Outland (1981)

A federal marshal stationed at a mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy. He gets no help from the workers or authorities when he finds himself marked for murder.

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writer:

Peter Hyams

Stars:

Sean Connery, Frances Sternhagen, Peter Boyle

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

Cast

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

Storyline

Marshal O'Niel's assigned to a mining colony on Io, one of Jupiter's moons. He soon encounters miners who are dying, due to use of an illegal amphetamine. O'Niel follows the trail, and now O'Niel must watch his back, as he's now their target.

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Plot Keywords:

shotgun | amphetamine | space western | law enforcement | locker room | 

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Taglines:

On Jupiter's moon something deadly is happening

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller | Western

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Hyams' work on this movie led to him being chosen to direct "2010 (1984)." Both movies take place in and around the moons of Jupiter.

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Goofs

In the opening sequence, in which computer readouts across the bottom of the screen set the scene, one of the last of these identifies the Io mine's "principle ore" as titanium, instead of "principal". Also, "marshal" is misspelled as "marshall" ("dependants", however, is the usual UK English spelling of "dependents" and is not an error).

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Quotes

Rudd: You're supposed to protect us. You're the police - it's *your* job! Where are your men?
Marshal William T. O'Niel: My men? My men are shit.

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Connections

References 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

User Reviews

An impression of the films style

Outland is brilliant. So many good moments in the movie -the first time you see someones head explode from change of pressure, the bloodied elevator as it returns from the bottom of the mining shaft and the overall excellent visionary style of the mining colony. Connery is perfectly cast as the marshall who cannot be bought and Frances Sternhagen brings much needed warm relief from the terror with her smart, down-to-earth manner. Hyams directs the film with excellent vigour and his choice of filters and lighting, (especially the scene in the prostitues room which is blood red from the emergency lighting), gives an instant impression of heat, fear and so cool relief from the space shots. It could quite easily be overlooked as just another sci-fi flick but I think it established much more the benefits of bringing earth-realism to outer-space than any other film in it's day.(Probably best to watch it, as I did, when you are 10 years old!!)

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 May 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Outland

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,059,638, 25 May 1981

Gross USA:

$17,374,595

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,374,595

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Ladd Company, Outland Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1