In a future where all flora is extinct on Earth, an astronaut is given orders to destroy the last of Earth's botany, kept in a greenhouse aboard a spacecraft.
In the twenty-fifth century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly controlled society.
Director:
George Lucas
Stars:
Robert Duvall,
Donald Pleasence,
Don Pedro Colley
In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.
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 ...Written by
garykmcd
The first motion picture to use Dolby Stereo on 70mm film prints, also with A-Type Noise Reduction. However, early 70mm Six-Track prints were actually Four-Track presentations; as they didn't utilize the subwoofer tracks, nicknamed Baby Booms. Star Wars (1977) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), were the first films to officially make use of the new bass enhancement channels. See more »
Goofs
The face of the robot Box is obviously made of shaped metal foil that Roscoe Lee Brown is wearing. You can see his lips and teeth as he talks. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Logan:
[tapping on a glass window of maternity room]
Wake up.
Francis:
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:
Well maybe, maybe not. What does it matter? Anyway, he isn't yours anymore.
Logan:
[continues tapping lightly on the glass]
Francis:
All right, you want me to wake him?
[bangs loudly on the glass with his baton]
[...] See more »
Alternate Versions
A bootleg audio recording exists of the May 1976 sneak preview in San Diego, suggesting that the preview cut ran approximately 130 minutes. In addition to the inclusion of the scene after the titles where Francis kills a runner who falls into a pool to applause from onlookers, it includes:
A longer exchange in the Nursery.
A longer Carousel sequence, with no overdubbed computer voice announcing Last Day.
Slightly longer scenes between Logan and Jessica, including one where Jessica asks if Logan thinks "flame-out" is the ultimate kill. Another cut bit includes Logan explaining the danger of cubs "flying on Muscle," an unauthorized drug that "speeds up the reflexes" but is "no good for anyone over 13; shake you and me to pieces."
A brief snip where Francis hears Logan's page to Cathedral and announces he will go to help him.
A longer introduction to Holly, who announces that she is "Holly 13" and that "in ancient times, my number was unlucky."
A longer Sex Shop sequence.
There is a reference in Box's dialogue to the ice sculpture existing in the preview print because he says "What a pair! I'd like to sculpt you...Let me sculpt you and I'll show you where the others have gone...over there, arms 'round each other...nude, of course..." The dialogue between Logan and Jessica as they pose also sheds light on the plot hole of why Logan signaled the Sandmen to the Runners' hideout. Logan admits that he tried to send her back because he was going to return to the city all along. "That was the plan. I'd been ordered to find out where the Runners had gone and destroy it. That's why I brought in the Sandmen that killed them." He expresses remorse and confusion at his change of heart.
Popular and lavish Sci-Fi with some nice effects sequences with imaginative sets about a futuristic society where young people are allowed to live an unending pleasure until the age of thirty (though Michael York, Richard Jordan and Michael Anderson Jr. were all over 30 when they made the film) that are compelled to die , adapted from a novel by William F Nolan and George Clayton Jackson . 2274 some type of holocaust has decimated the earth, and the survivors sealed themselves into a computer-controlled bubble . To maintain the population balance, the computers that run the city have decreed that all people have to die at 30. This system is enforced by "sandmen" (Michael York , Richard Jordan) : black-clad cop operatives who terminate hunting "runners" ,those who try to live beyond 30. Logan, a sandman, whose job is to hunt fugitives , is sent on an assignment to find "sanctuary," which is a code- word used by the master computer to describe what it thinks is a place to which runners have been getting away. Then Logan nearing the limit searches desperately for a way to avoid mandatory extermination . As a day outside the bubble Logan along with Jessica (Jenny Agutter) discover new emotions .
This classic Sci-fi contains suspense , thrills , action , breathtaking production design and is pretty entertaining though with some feeble stereotypes . Impressive big-budgeted production by Saul David enhanced immeasurably by an enjoyable cast as Michael York , Jenny Agutter , Farrah Fawcett and special mention to great Peter Ustinov . Roscoe Lee Browne both voiced and performed Box the robot on-set. The unwieldy costume made it impossible for Browne to right himself if he fell over. Colorful and spectacular cinematography in Todd-Ao 35 by Ernest Laszlo . Rousing and evocative musical score by the maestro Jerry Goldsmith . Jerry uses a full orchestra with no electronic instruments when the action is outside of the city. When inside the city, his orchestra consists solely of strings, piano, and electronic instruments , the music at the beginning of the film during the credits does add the electronic instruments with the full orchestra though. Dated but effective miniatures about a domed city near Washington, D.C. It earned a special Academy Award for visual effects by Glen Robinson . The motion picture is originally directed by Michael Anderson . Rating : PG (Parents guide) for some nudism and violence. Good but overlong and some corny moments, worthwhile watching . Followed by a brief TV series with Gregory Harrison , Heather Menzies and Donald Moffat
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Popular and lavish Sci-Fi with some nice effects sequences with imaginative sets about a futuristic society where young people are allowed to live an unending pleasure until the age of thirty (though Michael York, Richard Jordan and Michael Anderson Jr. were all over 30 when they made the film) that are compelled to die , adapted from a novel by William F Nolan and George Clayton Jackson . 2274 some type of holocaust has decimated the earth, and the survivors sealed themselves into a computer-controlled bubble . To maintain the population balance, the computers that run the city have decreed that all people have to die at 30. This system is enforced by "sandmen" (Michael York , Richard Jordan) : black-clad cop operatives who terminate hunting "runners" ,those who try to live beyond 30. Logan, a sandman, whose job is to hunt fugitives , is sent on an assignment to find "sanctuary," which is a code- word used by the master computer to describe what it thinks is a place to which runners have been getting away. Then Logan nearing the limit searches desperately for a way to avoid mandatory extermination . As a day outside the bubble Logan along with Jessica (Jenny Agutter) discover new emotions .
This classic Sci-fi contains suspense , thrills , action , breathtaking production design and is pretty entertaining though with some feeble stereotypes . Impressive big-budgeted production by Saul David enhanced immeasurably by an enjoyable cast as Michael York , Jenny Agutter , Farrah Fawcett and special mention to great Peter Ustinov . Roscoe Lee Browne both voiced and performed Box the robot on-set. The unwieldy costume made it impossible for Browne to right himself if he fell over. Colorful and spectacular cinematography in Todd-Ao 35 by Ernest Laszlo . Rousing and evocative musical score by the maestro Jerry Goldsmith . Jerry uses a full orchestra with no electronic instruments when the action is outside of the city. When inside the city, his orchestra consists solely of strings, piano, and electronic instruments , the music at the beginning of the film during the credits does add the electronic instruments with the full orchestra though. Dated but effective miniatures about a domed city near Washington, D.C. It earned a special Academy Award for visual effects by Glen Robinson . The motion picture is originally directed by Michael Anderson . Rating : PG (Parents guide) for some nudism and violence. Good but overlong and some corny moments, worthwhile watching . Followed by a brief TV series with Gregory Harrison , Heather Menzies and Donald Moffat