Logan's Run (BD)

In hindsight, this movie can be credited as one of the first cyberpunk movies ever made, and it's also a testament of how rigid the rating system for movies has become at present. Logan's Run was rated PG back in 1976 and includes nudity (almost full-frontal, no less) from Jenny Agutter in one scene, plus the clothes she wears are pretty much transparent throughout; you'd never see that in one of today's PG-rated films.The next few paragraphs contain spoilers of the plot, so for those of you who haven't seen the movie yet, you might want to skip over. I've never read the novel it's based on, but the premise of the movie is pretty unique, considering. About 300 years in the future, the whole of civilization is contained inside one huge domed city, with the ruins surrounding it the result of some apocalyptic event. Life inside the city is utopic. There are no worries beyond choosing what you're going to do with your free time. There are drugs. There's sex with no commitment (indeed, any kind of emotional attachment is looked on as an aberration). There's getting a different face at the local New You bodysculpting kiosk. Everything is provided for you by the computer mainframe that runs the city. There is no crime, save one. Running.You see, the price for this kind of carefree existence is that your life ends when you turn thirty. In an effort to maintain population control, the mainframe has conditioned people to accept their thirtieth birthday as 'Lastday' and present themselves for a special celebration called Carousel where they 'renew' and start life over. People know when their time arrives when a small crystal imbedded in the palm of their hand begins flashing.Certain individuals rebel against this and they've formed an underground movement with the ankh (the ancient Egyptian symbol of eternal life) as their icon. They don't believe in the myth of Carousel and they choose to run instead. The Sandmen, the only real police force the city has, exist specifically to hunt these Runners down and eliminate them. The main character of the movie is Logan 5, a Sandman, who is perfectly content with his job hunting Runners with his friend, until he meets up with Jessica 6, played by Jenny Agutter, who has one of the underground's ankhs in her possession. The mainframe then chooses him to infiltrate the underground movement and eliminate it from the inside. The incentive it gives him is by taking away his remaining time, forcibly turning him into a Runner. He begins to question everything he's been taught to believe after teaming up with Agutter's character to escape the city. Through their journey, being pursued all the while by Logan's Sandman friend, they discover a rather chilling side to both the city itself and the society within it.Outside the city they come across something they've never witnessed before, a man who's lived long enough to be in his dotage (played convincingly by Peter Ustinov of 'Spartacus' fame). They bring him back to the city, where Logan is captured and brought before the mainframe computer for questioning. The computer cannot reconcile his answers with the information it possesses and self destructs. Logan then reveals the Old Man to the rest of society, letting them know they don't have to die. People are then free to make their own decisions and live life as they see fit. End of story.END OF SPOILERThis movie was one of the first to portray the dangers of what civilization could become. At first glance, everything might seem to be bliss, but the degree to which everything has become impersonalized and controlled and how de-valued the individual has become in the story is really rather frightening. Look at society today. Companies now refer to us as 'human resources' rather than personnel, willing to cut 25,000 jobs here and 50,000 jobs there, calling it a 'business decision' and leaving many people on the verge of homelessness. Political correctness is currently all the rage. Computers are taking a much more prominent role in our personal lives than ever before. With our current 'entitlement' attitude, we pretty much insist on having everything set before us on a silver platter and complain LOUDLY when it isn't. Don't think. Exist. We are now SO content to let others handle our personal responsibilities that Logan's Run has almost a prophetic air to it. The one difference is that our lives don't currently have a time limit.Yet...This vision alone puts it up there as one of the classics of the day. I'm also not taking off any marks for the 1970s special effects. They may seem incredibly dated today, but they were considered good at the time. They just didn't have access to CGI. Also, the dialogue and the acting were par for the course for the time period so I'm giving that high marks, too. The movie was also popular enough to spawn a short-lived television series. The series was rather more cinematic than the movie in scope, considering some of the creatures the trio of adventurers comes across, but it was still entertaining in its own way.All in all, Logan's Run was a movie with a VERY powerful message behind it, and it is one worth listening to. Keep an open mind and you might enjoy it. And before you think of jumping the gun and trashing Logan's Run because it WAS a cheesy 1976 sci-fi flick, movie producer Joel Silver likes this show enough to be pushing to direct a new version of it. Two thumbs up.

This 1976 movie has a charming vintage cheesy quality to it. That's one of the reasons I like it. At the time it came out new in the theaters, it seemed like the top of movie technology. Now with all the special effects and computer graphics the movies have nowadays, this movie seems a bit cheesy, but in a charming, vintage way. Peter Ustinov is amusing and fun to watch. I love the futuristic city scale model they used for the distance views of the city and I love the the interior scenes of the city which were filmed at the West Atrium of the Apparel Mart building at the Dallas Market Center (which was demolished in 2004). It's a fun movie and it makes you glad to have the privilege and luck to live to a ripe old age.

This movie, like the original Planet of Apes, has the most impact the very first time you watch it. It depicts a dystopian future where no one is permitted to live above the age of 30. Old age is a forgotten concept. The most interesting part of this movie for me is watching their journey to the outside world. The "ice world" part was most strange. When they finally found an old man, it was like making a monumental discovery that they couldn't keep to themselves, and made many from their closed dystopian world wake up from their programmed slumber and acceptance of their fates. Great movie!

This is a 1970s film when special effects were developing into magic cinema, such as Kubrick's 2001. In fact, this movie received an academy award for special effect and two other nominations as well several other awards.Do not expect much about this film, except the story that seems to be a take-off from A Brave New World. Acting is a little overdone, the music immediately dates the film but overall and considering the times for SF this movie is good.The film covers the utopia/dystopia elements presented in hundreds of novels and many movies. There is no revelation to be discovered. The premise is an exciting one: Utopia, a perfect living environment clustered in a gigantic bubble. Birth is the result of industrial/machine insemination, so populations are controlled, as well as longevity. At 30 YO citizens get a cue about proceeding to be "regenerated." However, several hundred of them refuse to give up life and run away, exiting the bubble. In theory, there are many others outside and reside in a community called " Sanctuary." Logan is a dedicated persecutor of runners and exterminates them before they exit the bubble. Logan is giving orders (by a computer) to exit the bubble, find the sanctuary and destroy it. However, he is due four more years of life to be regenerated, and they are taken away from him by the computer. He has no choice but to run for his life with his female companion. Reaching 30 YO citizens get a cue about getting regenerated (in their palm's monitor) and they must go to the Wheel, where they are eliminated. Logan's monitor shows he is due regeneration, so he runs away for his life in the company of a young woman he recently met and knows about the sanctuary.Theoretically, he destroys the established order and let all others know that life can be continued to older age - outside the bubble. Outside the bubble seems to be just what we know but it has been abandoned and is covered by nature.This is not a great SF film, except considering the times when it was created and seems to present a link to Huxley's vision. I recommend it to science fiction lovers or film lovers that can overcome the fact that modern cinema is a faster rhythm, visual integration of fantasy elements, is seamless and just about anything is possible with CGI effects. Logan's Run was way ahead of its time about special effects, and at the time of its release actually, it impressed most viewers but failed to become a box office hit, although it tripled its cost very fast. I grant four stars to this flick for a very well crafted film ahead of its times.