake of the original premise of William F. Nolan's novel, where Lastday came at 21, is in the works. I'm sure it will be replete with dazzling special effects, with nary a golf cart maze car in sight. Be that as it may, I'll take this version. Cheesy though some may find it, the acting is marvelous, the premise is still viable, and the love story is timeless.
Everything, that is, except time. It is finite and limited. From the moment the crystal clear "life clock" is inserted into a newborn baby's palm, it ticks away inexorably toward Lastday. Lastday, your 30th birthday, when the clock turns black and life is over.
The life clocks march through color coordinated phases, from white at birth to final red. When blinking red, Lastday is approaching. On Lastday, those born 30 years before report to Carosel. The rotating Carosel sends its riders high into the waiting lasers, to be blasted out of existence and into "Renewal", supposedly reborn into a brand new life. Carosel, far from being viewed as public execution, is embraced as a joyous spiritual journey toward rebirth.
This is the world of Logan Five(Michael York), a "Sandman", one of the few working humans required by this society. Logan's job is to make sure the system works. The population accepts the rules by which life is lived. If they do not, if they are "one of the misfits", if they choose to "run"... Sandmen hunt down, and "terminate" runners, assuring that the status quo is maintained.
Logan is proud to be a Sandman, and enjoys his job. It's exciting, hunting live prey. Early moments of the film show him summoned from Carosel to chase a runner. With friend Francis Seven(Richard Jordan), he successfully terminates the man. Francis is even more dedicated than Logan, not only accepting the rules of society unquestioningly, but embracing and defending them fiercely.
There are drawbacks. Sandmen are apart from society, and have few friends other than Sandmen. Logan connects to the "circuit", a tunable transporter beam, where one can dial up a willing sexual partner. He settles on Jessica Six(Jenny Agutter).
She refuses him, however. Admittedly curious about the private life of a Sandman, she is repulsed by his job and saddened because a friend was killed on Carosel. Logan questions this assessment, and she offends him by using the same term to describe his profession. ("I've never 'killed' anyone in my life! Sandmen 'terminate' runners!"). Their debate is cut short by the arrival of Francis with two girls who have no problem being with a Sandman. Jessica leaves and the party begins. Logan's world is, for the most part, perfect. And its all about to change.
A number of runners have managed to escape Carosel. As the city depends on strict regulation of consumption and available supply, this is serious. It has been determined that a group of insurgents is operating an underground network assisting runners. A Sandman must infiltrate this network and bring about its destruction.
Presumably, Logan is chosen because he retrieved an ankh from a runner's personal effects. The Ankh has become a symbol of runners, those seeking "Sanctuary", a haven beyond society's control. His briefing by the disembodied computer voice rocks his world. 1056 runners escaped? Maybe some renewed on Carosel... No one renewed on Carosel? As his repeated question goes unanswered, the foundation on which his life long belief is based begins to crack.
Logan questions his credibility. He is, after all, only 26. How would these people believe he was running? The computer initiates a Retrogram. When completed, his life clock is blinking. There is no answer when he asks if, upon completion of his mission, his four years will be returned to him. Told to reveal his mission to no one, he is given the runner's ankh and leaves the briefing, shell shocked.
He decides to seek out Jessica Six. Not only for her radical views, he remembers she was wearing an ankh around her neck. She refuses at first, and relays his request to the underground. They send her back as a Judas goat, to lead him to assassination. The plan is interrupted as Logan gets a report of a runner in the old Cathedral section of the city. Jessica begins to believe him when she sees him let the runner go. She agrees in earnest to help him escape and find Sanctuary.
What makes Logan's Run such a good film is the story underlying the sci-fi. Micheal York's Logan is a man who suddenly finds his whole life is based on a lie. His awakening is further complicated by his growing feelings of attachment to Jessica. His friendship with Francis is seriously compromised as he becomes the hunted one, and he cannot explain his actions. Beautiful Jenny Agutter's Jessica changes as well, confronted with the realities of life beyond the one she has always known and the beginnings of love for Logan.
Their 'run' gives us glimpses into darker aspects of this lighted world: The underground members surviving in the bowels of the city, the outcast children, Box(Roscoe Lee Brown) and his uncomfortably Soylent Green-like food supply. Yes, the script could have had a bit more back story. But the costuming was marvelous, the sets fascinating (who cares its a mall?), and there were memorable moments underlined by Jerry Goldsmith's excellent score, especially the sunrise. Peter Ustinov has some of the best moments. (Cats! Caaats!)
Logan's Run is classic sci-fi, uncluttered by a barrage of special effects. I understand a remake of the original premise of William F. Nolan's novel, where Lastday came at 21, is in the works. I'm sure it will be replete with dazzling special effects, with nary a golf cart maze car in sight. Be that as it may, I'll take this version. Cheesy though some may find it, the acting is marvelous, the premise is still viable, and the love story is timeless.