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Released by: Warner Brothers
Released on: 11/10/2009
Director: Michael Anderson
Cast: Michael York, Richard Jordan, Jenny Agutter, Roscoe Lee Brown, Farah Fawcett
Year: 1976
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The Movie:
Based on the novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, Logan's Run may not have the same punch in the social conscience department that it might have had when it played theaters in 1976, but it's still entertaining even if sometimes it borders on high camp.
The movie takes place in the future of 2274 where humanity survives inside a massive dome that protects them from the world outside and which contains mankind's vast array of amazing technology under safe conditions. Life is pretty simple in this future and humans live a life of luxury with the technology doing most of the work. There's a catch to this seeming utopian era, however - once you turn thirty, you're forced to partake in a ritual known as the carousel, a swirling vortex of sorts in which you get tossed away to be 'reborn.' If you should decide, once you turn thirty, to make a break for it and escape from the dome then you're hunted down by the Sandmen, a group of police/soldier types whose purpose is to catch the runners and take care of them.
Enter Logan 5 (Michael York), a twenty-five year old Sandman who pals around with coworker Francis 7 (Richard Johnson). Logan meets a pretty woman named Jessica 6 (Jenny Agutter) who is upset that her friend was recently killed for making a run. She begins to question the society in which they all live, which starts the gears in Logan's brain turning as well. As Logan's relationship with Jessica intensifies, a the super computer that keeps things in order finds out that she may or may not be involved with a group of runners and of course, he's ordered to investigate. At the same time, that same dastardly computer speeds up poor Logan's 'lifeclock,' so all of this is going down while his thirtieth birthday is fast approaching…
With all the current political talk about government sanctioned death panels and health care rationing, you'd think that maybe Logan's Run would still feel relevant today, but it's tough to really feel that way once the film ends primarily because there are some pretty hefty logic gaps in the storyline, giving Logan every reason to run and no reason whatsoever to want to stick around and die. Since this information comes down from the all mighty computer and computers are supposed to act logically, it's kind of an obvious goof that's hard to overlook. On top of that, the set design and fashions all very definitely feel like products of mid-seventies science fiction. This isn't a bad thing in and of itself but it does give the movie a pretty dated look and feel.
There's also the fact that Logan needlessly lets other 'runners' die in order to keep up appearances and pull the wool over Jessica's eyes. He could have helped this people, but he chose not to, which makes him less sympathetic and more of a jerk. You could argue that this makes his character more believable, and there'd be some truth to that as none of us are perfect and we're all obviously interested in saving our own skin, but a simple 'hey watch out for that guy over there' or 'duck!' from Logan would have gone a long way towards helping to make him more likeable but he can't even be bothered to do that. If his social conditioning is starting to wear off, you'd think he would at least wrestle with some of this. Meanwhile, Francis becomes increasingly obsessed with Logan for reasons that are hinted at with a tinge of homosexuality but which are never fully explained.
There's still plenty of good here to ingest, however. Jenny Agutter is always fun to look at and there are some fun supporting bits from Peter Ustinov and Farah Fawcett and the action scenes still hold up quite well and are plentiful enough to keep the pace going. Those who actually appreciate old model work mixed in with their effects will enjoy what they see here, and there's some pretty creative design work on display throughout the movie. All in all, it's not a bad picture - just a very flawed one.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The AVC encoded 1080p 2.40.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer on this release is….okay. It's not great by any stretch, but it's okay. A lot of the reason it doesn't look so hot has to do with the movie's design. The dome is a very boring looking place, it almost looks like the inside of a hospital at times, very stale feeling and stagnant. Once the movie starts to pick up and the locations change, the transfer does become more impressive as it has more color to play with and more detail to explore. Black levels aren't always as strong as they could be but more often than not they are at least stable. There isn't much in the way of print damage to complain about aside from a few scratches here and there, though a coat of fine grain is present throughout. All in all, it won't blow you away but it looks… okay.
The English language Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track that makes good use of the rear and surround channels by spreading out the sound effects nicely and by letting Jerry Goldsmith's score really punch. There are a few spots where the levels on the effects some pretty high, meaning you might find yourself adjusting the volume a few times during playback, but for the most part everything sounds pretty good. Dialogue is easy enough to follow and there are no problems with hiss or distortion to note. Often times the mix is pretty heavy in the front of the setup when maybe it could have played with the whole surround field more effectively but for an older production, this isn't a bad effort on the part of Warner Brothers.
Owner's of the DVD release won't find much of interest here as all of the supplements have been ported over from that release, starting with the commentary track that is spliced together from separate recordings of Michael York, Michael Anderson, and costume designer Bill Thomas. It's a fairly interesting track that covers all of the bases and it's actually far more interesting to hear from Thomas than you might gather, seeing as the costume guys are rarely featured on tracks like this.
Aside from that, there's a vintage featurette entitled A Look Into The 23rd Century (9:18) that was made around the time of the film's release and which gives us a look at its various sets, and the film's original theatrical trailer. Menus and chapter stops are also included and all of the extra material on this release is presented in standard definition.
The Final Word:
The transfer won't floor you and the extras could have been more impressive, but Logan's Run holds up well at least in terms of the entertainment value it provides despite the film's many obvious flaws. It's definitely dated, but it's still fun.