LOGAN'S RUN [1976 / 2009] [Blu-ray] [USA Release]
Jazzily Effective and Even Poetic! Logan's Run is Fun!
In the Year of the City 2274, humans live in a vast, bubbled metropolis, where computerised servo-mechanisms provide all needs so everyone can pursue endless hedonism. Endless, that is, until Last day, when anyone who's 30 must submit to Carrousel, a soaring, spinning trip to eternity and supposed rebirth. The screen's first use of laser holography highlights this post-apocalyptic winner of a Special Achievement Academy Award® for Visual Effects. Michael York plays Logan 5, a Sandman authorized to terminate Runners fleeing Carrousel. Logan 5 is almost 30. Catch him if you can.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1977 Academy Awards®: Win: Special Achievement Award for Glen Robinson, L.B. Abbott and Matthew Yuricich for visual effects. Nominated: Best Cinematography for Ernest Laszlo. Nominated: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration for Dale Hennesy and Robert De Vestel. 1977 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: Win: Golden Scroll for Best Science Fiction Film. Win: Golden Scroll for Best Cinematography for Ernest Laszlo. Win: Golden Scroll for Best Art Direction for Dale Hennesy. Win: Golden Scroll for Best Set Decoration for Robert De Vestel. Win: Golden Scroll for Best Costumes for Bill Thomas. Win: Golden Scroll for Best Make-Up for William Tuttle. 1977 Hugo Awards: Nominated: Best Dramatic Presentation for Michael Anderson (director), David Zelag Goodman (screenplay), William F. Nolan (based on the novel) and George Clayton Johnson (based on the novel).
FILM FACT No.2: The character of Box, being voiced by African-American actor Roscoe Lee Browne, could serve as a precursor to Darth Vader, voiced by African-American actor James Earl Jones in ‘Star Wars’ [1977], in "racializing cyber phobic primers available to Generation X." Special effects artists L. B. Abbott and Glen Robinson regarded Carrousel as the most difficult part of the film to portray, requiring hidden wires to depict the levitation. For the scene in which Logan is interrogated by the Deep Sleep central computer, it was decided that genuine holograms would be most convincing, with Saul David advocating a new hologram effect be created. The robot character Box was portrayed by placing actor Roscoe Lee Browne in a robot costume. The filmmakers also made use of wide-angle lenses not generally available. It became the first film to use Dolby Stereo on 70 mm prints. Nine entire sound stages were used at M-G-M in Culver City, California, hosting a miniature city among the largest of its kind built to date. Producers saved $3 million by finding readily available locations in numerous Dallas buildings, including the Apparel Mart at Dallas Market Center (The Great Hall), Oz Restaurant and Nightclub (The Love Shop) and Pegasus Place (Sandman headquarters), the Fort Worth Water Gardens, and the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Houston. The Sewage Disposal Plant in El Segundo, California was used for the underground escape sequences.
Cast: Michael York, Richard Jordan, Jenny Agutter, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Michael Anderson Jr., Peter Ustinov, Randolph Roberts, Lara Lindsay, Gary Morgan, Michelle Stacy, Laura Hippe, David Westberg, Camilla Carr, Greg Lewis, Ashley Cox, Bill Couch, Glenn R. Wilder, Joe L. Blevins (uncredited), Roger Borden (uncredited), Greg Bransom (uncredited), Paula Crist (uncredited), Virginia Ann Ford (The City Computer) (uncredited), Chuck Gaylord (uncredited), Mitchell Gaylord (uncredited), Johnny Haymer (uncredited), Jessie Kirby (uncredited), Greg Michaels (uncredited), Bob Neill (uncredited), Renie Radich (uncredited), Candice Rialson (uncredited), Cheryl Smith (uncredited) and Ron D. Thornton (uncredited)
Director: Michael Anderson
Producers: Hugh Benson and Saul David
Screenplay: David Zelag Goodman (screenplay), George Clayton Johnson (based on the novel "Logan's Run") and William F. Nolan (based on the novel "Logan's Run")
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio: English: 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
French: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
German: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Spanish [Castilian]: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish and German SDH
Running Time: 118 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Home Video
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: ‘LOGAN'S RUN’ [1976] was originally meant to be produced and released in 1968 when its cautionary tale of a futuristic society bent on destroying all but its youngest citizens might have had somewhat greater resonance in the youth-oriented culture of the time. But even eight years later, audiences found the premise fascinating, making a great financial success of what was at the time one of the most expensive sci-fi movies ever produced. The $9-million picture grossed close to $3 million in its first week of release, enough of a hit to cause its studio, M-G-M, and industry trade analysts to herald a new era for science fiction films and although its position was quickly eclipsed by ‘Star Wars’ [1977]. ‘LOGAN'S RUN’ remains a major reference point for fans that first saw the sci-fi film in 1976.
