Seeing future movies from the past is always fun because it is interesting to see what the directors and designers thought the future would be like. In this case, apparently the future involved lots of colored rayon fabric, mall-like structures (apparently escalator technology is also a going thing in the 23rd Century), small cars that run in tubes, and the inevitable "pleasure shop" (because, as always, in the future sex is a thing that we have to have available all the time - sort of like now, actually). Both main characters, Michael York and Jessica Agutter, have continued to act throughout the years but the only person that "broke" out into true stardom was a minor character actor, Farah Fawcett (Peter Ustinov is also in the movie but he came with his own stardom).
The story - based on the book Logan's Run - is a post war society in which all people are given "life clocks" and die at age 30 (age 21 in the book). The main character, Logan 5, is a "Sandman", a lawman who chases down "Runners" (those who do not agree to self-terminate). The movie is Logan's "run" along with a member of a loosely defined "Resistance", Jessica 5.
I will not spoil the plot for you beyond that - it is not amazing, but is enjoyable - but I was more struck by the idea of watching something 40 plus years after it was made.
Remember the year - 1976 - one year before the Star Wars debut that changed how and what we expected from Science Fiction. The costumes and models and weapons and sets and computer scenes - everything - are more reminiscent of the 1960's Science Fiction than what came out the following year. In that way, Logan's Run was fortunate - had they come out the next year, the movie would have been lost to time rather than have something of a small residual following of sympathetic oldsters with nostalgia on their minds.
In a way it is a great and visual reminder of how sometimes a single moment or thing - the Apple IIe, the iPhone, the InterWeb, a kiss - can completely change everything that comes after it. Expectations are not just changed: they are expanded, blown out, never to return to their former confines.
Which, of course, is I will continue to watch such things as Logan's Run: a reminder of simpler and happier times, never to return.
Awesome TB. I watched it too.
ReplyDeleteI lived for schlock SF and watched them all: Planet Of The Apes, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Moonbase Alpha. Gawd, some of them were awful! :)
With pregnant women being allowed to abort their babies while actually in labor, mandated euthanasia can't be far behind...
ReplyDeleteNever read the book. Watched the movie once. Not sure why only once, guess it never really appealed to me. I think even then space was more science fiction to me.
ReplyDeleteSo many movies which I loved growing up, even just from the 60s seem a bit hokey by today's standards. Compare The Original Star Trek Pilot (remember pilots to check and see if a show would be good?) with, say, Orville.
Or even the early Doctor Who shows to today's Doctor Who shows.
But I do know what you mean about earlier and simpler.
Glen, I have made a practice of trying to find and watch bad Scifi - fortunately with NetFlix, they have all of the old Sci Fi stuff. And man, some of it is awful.
ReplyDeletePete, we are quickly approaching the point of science fiction in these areas. The fact that no-one actually seems to notice that such practices in Science Fiction were preludes to societal collapse is scarcely noticed...
ReplyDeleteLinda, most of them were hokey. Part of the reason is that prior to CGI, you had to suspend imagination a great deal more to imagine the cardboard spaceship was real or that the terrible make-up really was an alien.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there were different social standards, which by default made things seem much easier and simpler. Certain things were still assumed.
Dan and I just watched Logan's Run a couple of days ago! It's part of our video collection; got it as part of a collection of sci-fi movies. 4 for $5 or something like that.
ReplyDeleteLeigh - Not a bad bargain at all! It was certainly not any less bad that current stuff, and (as always) I love seeing what things were thought to be like 30 plus years ago.
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda surprised they have remade it. Not that it would be better! But it would certainly be more CGish.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, in doing some extra reading it looks like they were talking about making a remake up to 2015 or so, but nothing came of it.
ReplyDeleteLike most remakes, I doubt it would have improved. More CGI to be sure, less campiness and polyester fabrics. On the whole, I probably would have been disappointed.