Outland (1981)

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nTitle: Outland (1981)

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nDirector: Peter Hyams

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nCast: Sean Connery, Peter Boyle, Frances Sternhagen

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nReview:

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nThe fact that Peter Hyam’s Outland was originally intended asna western, but was later reworked into a sci-fi cop thriller let’s you see thenpower of Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) and just what an influential film it is. Alien is such a strong film that it still influences modern filmmakers, but Outlandnwas one of the first few films to rip off Ridley Scott’s classic sci-fi horrornfilm. Hyam’s was so influenced by Alien that when you see Outland you almostnfeel as if you’re watching an Alien sequel, or at the very least, an aliennspin-off film. We get the cramped, claustrophobic sets; everything looks industrial,nike the interior of some factory. The spacesuits look similar to the ones innAlien, the clothes the people wear, hell, even the title sequence mimics thentitle sequence in Alien, no kidding my friends! Also many of the people whonworked behind the cameras in Alien also worked in Outland. Even Jerry Goldsmithndid the musical score as well!

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nTrue, Outland might be an Alien clone, but it also tells itsnown story. Though it might seem from looking at the films trailer that Outlandndeals with alien critters, Outland is not a film about an alien beast runningnaround a mining complex killing workers off; actually, the beast in this filmnis man himself. One of the taglines used to sell Outland was “Even in space, thenultimate enemy is man” again, mimicking the tagline for Alien which was “Innspace, no one can hear you scream”. Interesting how Hyams switched thingsnaround this way; he didn’t need any monster in his movie because man is capablenof doing monstrous things all by himself. For example, in Outland we have drugnsmugglers selling drugs to miners on a mining complex on Io, one of Jupiter’snmoons. The whole thing is getting out of hand because the drug is a form ofnamphetamine that gets miners working like horses, but ultimately turns themnpsychotic after a couple of months of usage. Strangely enough, it’s those innthe higher echelons of power that allow this to go on. It’s up to the newnpolice Marshall William T. O’Neil to discover who’s responsible and stop them.

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nSean Connery plays this type of ultra righteous good guy,nthe kind that knows something is wrong and will stop at nothing to set thingsnright, even if it means bumping heads with head honchos who feel like they arenso powerful that nothing can stop them. With Sean Connery’s Marshall William OnNeil, we get the quintessential good guy, the one who represents the bestnqualities in all of us. The guy who won’t accept a bribe, won’t steal or cheatnor be unfaithful to his wife, even when he has a lady after his loins, whichnactually happens in this film. In Outland Marshall William O’Neil’s wife leavesnhim (she can’t deal with him being a cop) and so, he is left all alone on Io.nBut he has a female admirer in the form of Dr. Lazarus, the colony  doctor, played by Frances Sternhagen.nSternhagen is also one of the films positive aspects; she turns in annintelligent, headstrong character with a bit of an edge, which involves hittingnon Marshall O Neil even though she knows he’s a married man. Rounding out thensolid cast is Peter Boyle as the guy who runs the mining complex.

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nThe films strongest point is its production values whichnseem a bit over the top for what is basically a film about drug smuggling. It almostnfeels as if the story didn’t warrant the production values? It feels as if thisnmovie could just as easily have been a film about a cop trying to stop drugnsmugglers in the big bad city; the sci-fi angle (and the money it took to bringnit to life) feels unnecessary. Why did it have to be sci-fi? Apparently thenonly reason was to cash in on the success of Alien. In the films favor I willnsay that it looks beautiful, it’s got that gritty, realistic look from Alien,nbut at the same time, with its ultra white rooms, Outland feels aestheticallynlike it’s paying its respects to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1969). Hyams payingnhis respects to Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece makes sense when we take innconsideration that Hyams ended up directing 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984),nthe direct sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey. So Outland ends up being an impressivenlooking movie, with a simple cop story. Hyam’s has always had an affinity fornmaking cop movies. He made Busting (1974) which coincidentally is also aboutncops busting a crime syndicate and another cop film called Peeper (1976). He’dnrevisit cop movies again with Running Scared (1986) which starred Billy Crystalnand Gregory Hines, and yeah, it’s also about cops trying to stop a drugnsmuggler! So Hyams turning Outland into a cop thriller shouldn’t surprisenanyone.

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nHyams has had a fruitful directorial career. He made 2010 (1984)nwhich I personally find to be an excellent sequel to 2001 (not everyone willnagree I know). He would go on to work again with Sean Connery in The Presidio (1988),nanother cop drama! He made two back to back films with Jean Claude Van Damme: TimenCop (1994) and Sudden Death (1995) and followed those with the excellentnmonster flick called The Relic (1997). He even made End of Days (1999) withnArnold Schwarzenegger. Unfortunately, it would be his ill fated return tonscience fiction entitled A Sound of Thunder (2005) that would put a halt on hisnfilmmaking career. A Sound of Thunder was a terrible film every step of the way,nbut a lot of that had to do with the production company going bankrupt (afternspending 55 million on this stinker!) and a flood that destroyed the sets theynhad built for the film. It really did not have much to do with Hyams abilitiesnas a filmmaker. Still, it is Outland, Hyams first foray into science fictionnthat remains one of his best films, recommend checking it out if you’re a fannof Ridley Scott’s Alien or crime thrillers.

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nRating: 4 out of 5  

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