Without any conscious foreknowledge or intent, ‘LOGAN'S RUN’ marked the end of an era in filmmaking. The film by director Michael Anderson is the last of the old-fashioned type science fiction epics. There are two important things to keep in mind while watching it. First, it premiered in 1976, just one year prior to ‘Star Wars.’ Secondly, it won a Special Achievement Oscar for its visual effects, which were considered quite astounding to audiences at the time. Try to contain your disbelief as the opening credits play out over the laughably silly miniature scale model of the futuristic city. This is what science fiction was prior to ‘Star Wars.’ For all its good intentions and genuine ambition, the film would become instantly, painfully dated only one year after its release. And yet, looking back on the picture now, it's precisely that very datedness that makes it so fascinating and, yes, entertaining. This isn't a vision of the future; it's a vivid portrait of the past.
‘LOGAN'S RUN’ takes place in 2274, and survivors of some sort of holocaust have sealed themselves into a domed city near Washington, D.C. To control the population, the computers that run the city mandate termination for anyone who reaches the age of 30. The policy is enforced by police operatives called "Sandmen." Logan 5 [Michael York] is one of these agents assigned to terminate "Runners," those who try to escape the compulsory fate. But he begins to question the system he serves, and in the company of a young woman named Jessica 6 [Jenny Agutter], he escapes the city to seek a possibly mythical place called "Sanctuary," pursued by his friend and fellow Sandman Francis 7 [Richard Jordan].
What remains of civilisation has clustered in a giant domed city, shielded from the outside world. Life there is a perfect utopia. People live only for pleasure, and there's plenty of that to go around. There's just one catch: in order to maintain the city's delicate ecosystem, the population must remain at a constant fixed number. Thus, for each new life hatched in the breeding centre, an existing life must be taken away "One for one." Every member of society is assigned a set lifespan of 30 years, marked by the colour-changing crystal embedded in his or her left hand. When the crystal starts blinking, time is up, and the person must participate in the ritual of Carrousel, wherein a group of expirees is sent to an amphitheatre, raised skyward by a rotating force field, and exploded in spectacular fashion for the entertainment of the cheering crowd. Few seem bothered by this. Carrousel isn't death. It's a time for Renewal, they believe.
But not all believe this scenario. Some fear death and attempt to escape the city. These Runners pose a potential threat that may upset the social order, and must be stopped. A Gestapo type police force called the Sandmen track down and assassinates the Runners before they can get out. Logan 5 is one such Sandman and he lives a life of unquestioning obedience to the city's controlling computerised intelligence. Logan 5 believes in Carrousel. He has no reason to doubt, until one day the computer shaves four years off his lifeline and assigns him to go undercover as a Runner. His task: to follow the Runners to a mythical place outside the city called Sanctuary, infiltrate, and destroy it. As much as he wants to obey, Logan 5 finds his belief system challenged the further he gets away from the city, and the more time he spends in the company of a fellow Runner named Jessica 6.
Like many old sci-fi pictures from decades past, ‘LOGAN'S RUN’ is primarily a film of Big Ideas and Important Social Commentary rather than action. It's meant to be an allegory for the dangers of complacency and conformity, or some such. Its dialogue specifies and its symbolism is heavy-handed. Logan 5's journey outside the city brings him face to face with the detritus of civilization, where once-great landmarks wallow in neglect and ruin, and he is forced to use books, art, and even a tattered American flag as weapons to defend himself. The script even falls back on that old chestnut of man's intelligence triumphing over technology, as demonstrated by a computer that must instantly melt down and explode the first time it gets confused.
For its day, the film was modestly but not unhealthily budgeted at $9 million and backed by the resources of M-G-M, still a major studio at the time. Its production design, costumes, and extensive special effects are as elaborate as they are hopelessly corny. This is a view of the future as could only be envisioned in the 1970s. Inhabitants of the city, who are notably all Caucasian and down to the last man, woman, and child who wear colour-coded nylon togas and spandex tights. Farrah Fawcett (then Farrah Fawcett-Majors) makes a supporting appearance in all the resplendent glory of her famous feathered hairdo and dreadful atrocious acting. The city itself is constructed of particleboard sets covered in shiny surfaces. The model and miniature vistas of tiny monorail systems cruising over plastic trees from cardboard building to cardboard building look exactly like what they are. Optical effects do not appear to have advanced any in technique or quality beyond those available 20 years earlier in ‘Forbidden Planet.’ When the Sandmen fire their strange pistols, sparks fly from the muzzle “Buck Rogers” style while strategically placed firecrackers sparkle near the intended target. As Logan 5 attempts to break free from the city, he's confronted by a weird centurion named Box, who is part-man, part-robot, and mostly reflective disco ball.
