Outland (1981) Reviews

• Yes, it's high noon in space. And what's wrong with that?

  ProfessorPeach2001-08-28

  Sean Connery. A man's man, a woman's sex symbol. Good start! Now let's put him on a remote moon of Jupiter. So how many other films have Io as their center of action? Absolutely excellent in combining the effects that were available at the time with a darn good plot. Well overshadowed by the likes of Alien, this is late 70's/ early 80's sci-fi at it's best. No more is the future in space a Utopia, it is a grimy, nasty everyday world where people carry on their sordid business as they ever did. Except there is always a hero; a flawed hero, as is Connery. A personal crusade, a battle almost against the odds (but not unbelievably so, at all) and the true hallmark of a good sci-fi story: That is, the story would work just as well anywhere, any place, any time, as it does in space in the future. What more do you want (Just check out the shuttle landing)? Essential viewing!

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• under-estimated sci fi western,

  raegan_butcher2006-07-31

  After leaving the James Bond franchise in 1971, Sean Connery gave a number of notable performances in films such as The Offense and The Man Who Would Be King but Outland is really the film that started him on the comeback trail that culminated with his Oscar acceptance speech 6 yrs later for The Untouchables. No one seems to recall this but at the time of Outland's release, no one had seen or heard from Connery for a few years and most of the reviews, while not kind to the film for a variety of reasons--chief among them being the fact that most movie critics (at least back then) harbored serious prejudice against sci fi--the main comment was "It is good to see Sean Connery back in action again". This film has one of the best production designs ever.Phillip Harrison did a superb job. Obviously the look was copped from Alien--blue collar workers in space--but it works remarkably well. I was often reminded of OUTLAND during my seven year prison term; the housing was remarkably similar--as was the company. But I digress... Nothing special about the plot-- it's routine cop show or western movie stuff--but who cares? Sean Connery gives a splendid performance and the whole film moves at a nice clip. Very enjoyable.

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• Worth a look...a different take on sci-fi

  medic249a22004-08-06

  I remember wanting to see this when it came out in '81, on the heels of sci-fi classics such as 'Star Wars', 'Alien', and 'The Empire Strikes Back'. Of course because of its 'R' rating I could never see it until it came out on video. I found it offered a different take on sci-fi films as it had no involvement with sinister aliens, and the only alien world explored is the Jupiter moon. ***WARNING! POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!*** 'Outland' is set on Io, one of Jupiter's moons, in a mining colony. Marshal W.T. O'Niel (Connery) is assigned to the moon colony. Shortly after he arrives he discovers that several miners have been committing suicide in bizarre and ugly ways, such as walking into zero-atmosphere minus a pressure suit. When he investigates he finds that the dead men have been taking an amphetamine-like drug. According to Dr. Lazarus (Frances Sternhagen) the drug enables the miners to go for days without sleep and work at extended intervals, thereby increasing the mine's productivity. When O'Niel follows the dealers' trail he discovers that it leads to the head of the mining operation. These men have no intention of letting O'Niel stop their dirty work, and now the marshal has to watch his back at every turn, as a hit contract is put out on his head. O'Niel also finds that his own men are willing to turn on him... ***END SPOILER ALERT*** Like someone else mentioned, the production design does not show space as a shiny, clean environment - space is 'dirty' here. The mining colony looks like a real operation, in a similar way to the way the Nostromo appeared in 'Alien'. Jerry Goldsmith's music also sounds much like the low, sinister tones of 'Alien' which he had written only 2 years before. While it lacks most of the spectacular effects of the 'Star Wars' trilogy it gives a believable sense of the awesome size of space. The story is not unlike a western set in outer space, only that the crime the marshal is trying to stop is drug-dealing as opposed to train or stagecoach robbery. Not a bad movie, not on the scale of 'Star Wars' or 'Alien' but definitely worth looking into.

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• Realistic space mining movie

  lightfeather2005-05-24

  The movie is amazingly realistic in regard to the technology used and in regard to the human characters. I totally agree with OP Voutilainen, who wrote a very good comment on this movie on 24 October 2001. The movie is never superficial if you look at its characters: The bad are not simply bad but realistically brutal. The good are not simply heroic, they rather strive to survive and struggle to keep what's left of their personal dignity and values after the school of life. People of the future will possibly wonder why anyone ever liked such a "normal life"-movie. The answer is: Simply because of the everyday life dignity that people emanate in the movie. Really a great positive movie !

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• It's Not Exactly High Noon In Space

  bkoganbing2007-02-17

  Both in the Citadel Film Series book The Films of Sean Connery and a quick survey of the user comments here, everyone seems to be conceding that Outland is simply High Noon transferred to outer space. It's not really, but there are certain plot similarities. Of course there were enough similarities that Fred Zinneman stated that Peter Hyams had ripped off his western classic. For one thing Gary Cooper is a newlywed in High Noon, Sean Connery is a married man with a 12 year old son. His wife however wants him to give up the futuristic law enforcement business, but it's what he knows and because he's such an independent minded fellow who speaks his mind he gets one garbage assignment after another. Here he's on a mining colony on the Jupiter satellite Io. It's a frontier town, not unlike some in the west. But Hadleyburg in High Noon is passed the wild and woolly frontier days and the impending gunfight is not wanted because it will bring those days back. Gary Cooper dealt with ingratitude, what Connery is dealing with on Io is systemic corruption. The boss of the place is Peter Boyle the head of mining operations. One of the things he provides are illegal synthetic narcotics which make the men work like mules and increase his productivity. They also eventually fry your brain and you turn paranoid. Connery notices several suspicious deaths have occurred in the past two years after he's had to deal with some miners who've gone haywire. The presence of narcotics is confirmed by station doctor Frances Sternhagen during an autopsy. When Boyle's confronted with this, bribery doesn't work so he puts out a contract on Connery. His deputies are all on the pad and the miners won't help either. His one friend in the place is Sternhagen. In fact acting honors in Outland go to Frances Sternhagen as the tough old bird of a doctor who's also in a kind of exile on Io. Outland has good special effects and the mining colony on Io is marvelously created with the use of miniatures, much like the Himalayas were in Black Narcissus. But it is better known for a good story and some fine acting by all, especially Sternhagen. It's one of Sean Connery's better films and shouldn't be missed by science fiction fans or Sean Connery's many fans. So what if it took a few bites out of High Noon.

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