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:

Even in space, the ultimate enemy is man.

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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

This film draws on the Gary Cooper classic, High Noon (1952). Killers are on their way to kill the Marshal, who finds himself abandoned by his deputies, and with none of the residents willing to stand with him. Numerous villains await the arrival of the killers. As the arrival time approaches, Connery enters the "saloon" and speaks to the "townspeople", repeating the classic Cooper line, "I could use a little help," receiving none. His only ally is a woman with a sullied reputation, in this case, a doctor who describes herself as being, "one step short of a malpractice suit." Despite this, she has become a solid citizen. This parallels the character of the old flame in High Noon (1952), who had become a hotel owner. The Marshal must decide between joining his wife, or doing the right thing; staying behind and facing almost certain death. Also, as with High Noon (1952), the name of the site is never specifically mentioned, although it is displayed here and there on signs throughout the film.

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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

Lazarus: Your wife is one stupid lady. You wanna go and get drunk?
Marshal William T. O'Neil: Yes...
Lazarus: At least you have SOME sense left.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

References 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

User Reviews

Recommended

What an entertaining movie this is. The plot is believable; the acting, from the minor characters right up to and including the leads, is excellent; the dialogue is natural and realistic (and intelligible); and the special effects have aged well and are quite good, as good as today's CGI stuff. But unlike today's sf movies, it's not the f/x that play the central role here but rather plot, character, and acting.

I can understand some of the comments about some of the movie's science, particularly in the way earth gravity suddenly appears inside buildings and the way people's cranial cavities literally expand like balloons when exposed to near zero pressure, but none of that is central. I'm pleased when I see real science in movies (maybe surprised would be a better term), but if I want science I can read a textbook. Anyway, this shortfall is more than made up for by having a doctor in the movie named Lazarus - over scientific accuracy I'll take a little humor. Or good dialogue, such as when O'Neil, having just chased a perp through half the installation, finally corners him in a kitchen, gets the drop on him, and leveling his shotgun at his desperate kitchen knife-wielding opponent says to him, 'Think it over'.

Comparisons have been made to other movies like High Noon and sf classics like Alien and 2001. I'll leave 2001 go at least until I can figure out how that giant fetus got out there in outer space, but as to Alien, well, in my view Outland compares quite well despite Alien's iconic status. Alien conveys all the niceness of a vat of sulfuric acid. What a bunch of dismal characters inhabited that movie. Outland has a different feel to it and portrays more than a few positive human characteristics (the interaction between O'Neil and his wife is quite affecting although, or maybe because, it takes place via a video screen). And as to this being a 'remake' of High Noon set in outer space, well, it really isn't. In fact there's only one aspect of the plot that is similar (the first half of Outland is a whodunit), though the device of periodically showing a clock to countdown when the bad guys will arrive is of course an obvious imitation. Someone else said that this movie is actually a 'western', and that's true if you mean a movie with a real hero who stands virtually alone despite the odds on the side of right vs. wrong (though he does get a little help especially from one particular rather brave woman). Basically though, this is just a very good movie that makes good use of and occasionally even exceeds the limits of its genre. It's got plenty of action and suspense and not a single dead spot. It's worth seeing.