All of which is to say that the film is a great fun filled kitsch blast of retro sci-fi fun. As an added bonus, it also has an almost shocking amount of nudity, including a freaky psychedelic slow motion orgy and Jenny Agutter's jaw-dropping disrobement. A great deal of the film's appeal, however, was due to its all-too-human characters and storyline, and here the deft casting helped tremendously. Michael York was then one of the most respected young actors around with other successful films after ‘LOGAN'S RUN.’ Michael York also had high praise for Peter Ustinov, who was cast as the last Old Man alive. Also an accomplished writer and director, and Peter Ustinov improvised much of his dialogue in ‘LOGAN'S RUN’ "including snatches of T.S. Eliot's poems of cats a decade before a certain other Englishman made it world famous especially in a marvellous swampy Southern accent," Michael York said.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – All things considered, ‘LOGAN'S RUN’ looks pretty good. The sci-fi film is obviously the product of a different age in filmic technique and style, as reflected in its very grainy, often flat photography. The Blu-ray's 1080p transfer maintains all of the grain without any attempt to wipe it away through Digital Noise Reduction, but is enhanced with its 2.40:1 aspect ratio. In many scenes, it comes out thick and heavy, especially during the miniatures and optical composite shots. Colours are a little dull and sometimes appear faded, but that's a common attribute of films from the 1970s, and may just be a factor of the film stocks in use at the time. The picture generally has good detail, enough that you can plainly see many matte lines and the wires holding up the bodies during the Carrousel sequence, despite director Michael Anderson claiming otherwise in his audio commentary. However, a lot of the film was shot in soft focus, and some of the composite shots are downright blurry. Again, that's a fault of the production and not a transfer flaw. ‘LOGAN'S RUN’ has certainly not received the sort of full-blown restoration that Warner Home Video has afforded some of its higher-profile and more beloved properties recently. Even so, for what it is, the sci-fi film looks surprisingly decent.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – I can't get over how great this Blu-raydisc sounds. For a sci-fi film from 1976, the ‘LOGAN'S RUN’ soundtrack is a real stunner. In its day, the movie played with both stereo and 70mm 6-track theatrical prints. The Blu-ray's 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio track is presumably closer to the latter. The mix has bitingly crisp dialogue. When the voice of the computer speaks, it really sounds like it is right there in the room with you. Though perhaps not up to modern expectations for zinging surround activity, some effective use is frequently made of the rear channels. Dialogue is also panned across the front soundstage on occasion, an effect rarely used in films anymore. Best of all, is the brilliant Jerry Goldsmith's famous score, which is grand and startlingly forceful. It has plenty of reverberant bass, and is reproduced in excellent fidelity. The breadth and clarity of the music puts many modern blockbusters to shame. True, some aspects of the track haven't aged as well. Many of the crowd noises are thin and shrill. A lot of the twinkly sound effects are just kind of silly. Nevertheless, I was simply bowled over by this terrific soundtrack.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary by Michael York, director Michael Anderson, and costume designer Bill Thomas: The most notable thing about this audio commentary featuring director Michael Anderson, star Michael York, and costume designer Bill Thomas and each were recorded separately, is just how seriously they all talk about the sci-fi film. Not one of them at all acknowledges the picture's sillier tendencies, not even when referencing the nylon and spandex costumes. Michael Anderson discusses his involvement with the project, script development, and practical production aspects such as casting, sets, and special effects. Michael York talks about his background and how he came to star in the feature, and admits that he still has one of Logan's robes. The actor also gets in the track's best line, albeit perhaps unintentionally, when he says without any deliberate sarcasm, "This film preceded a lot of other science fiction films in which the special effects did really become special." This audio commentary is okay, but nothing really special.
Special Feature: A Look into the 23rd Century [Vintage Documentary] [1976] [480i] [1.37:1] [9:00] This vintage promotional documentary attempts to showcase the spectacle of the film. The film ‘LOGAN'S RUN’ [1976] depicts a supposedly Utopian society in the 23rd century, but one where, as producer Saul David puts it, "there is a worm in the apple". The filmmakers use current technology and ideals of pleasure to depict this perfect future. Director Michael Anderson finds meshing these two worlds an exciting challenge, especially in trying to create something that has never been seen before in the movies. The studio's technology department plays a key role in creating Anderson and Saul David's vision. The film's stars, Michael York and Jenny Agutter, provide their take on the film, their roles and working with each other and also with fellow co-star Richard Jordan. The filmmakers also need to create the antithesis of the modern Utopian world for the scenes taking place outside of the domed world. Contributors include: Karl Weber [Narrator voice] (uncredited), Michael Anderson, Christopher Outwater, L.B. Abbott, Ernest Laszlo, Saul David, Michael York, Jenny Agutter and Richard Jordan.
Theatrical Trailer [1976] [480i] [1.85:1] [3:00] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘LOGAN'S RUN’ that announces that "It begins where imagination ends," exclaims this ancient theatrical trailer in very poor condition.
Finally, ‘LOGAN'S RUN’ is a look back at the state of science fiction filmmaking before the revolution of ‘Star Wars’ came around and changed the game forever. It's difficult to imagine that the two sci-fi films, so vastly different in vision, could have been made so closely together to one another. The campy ‘LOGAN'S RUN’ looks at least 20 years older in comparison. But that's not to say that the film doesn't still have any entertainment value, quite the contrary. The Blu-ray has a transfer that's faithful to the source with a few issues, but will probably not please viewers who expect sparkly clean eye candy in everything they watch. The soundtrack is more easily appreciated, but the disc's bonus features are only of mild interest. In the final analysis, this release merits a solid total guilty pleasure recommendation and it has for a very long time has been a firm favourite film of mine, despite its age and it has gone pride of place in my Blu-ray Collection. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
