Outland (1981)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writer:

Peter Hyams (written by)

Release Date:

22 May 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Action | Thriller | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

On Jupiter's moon something deadly is happening

Plot:

In the distant future, a police marshal stationed at a remote mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy, and gets no help from the populace when he later finds himself marked for murder.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Marshal | Mining | Miner | Outpost

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Sean Connery	...	O'Niel
Peter Boyle	...	Sheppard
Frances Sternhagen	...	Lazarus
James Sikking	...	Montone (as James B. Sikking)
Kika Markham	...	Carol
Clarke Peters	...	Ballard
Steven Berkoff	...	Sagan
John Ratzenberger	...	Tarlow
Nicholas Barnes	...	Paul O'Niel
Manning Redwood	...	Lowell
Pat Starr	...	Flo Spector
Hal Galili	...	Nelson
Angus MacInnes	...	Hughes
Stuart Milligan	...	Walters
Eugene Lipinski	...	Cane, Suicide in Elevator

Also Known As:

Io (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (MegaSound encoding) (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (MegaSound encoding) (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Argentina:13 (re-rating) | Argentina:18 (original rating) | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Germany:12 (re-rating) | West Germany:16 (original rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | UK:AA (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Ladd Company, The

Trivia:

The tag-line "Even in space, the ultimate enemy is man" is a reference to the previous success of Alien (1979).

Goofs:

Plot holes: Concerning the incident where the worker descends in the depressurizing elevator, without a full pressure suit -- surely there would be a manual override for the elevator controls, or an Emergency Power Off button to press, in order to save him!

Quotes:

Dr. Marian Lazarus: 28 in the last six months.
Marshal William T. O'Neil: I wonder how many in the six months before that...
Dr. Marian Lazarus: 24. I've got initiative.
Marshal William T. O'Neil: Well. Good for you.
Dr. Marian Lazarus: Wanna know how many in the six months before that? Two.
Marshal William T. O'Neil: Are you sure?
Dr. Marian Lazarus: I'm *unpleasant*, I'm not *stupid*! Of *course* I'm sure- I can *count*!

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars (1977)

Realistic space mining movie

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 !