Based on the novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton
Johnson, Logan's Run is a classic science fiction story about a future society
where life must end at the age of thirty. This is done to keep the balance of a
population that resides within huge domes. Never stepping foot outside in a
wasteland of a world, these descendants of an ancient catastrophe depend on
their enclosed society for their very survival. Once a citizen turns thirty,
their life clock--a small button-like device in the palm of their left hand--begins
to flash red, signifying that it is time for them to go to the Carousel. The
Carousel is a ritual that people on their last day attend in order to try and
get "renewed", or seemingly reincarnated, but to view the Carousel in action,
it's hard to imagine anybody surviving the ordeal, much less getting a new life
out of it. Apparently many citizens share the view that the Carousel ritual is
nothing but a dead end, as they chose to become runners. The runners are hunted
down and terminated by a police force known as the sandmen.
Logan 5, played by Michael York, is a sandman who gleefully hunts down runners
with his partner Francis 7 (the superb Richard Jordan). Life is good for Logan
and Francis; while the majority of the population fears and hates them, there
are many perks to being a sandman--some of which is that they can have their
choice of any woman they desire, carry guns and pretty much have the run of the
entire domed city. They are the enforcers, the centurions for the central
computer, which is the Power That Be that truly runs the city. One day Logan's
jolly lifestyle comes to an abrupt end when the computer gives him a special
mission: an undercover assignment to infiltrate a resistance group within the
city who are helping runners to escape. Logan's cover will be as a runner, and
in order to help sell this the computer reconfigures his life clock so that it
now flashes red--a full four years earlier than it should.
Despite the fact that the computer has not answered his uneasy questions about
whether he will get his remaining four years back, Logan dives into his
assignment by seeking the assistance of Jessica 6 (the divine Jenny Agutter), a
woman who seemingly has connections with the runner underground movement. Not
comfortable with the idea of helping a sandman (sandmen never run, and
apparently Logan is the first), Jessica at first goes along with Logan with the
intent of helping to kill him. I first saw this film in the theater as a boy,
and I loved it then, and I still do now. Although it's now almost 30 years old
itself, Logan's Run still holds up very well. Despite its 1970s disco set
designs, the film still works very well as a parable that still speaks to us
today. The rich, pampered society shown in the film, where everyday life is
merely a jaunt in the shopping mall could very well be a reflection of the life
of a citizen in one of today's modern industrialized countries. And the film's
overall message that to ignore the outside world (as well as the past) will put
us at great risk is still a very valid one.
Michael York and Jenny Agutter are a very appealing onscreen couple; they
make you care about what happens to them. And the late Richard Jordan shines as
Francis, who could have easily been a stock villain if it were not for Jordan's
multi-dimensional performance. Peter Ustinov is also marvelous as the unnamed
Old Man; his performance is deliciously quirky and very funny. Farrah
Fawcett-Majors, one of the original Charlie's Angels, appears in a small role as
Holly. The DVD comes with an audio commentary by Michael York, director Michael
Anderson, and costume designer Bill Thomas. And there's also a making of
documentary, "A Look Into The 23rd Century". A nine-minute documentary that was
produced at the time of the film's release (1976), and while it's a lot better
than most documentaries, offering plenty of behind the scenes footage, it still
leaves you wanting more. There's also a theatrical trailer, and the option to
view the film either in widescreen or pan & scan. Whether you've seen it
countless times or haven't seen it at all, Logan's Run is definitely a jaunt
worth taking.
--SF
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