Outland (1981)

Marshall O'Neill (Sean Connery) has just been assigned to take over security of a new mining colony....on the Jupiter moon of IO. :o Yes this takes place in the future though many things have not changed as much as you would think: suddenly miners are starting to die under some VERY unusual circumstances as it might be as a result of a new illegal drug.  Against the advice of everyone around him, O'Neill digs deeper to find out how and why these drugs are starting to spread....and soon finds himself being targeted.  Even though this film was a critical and commercial failure upon release forty-five years ago, it has since developed a cult following and is now often affectionately nicknamed "High Noon in Space."  Legendary genre filmmaker Peter Hyams (TimeCop, Capricorn One, Running Scared) directed this sci-fi western which also co-stars Peter Boyle, Frances Sternhagen, and Clarke Peters. 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Transcript

OUTLAND – 1981

Directed by Peter Hyams

Starring Sean Connery, Peter Boyle, Frances Sternhagen, James B. Sikking, Kika Markham, Steven Berkoff, John Ratzenberger, Nicholas Barnes, Manning Redwood, Marc Boyle, and Clarke Peters

Genre: Sci-Fi Western (Audio clip)

Wow does it feel like this film takes place in the same universe as Alien or what?? 🤔 Probably no accident then that it shares a producer, composer, apparently some sets, and a genuine "space truckers" vibe with Alien....the film centers on nefarious crimes taking place on a mining operation at one of Jupiter's moons in the future and they might as well have called the company Weyland Yutani!

Connery kicks ass of course as the one GOOD cop (actually Marshall) in a bad mining town...with Peter Boyle looking unusually menacing (for him at least) as the villain he wants to take down. Apparently this film was originally conceived as "High Noon in Space" and that's pretty much exactly what it is - the whole third act pretty much becomes a ticking clock and it genuinely works, lean and mean with mimimal fat.

Frances Sternhagen has a nice supporting turn as Connery's plucky physician sidekick and even though I had seen this a bunch before, I never noticed an unrecognizably fresh-faced Clarke Peters (Detective Freamon from "The Wire") as a new, mysterious marshall - this was only his second film and it's a kick to not see him looking middle-aged for a change....

The effects hold up pretty well and the action is well-staged - Peter Hyams directed this in the middle of a pretty solid '80's genre run which included 2010, Capricorn One, and Running Scared. If I had any minor criticism, it's that the build-up to the actual climax feels more intense than the actual climax. Don't get wrong, it's a pretty fun cat-and-mouse all throughout the mining colony between Connery's Marshall O'Neil and the two assassins sent to kill him but.....but WOW are these assassins kind of inept. 😆

It doesn't kill the suspense but it doesn't help matters either - what kind of assassins OPENLY reveal themselves to everyone who can see them when they first get on the ship? 🤪 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

As previously mentioned, this film DOES share a composer with Alien and that would be the late, great Jerry Goldsmith, whom I believe has been cited on this podcast MANY times before….including his ICONIC score for that first Alien film in 1979. (Audio clip)

Now while his music for this film isn’t quite as hummable nor as primal as it was for Alien, it’s still quite effective at conveying tension, mystery, and of course the intimidating dread of outer space.  The main theme which kicks off the film delivers full-on orchestral fright including the distinct use of clarinets and flutes to punctuate thing and we hear this over an opening credits sequence which OVERTLY calls back to Alien, down to the letters of the title gradually becoming clear as the sequence progresses.  This track is actually titled, “The Mine.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

This is a pretty unusual one but it deserves mention – apparently this film was THE first film to use a new ground-breaking visual technique at the time known as Introvision, which was a variation on front projection which allowed more disparate elements – mostly in space – be combined within one camera shot.  And I would say that in retrospect, the overall presentation of those space sequences benefitted.  However here’s where things get UNUSUAL…..for most of his career up until this point AND since, Peter Hyams has served as his own cinematographer.  

