Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Striking, despite flaws, March 13, 1999
By A Customer
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Logan's Run fan, if such a thing exists, and was overjoyed to see the film released to DVD. The transfer looks great, and the letterboxed format preserves the lovely cinematography.The acting is, by and large, pretty good. Michael York, Jenny Agutter and Richard Jordan are all in fine form. Peter Ustinov chews scenery in his portions of the film, but isn't that what you put him in a movie for?The visual effects won an Oscar back in '76, pre-Star Wars. I would place their quality somewhere above Marooned, but below 2001:a Space Oddyssey. The Aerial view of the city that opens the film looks really cheesy, but the Carrousel sequence is downright eerie. It is even more remarkable when you learn that the whole sequence was done in-camera, on-set with no compositing aside from the white beam of light that emanates from the ceiling. The compositing and matte paintings are breathtaking.The film takes a lot of flak for its costumes and for looking like it was shot in a shopping mall. I think the costumes are moot--who know what we'll be wearing in the future? These people live in a hedonistic, weather-free society. It stands to reason that they would be very revealing and purely cosmetic for those very reasons. As far as the look of the sets goes--this is a materialistic, consumer-mad, hermetically sealed society that the film portrays--of course its going to look like a shopping mall.The film is not exactly an accurate representsation of the events in the book (something I wouldn't mind seeing someday). Budgetary, time and technological constraints would made doing so impossible at the time. Still, it holds up well on its own merits.One last note: Am I the only one who finds the love story angle of this movie touching? It's interesting to see two people experiencing love for the first time, especially in the world portrayed in Logan's Run, where people don't have lasting emotional ties to one another.What the love story kind of implies is that this is the first time in hundreds of years that people have thought and felt in terms of strong emotions for each other. In an era like our own where the word is bandied about so much as to be meaningless, it's refreshing to see a future where its meaning is rediscovered.
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90 of 101 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Solid sf adventure less than the sum of its parts, October 14, 2002
Logan's Run started off with a pretty amazing concept--(courtesy of science fiction writers William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson)what if our youth obsessed society put everyone over the age of 30 (21 in the novel)to death as a means of population control? This film version of a classic cautionary tale is intermittantly successful. David Zelag Goodman's screenplay condenses and changes around several key characters. Goodman's script essentially refocuses the novel into The Fugitive in the future. In the original novel Francis (played brilliantly by the late Richard Jordan)and the Old Man character (played as befuddled by Peter Ustinov) were one and the same. You'll need to read the novel to see why this was an important altered plot point.Additionally, Sanctuary did exist in the novel while here it's clear that it's something of an urban myth. While these plot points might not seem essential, altering them radically reshaped the film. Still, it's clear that the film's director, producer and screenwriter (respectively, Michael Anderson the late Saul David and Goodman)wanted to streamline what could have been a confusing plot if not layed out correctly. The basic plot--In the future our society is enclosed in domes. As a means to control the population, everyone has a life clock crystal on their hand. When you reach 30 you have the option to become "renewed" in a ceremony attended by the citizens. Logan (Michael York) and Francis (Richard Jordan) are Sandmen who hunt, capture/or kill runners (people who choose to not go through renewal and try to escape). After one incident, Logan is debriefed by the computer that runs the city. The runner wore a symbol representing life. During this debriefing he is send undercover to become a "runner" and find out 1)Who is behind the network that tries to get people out of the city and 2) If sanctuary exists. Logan's life clock is prematurely aged to 30. He contacts a girl who he had met before on the circuit (a system where people can "dial up" others for casual sex)who he had seen wearing the same symbol. Despite her better judgement, she elects to help him escape. Francis, alarmed that his friend is running, elects to chase him and either bring him back for renewal or kill him. The film is quite good despite some gaping plot holes. Michael York gives a impassioned performance as Logan 5. Jenny Agutter is enchanting as Jessica. Richard Jordan shines as Logan's former partner Francis who feels betrayed and hunts Logan down. Roscoe Lee Brown is exceptional in his cameo as the demented cyborg Box. Michael Anderson, Jnr. gives a nice cameo performance as the surgeon hired to alter Logan's appearence. Made for $6 million, Logan's Run looked quite good when it was released in 1976. The symbolism of having Francis and Logan fight in the House of Representatives with an American flag was quite evident given the year of release (1976).
