Outland (1981)

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writer:

Peter Hyams (written by)

Release Date:

22 May 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Action | Thriller | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

On Jupiter's moon something deadly is happening

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Marshal | Mining | Miner | Moon

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Sean Connery	...	O'Niel
Peter Boyle	...	Sheppard
Frances Sternhagen	...	Lazarus
James Sikking	...	Montone (as James B. Sikking)
Kika Markham	...	Carol
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, Suicide in Elevator

Also Known As:

Io (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Argentina:13 (re-rating) | Argentina:18 (original rating) | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Germany:12 (re-rating) | West Germany:16 (original rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | UK:AA (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Ladd Company, The

Trivia:

Five years after this film was released, Dr. Lazarus (Frances Sternhagen) joined the cast of the TV series "Cheers" (1982) as the mother of Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger, who played Tarlow in Outland).

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the opening scenes in the mining levels, human voices are heard through the radio links, but ambient industrial noise is heard "in the clear". In a vacuum there would be no such noise. If the noise were heard from the miners' perspective (as was the radio chatter) it would have been low frequency noise from mechanical contact with the ground and manual equipment only.

Quotes:

Lazarus: [aghast] Polydichloric euthymol! Those stupid bastards are taking polydichloric euthymol!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Moon (2009)

Yes, it's high noon in space. And what's wrong with that?

Sean Connery. A man's man, a woman's sex symbol. Good start! Now let's put him on a remote moon of Jupiter. So how many other films have Io as their center of action? Absolutely excellent in combining the effects that were available at the time with a darn good plot. Well overshadowed by the likes of Alien, this is late 70's/ early 80's sci-fi at it's best. No more is the future in space a Utopia, it is a grimy, nasty everyday world where people carry on their sordid business as they ever did. Except there is always a hero; a flawed hero, as is Connery. A personal crusade, a battle almost against the odds (but not unbelievably so, at all) and the true hallmark of a good sci-fi story: That is, the story would work just as well anywhere, any place, any time, as it does in space in the future. What more do you want (Just check out the shuttle landing)? Essential viewing!