So WHY is some one else credited as the DP for this film?  That would be Stephen Goldblatt who WAS officially hired as DP as this was one of his first feature films.  Well it’s quite simple: Hyams himself was apparently worried about as to whether Introvision would actually work well and he thought it best for union purposes to hire some one else in this role to take the blame just in case it didn’t….and from all accounts, Peter Hyams WAS the actual DP on this film.  So where did that leave Goldblatt?  Apparently just on-set twiddling his thumbs with very little to do….which turned out to be just an overall unpleasant experience for the cinematographer.  Yeah as much as I have always liked Hyams, this just felt like a dickish thing to do to one of his professional peers….BUT the good news is that Goldblatt paid his dues with this gig and has had a PRETTY strong career since then.  He became a go-to-DP for some big-time filmmakers like Richard Donner – he did previous episodes Lethal Weapon AND Lethal Weapon 2 – and Mike Nichols.  He would also eventually get multiple Oscar AND Emmy nominations for some genuinely impressive-looking projects like The Prince of Tides, HBO’s Angels in America, and…..previous episode Batman Forever?? 

Whoah what?  Yeah I had to double-check that in IMDB…not a fan of that film and I actually consider it to be one of THE worst-looking Batman films too.  And this was in ’95 too!  Same year as previous episodes Heat, Clockers, Seven, and Crimson Tide….none of THOSE films were nominated for cinematography yet the garish visual noise of Batman Forever WAS?  Ok I’m off topic here now sorry…..regardless, good for Goldblatt as he made out pretty well in the end. 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

This film’s BEST action sequence occurs RIGHT at the midpoint, around the 50 minute mark and it all starts with our hero staking out some key areas when he spots one of the suspected drug dealers, Walters played by Stuart Milligan who just has a GREAT face, you just know he’s up to something.  He apparently just did a hand-off when the Marshall spots him…..and off he goes!  What results is a genuinely exciting foot-chase throughout the freighter, almost akin to something out of The French Connection or Point Break but….IN SPACE. (Audio clip) 

It’s mostly shot with a hand-held camera and just feels visceral as we see these guys run through many a crowded metal corridor where they finally end up in the kitchen.  Beyond being a thrilling sequence, it’s also a great showcase for the set design done by the excellent Phillip Harrison who would not only go on to collaborate with Hyams on several other films including The Relic, Timecop, and previous episode Sudden Death but was also a regular collaborator with another one of my favorite journeyman genre directors from this era….John Badham, films of his like Stakeout and future episode The Hard Way.   Everything on the ship from the bunk beds to the showers just looks crowded and treacherous which is the idea.  And after briefly tussling in the kitchen, Connery ENDS this sequence in a definitive manner by busting out his shotgun, then uttering probably THE best line of the movie. (Audio clip)

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

As well executed as this film is on a technical level, it comes down to the lead performance which sets it apart.  Connery truly carries the movie with a strong performance filled with wit, self-doubt, and just enough old-fashioned honor. He also has nice chemistry with Sternhagen and he even looks good in a space suit!  

I alluded to this in previous episode Highlander but BOTH of those films came out during a strange extended period in Connery’s career between ’71 and ’87….basically his POST-Bond, Pre-Untouchables Oscar period…if we’re not counting Never Say Never Again, a movie I have a soft-spot for but is NOT considered official Bond canon.  Regardless he did a WIDE variety of stuff, most of it not particularly good though he was at least working with interesting directors like Sidney Lumet and John Boorman….weird stuff like Zardoz, Wrong is Right, and Time Bandits AND some good stuff like The Man Who Would be King and The Name of the Rose.  Well even though this wasn’t a hit critically or commercially, I would DEFINITELY rank this among his best performances from that era.  His Marshall O’Neill is DEFINITELY the type of character whom would have been played by Gary Cooper thirty years earlier and I consider that a high compliment – for carry one of THE true forgotten sci-fi gems of the 1980’s, Sir Sean Connery is the MVP. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5 

Happy 45th Anniversary to the Alien universe spin-off which we never knew that we wanted…..hey it’s SIGNIFICANTLY better than Prometheus! 

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And that ends another THINK’IT OVER review!