In many respects the themes in the film are more timely than ever. The obsession with youth, looking good and plastic surgery have come to define our culture in the 21st Century. The only thing missing from the film are botox injections. Jerry Goldsmith's brilliant score is a highlight of the film. Like his score for Planet of the Apes, Goldsmith chose to go with a mix of sythesizers and orchestra to portray the city of the future. He eschews cliches in his music and the various themes and cues are at turns suspenseful and witty. The optical effects are pretty good given the time. The matte paintings by Albert Whitlock are outstanding and fairly convincing. The miniatures are a mixed bag. They didn't look completely convincing in 1976 nor do they today. Part of the problem has to do with the fact that waters don't fare well when placed in miniatures. You can't miniaturize the bubbles and water drops. Also, the use of the miniatures in combination with live action is quite grainy due to the film stock and amount of composites. Still, if you can suspend your disbelief, you'll enjoy the film despite its limitations. Logan's Run attempted to tell an adult cautionary tale in a world of light weight escapist movies. It's a commendable film and the film makers frequently bite off more than they can chew. I'd rather have a film that's too ambitious than not at all. Still, I appreciate the ambitions if not the execution. It's nice to finally have this fine if flawed movie on DVD. The transfer is quite good although the print has a number of flaws. There's also quite a bit of dirt evident on the print. These probably could have been cleared up with a direct digital transfer. Additionally, the 5.1 soundtrack occasionally sounds "tinny" and when played in the stereo format can be quite difficult to hear. The extras are limited but nice. The commentary by director Michael Anderson and Michael York is quite good and informative. A pity the terrific actor Richard Jordan isn't around any longer to give us his perspective. I would have liked to see a fresh retrospective documentary on the making of the film. It's not likely to happen, though as no one is going to champion this film at the expensive of other newer projects (particulary since producer Saul David is gone). The featurette included is the original one made to promote the film. It's actually pretty decent given the age and purpose of it. The trailer is included as well. The disc is a dual sided single layer DVD with the widescreen and pan & scan versions on the same disc.
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73 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dated but interesting sci-fi film, August 1, 2003
A forgotten piece of futuristic sci-fi that had the misfortune of coming out the year before the groundbreaking "Star Wars", Logan's Run is a well-made, exciting, creative movie that succeeds despite the fact that it has not aged well. Based on the book by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, the movie tells the story of a post-apocalyptic society that lives out its existence in domes, where everything is automated by a central computer so that all of the dome-dwellers can live out their life with ease. However, to prevent overcrowding, no one is allowed to live past the age of 30. To avoid being euthanized, some residents of the city attempt to flee the domes and live out the remainder of their lives; these people are called "runners". Police officers called "Sandmen" are charged with stopping "runners".
Logan, the movie's central character, is a sandman and is played by Michael York. He is given orders by the central computer to track down a group of runners who have not been "put to sleep" and might have set up sanctuary outside of the City of Domes. To do this, the computer advances Logan's life clock (all the citizens of the city have life clocks that tell their ages) to make him appear as if he's 30. Now Logan is forced to run, hence the title.
While the billowing, disco-ish haircuts and outfits might scream "'70s!" to those who watch "Logan's Run", the truth is that there is a lot to like about the movie. For starters, the premise is an intriguing one, and handled well. Giving Logan a succeed-or-die mission gives much of the movie an urgent, claustrophobic feel. York and Jenny Agutter (who plays Jessica, Logan's accomplice in his escape) appear on the surface to be the perfect bland "pretty people" for the shallow society depicted in the movie, but in the course of the movie, reveal their characters' depth and passions. The filmmakers have also crafted a believable world for the characters to inhabit, which is commendable considering much of the film was shot in scenic Dallas and Fort Worth, two places I would describe neither as "scenic" nor "filmworthy".
"Logan's Run" is time capsule of what large budget sci-fi movies were before "Star Wars", but it succeeds, mainly from having a creative plot that draws the viewer's interest and transcends the trappings of the dated 70's designs. By no means the best sci-fi movie of the seventies, but one that is quite enjoyable nonetheless.
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