Logan's Run (1976)

An idyllic sci-fi future has one major drawback: life must end at the age of 30.

Director:

Michael Anderson

Writers:

David Zelag Goodman (screenplay), William F. Nolan (novel)

Stars:

Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael York	...	Logan
Richard Jordan	...	Francis
Jenny Agutter	...	Jessica
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Box
Farrah Fawcett	...	Holly (as Farrah Fawcett-Majors)
Michael Anderson Jr.	...	Doc
Peter Ustinov	...	Old Man
Randolph Roberts	...	2nd Sanctuary Man
Lara Lindsay	...	The Woman Runner
Gary Morgan	...	Billy
Michelle Stacy	...	Mary 2
Laura Hippe	...	Woman Customer
David Westberg	...	Sandman
Camilla Carr	...	Sanctuary Woman
Greg Lewis	...	Cub (as Gregg Lewis)

Storyline

It's 2274 and on the surface, it all seems to be an idyllic society. Living in a city within an enclosed dome, there is little or no work for humans to perform and inhabitants are free to pursue all of the pleasures of life. There is one catch however: your life is limited and when you reach 30, it is terminated in a quasi-religious ceremony known as Carousel. Some, known as runners, do try to escape their fate when the time comes and it's the job of Sandmen to track them down and kill them. Logan is such a man and with several years before his own termination date, thinks nothing of the job he does. Soon after meeting a young woman, Jessica-6, he is ordered to become a runner himself and infiltrate a community outside the dome known as Sanctuary and to destroy it. Pursued by his friend Francis, also a Sandman, Logan and Jessica find their way to the outside. There they discover a beautiful, virtually uninhabited world. Logan realizes that he must return to the dome to tell them what ...

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | cat | runner | sanctuary | computer | 

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Taglines:

The only thing you can't have in this perfect world of total pleasure is your 30th birthday . . . Logan is 29.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 June 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'âge de cristal

Filming Locations:

Dallas Market Center: World Trade Center: Hall of Nations, 2050 N Stemmons Fwy, Dallas, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$25,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints) (as Dolby System Noise Reduction-High Fidelity) 4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actress Farrah Fawcett is billed in the credits as 'Farrah Fawcett-Majors', as the film was made and released prior to her divorce from actor Lee Majors. The movie was one of two science-fiction feature films which she filmed, the other being Saturn 3 (1980).

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Goofs

The scene where Jessica and Logan are under the City and Logan tells Jessica that the fish all disappeared, a few scenes later there are a few big fish seen swimming in tanks behind them.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Logan: [tapping on a glass window of maternity room] Wake up.
Francis 7: Logan, you are here. I couldn't believe it when they told me. What are you doing?
Logan: [indicates baby] Logan 6. Well it's not everyday that they authorize a new sandman. I tell you Francis,
[indicating baby]
Logan: that's him.
Francis 7: Well maybe, maybe not. What does it matter? Anyway, he isn't yours anymore.
Logan: [continues tapping lightly on the glass]
Francis 7: All right, you want me to wake him?
[bangs loudly on the glass with his baton]
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Stranded in Space (1991)

User Reviews

Like A Trip Outside Today!

Spoilers Ahead:

The first half of the film is a masterpiece. It is like opening your front door. You know, godless, lobotomized pagans seeking only pleasure controlled by computers? I love the criticism of it being phony? Yes, brainless, pleasure seeking zombies controlled by computers, Oh, how phony! Also, let the shopping mall setting go; where did you think High Noon was shot, in the Old West? The obsession with the crummy effects, move on it was forty years ago. We had these things called scripts, with character development better just go watch Tape Boy in Guardians Of The Galaxy again. This is for big people. I loved the first half, carousel, the runner, the control of age, infiltration of the sanctuary underground; we do not need age control the media destroys reason here. Also, they created video games to control the young, sadly, no need to lock them away. It is very well written and imaginative; then disaster strikes: They Go Outside. The theater I saw this in was packed to the rafters and kept everyone there, until they went outside. Then, the exodus began. At first one or two, then couples and finally groups.

They wander around outside supposedly Washington D.C. with the worst matte paintings you will ever see. Gee, who lived there? Fred Flintstone? This goes on forever until, finally, they run into poor Peter Ustinov and every cat at the local shelter. They hang out with the cats until Francis shows up and tries to kill everybody but the cats. After he dies, it turns into Logan's Run: The Game Show: 1. Where are your parents?, 2. Why did you get married?, 3. What is playing in the theater next door?. On and on, forever Boring!! This is when the exodus accelerated in the theater. Eventually, they decide to return to the city with the old man. I love the people lionizing the first use of hologram's in a movie during Logan's interrogation. This was never mentioned until it came out on home video. Look, the scene is awful. Do you really believe a supercomputer that ran that city for decades would blow up and meltdown just over an inconsistency in Logan's testimony? It is such a painful plot contrivance to free everyone and get them outside with the Old Man. It is like that bad original Star Trek episode where the crew acts goofy and melts down Harry Mudd's robots. Come on, how phony.

I still have a hypothesis about this movie. I think the screenwriter who did the first half died or had a nervous breakdown; they were forced to hire some freshman at the nearest film school to finish the movie. Have you ever seen this level of a disparity between two halves of a movie. Young people, watch the movie until they go outside and see the sun for the first time. Get up, take the disc out and watch something else. Do not say I didn't warn you!! By the time it ended, there were me and twelve other people out of hundreds. This movie died a slow but sure death at the box office when word of mouth spread that: 1. Farrah doesn't take her clothes off, 2. The second half sucks. A Mediocre Movie