Outland (1981)

In the distant future, a police marshal stationed at a remote mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy, and gets no help from the populace when he later finds himself marked for murder.

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writer:

Peter Hyams

Stars:

Sean Connery, Peter Boyle, Frances Sternhagen

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	Marshall William T. O'Niel
Peter Boyle	...	Mark Sheppard
Frances Sternhagen	...	Dr. Lazarus
James Sikking	...	Sgt. Montone (as James B. Sikking)
Kika Markham	...	Carol O'Niel
Clarke Peters	...	Ballard
Steven Berkoff	...	Sagan
John Ratzenberger	...	Tarlow
Nicholas Barnes	...	Paul O'Niel
Manning Redwood	...	Lowell
Pat Starr	...	Flo Spector
Hal Galili	...	Nelson
Angus MacInnes	...	Hughes
Stuart Milligan	...	Walters
Eugene Lipinski	...	Cane

Storyline

Marshal W.T. O'Niel is assigned to a mining colony on Io, one of Jupiter's moons. During his tenure miners are dying - usually violently. When the marshal investigates he discovers the one thing all the deaths have in common is a lethal amphetamine-type drug, which allows the miners to work continuously for days at a time until they become "burned out" and expire. O'Niel follows the trail of the dealers, which leads to the man overseeing the colony. Now O'Niel must watch his back at every turn, as those who seek to protect their income begin targeting him...

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Plot Keywords:

marshal | drugs | miner | mining | outpost | 

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Taglines:

Even in space, the ultimate enemy is man.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 May 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Atmósfera cero

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ladd Company, The, Outland Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (MegaSound encoding) (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (MegaSound encoding) (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The script was originally intended to be set in a western period but Peter Hyams decided to move it into the outer space background due to the influence of Alien and Blade Runner. The original title was Io, but Hyams was persuaded to change the title by an executive from the Ladd Company following a demonstration on random people that many would read the title as number 10 instead.

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Goofs

While fighting with Ballard out in space, O'Niel grabs his foot to pull him off of a ledge. When he does, you can see his arm and hand inside his glove, showing his spacesuit to be fake.

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Quotes

Marshal William T. O'Neil: How deep are you in?
Security Sergeant Montone: Not too deep... I'm paid to look the other way.
Marshal William T. O'Neil: I get it. You don't do anything bad, you just don't do anything good, right?

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, the word "Principal" is misspelled.

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Connections

Referenced in Special Collector's Edition: Las chicas de la Tierra son fáciles (2012)

User Reviews

Outland is outstanding!

What a great movie! Outland is without a doubt one of the best sci-fi movies ever made.Or perhaps sci-fi is the wrong term for this one, because where's the fiction? Everything is so realistic.No monsters,no gizmos-just space and man.

Mood is just right,nothing looks too good.Mining community is dirty and dangerous,people are deceitful. Models and sets haven't really aged at all.They were once accurately made,and beat computer effects 6-0.

Connery acts well and Peter Boyle's role as a twisted manager fits him. All in this movie could well occur in the future,and this is the fact which makes it so enjoyable.I'll give 9/10