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, Frances Sternhagen, Peter Boyle

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:

shotgun | amphetamine | space western | space suit | law | 

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Taglines:

On Jupiter's moon he's the only law.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller | Western

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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)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,059,638, 25 May 1981, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$17,374,595

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ladd Company, The

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

One of the few films to be released theatrically with the "Megasound" sound system format. Megasound was a movie theater sound system created by Warner Bros. in the early 1980s. It was used to enhance the premiere engagements of a handful of Warner features. Theaters equipped for Megasound, had additional speakers mounted on the left, right and rear walls of the auditorium. Selected soundtrack events with lots of low-frequency content (thuds, crashes, explosions, etc) were directed to these speakers at very high volume, creating a visceral effect intended to thrill the audience.

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Goofs

When Spota is shown walking through the locker room he passes behind a man wear a red hat as he open his locker to change before continuing further down center aisle. A few seconds later Spota is shown passing behind the exact same man (now shirtless and with no hat) a second time. While it's possible that Spota doubled back it is unlikely because he is shown entering both shots from the same direction. if he had doubled back he would have been coming from the opposite direction in order to pass the man the second time.

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Quotes

Dr. Marian Lazarus: 28 in the last six months.
Marshal William T. O'Neil: I wonder how many in the six months before that...
Dr. Marian Lazarus: 24. I've got initiative.
Marshal William T. O'Neil: Well. Good for you.
Dr. Marian Lazarus: Wanna know how many in the six months before that? Two.
Marshal William T. O'Neil: Are you sure?
Dr. Marian Lazarus: I'm unpleasant, I'm not stupid. Of course I'm sure! I can count!

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

User Reviews

Very well crafted and entertaining film with a good Sean Connery

In the near-future, in a space mine set on the Jupiter satellite Io, the new Marshall O'Niel (Sean Connery) discovered a mortal drug trafic. This amphetamine-like drug drives the addicted miners mad and makes them committed suicide. O'Niel encovers the conspiracy, involving the director of the mine, but becomes the target of hitmen, with almost no body helping him. The film is a Science Fiction remake of "High Noon"("le train sifflera trois fois" in French). The train is here replaced by a shuttle from a space station and the Far West by the set on a deep space mining outpost (Not Deep Space Nine).

This a well paced film with a solid acting from Sean Connery. The pursuits, especialy the first in the corridors of the space habitat, are gripping. The film was made in 1981, when the CGI effects were not as prevalent as today. For exemple scenes where humans are dwarfed by huge metalic structures, were executed thanks to a then traditional play of mirrors. I have seen this film at the cinema when it played for the first time in 1981. I have recently watched it again on cable TV and I think it has not aged much. Because it is set on a makeshift sleazy outpost and not a shiny white place as too often in science fiction film, it remains realistic enough, twenty two years later. The themes,a bit overlooked, dangerous mind drugs, greedy multinational (or multi-planet, here) companies, the will and courage of one man against the cowardice of all the others, resonate still in our mind, nowadays. But make no mistake, it not a heavy political film but a good suspense and action film with a science fiction flavour.

Despite some scientific oddities like heads exploding and weightlessness in a zero pressure atmosphere, where as inside the habitat the gravity is normal (by Earth standards), the script remains coherent enough. The strong performance of Sean Connery is helped by those of a serious Peter Boyle and a pre-ER Frances Sternhagen. Rent this film on your local video store or watch it on TV, it is worth seeing it.