Search - Logan's Run [Widescreen/Fullscreen] on DVD

Logan's Run [Widescreen/Fullscreen]

Actor(s): Michael York, Richard Jordan, Jenny Agutter, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett
Director(s): Michael Anderson
63

Movie Details

MPAA Rating: PG
Content Advisory: Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Adult Language
Movie Release: 1976
DVD Release: 08/22/2000
Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan
Edition: Restored/Remastered
Audio Tracks: English, French
Subtitles: English, French
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Number of Discs: 1
Run Time: 1 hrs 58 mins
Studio: Warner Home Video
Members Wishing: 1
Genres: Action, Science Fiction, Chase Movie, Sci-Fi Action
See Also: Logan's Run [Widescreen] [Special Edition], Logan's Run [Widescreen/Fullscreen], Logan's Run [Blu-ray]

DVD Synopsis

In a hermetically sealed, post-apocalyptic urban environment several centuries hence, Logan 5 (Michael York) and his friend Francis 7 (Richard Jordan) lead unquestioning lives of hedonism. Entertainment comes in the form of casual sexual liaisons and gladiatorial games in which those who do not wish to undergo euthanasia at the age of 30 vie for the illusory chance of continued life. As "sandmen," Logan and Francis are charged with tracking down and killing "runners" -- those citizens who will submit to neither "renewal" (a peaceful death) nor "carousel" (a gladiatorial battle) when their time comes. When Logan grows intrigued by a beautiful young woman, Jessica 6 (Jenny Agutter), who plans to become a runner, he is forced to question the fundamental principles of his society. And when his superiors force him to pose as a runner himself to weed out Jessica's guerilla underground, Logan finds himself fleeing the city in search of a mythical place called Sanctuary where people are allowed to live out their natural spans. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Actors

Michael York - Logan
Richard Jordan - Francis
Jenny Agutter - Jessica
Roscoe Lee Browne - Box
Farrah Fawcett - Holly

Editorial Review of DVD

Logan's Run was just about the last science-fiction film of its kind: large-scale, glitzy, and very earnest and serious, without a trace of humor -- the genre's equivalent of a Dragnet episode. Not even a year later, Star Wars came along and completely rewrote the book on how to tell a science-fiction/fantasy tale. Badly adapted (and seriously dumbed down) from a much better book, the movie -- a very rare sci-fi production from MGM -- was received with lukewarm enthusiasm in 1976. Yet Logan's Run has aged slightly better than anyone anticipated it might, mostly because it captures the sensibilities of its era unexpectedly well, and it does feature a decent chase at its core. This accounts for how well the movie has consistently been treated, first on laserdisc and now on DVD. No one in their right mind would ever want to make another film like it, but it's also an easy movie to enjoy in its clunky, glitzy, well-meaning (albeit humorless) way. The DVD transfer runs circles around the earlier, letterboxed laserdisc edition (and that looked damn good), and it has bonus materials that turn this disc into something akin to "The Logan's Run Experience." Director Michael Anderson (most closely associated with such films as Around The World in Eighty Days), star Michael York, and costume designer Bill Thomas all appear on a commentary track that runs the length of the movie. They spend a little too much time explaining plot elements that are fairly straightforward, but their enthusiasm for one of the biggest film projects any of them was ever involved in is still refreshing to hear. The theatrical trailer is also included, but much more revealing is a 20-minute featurette on the making of the film. It's as serious as the movie itself, and tries desperately to generate some excitement about a gargantuan production that obviously had the studio very nervous. Watching the DVD today, one is struck by how "'70s" the movie's vision of the future looks. The film's 23rd century Utopia looks suspiciously like a mall of the period, and the culture, such as it is, is astonishingly like disco culture in every way but the music. The score, incidentally, was composed by Jerry Goldsmith -- his first piece of electronic-based film music -- and it is absolutely radiant on the audio track (indeed, the meowing of the cats living in the ruined capitol building with Peter Ustinov is recreated so vividly that it sent this reviewer's feline racing around the apartment trying to find them). Parts of the music, as well as iconic images from the film, are cleverly integrated into the menu. The Warner Home Video DVD release available since early 2000 is identical in every respect to the prior MGM/UA version except in its packaging. The MGM/UA version had a very good eight-page booklet that isn't in the Warner edition, and it is worth buying the out-of-print version if the booklet is in it. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Member Movie Reviews

RD C. (allepaca) from TEMPE, AZ wrote on 10/30/2009...

Gawd, what a disappointment. Somehow, I'd had fond memories from my teen years about this flick… I must have been pretty drunk or stoned (or both) at the time. Maybe I saw it at a drive-in on a hot date, and only really saw a few parts? Or maybe my teenaged libido just reacted to the then-rare excitement of seeing a brief glimpse or two of Jenny Aguttar's naked body, I don't know, but something possessed me to try to relive some past joys by buying this thing. What a mistake.

The only cast member who could even act his way out of a paper bag was Peter Ustinov, who must still be spinning in his grave to have ever been associated with this silly piece of tripe. And could that cardboard cutout really be the same Michael York who was so effective in Cabaret? As for Jordan and Aguttar... well, one never really expects much from them anyway. But it is actually painful to see Fawcett stumbling her way through this early movie role... you can almost hear the director yelling "look just like the poster, Farrah-- just smile, don't move!"

The props/effects are almost entirely laughable-- a "killer robot" who appears to be made from tinfoil, "energy guns" that look like halloween sparklers, fight and chase sequences that would fit right into any c-rated 60's Japanese monster movie, etc. The whole thing actually seems like more of a spoof on sci-fi flix; but sadly, it isn't... at least, not intentionally.

It's hard to believe this stinker came out the same year they were filming Star Wars, and the advent of the "new" sci-fi era... it really belongs back in the early 50's, with such "classics" as Invasion of the Green Saucer People from Another Planet. I guess this might serve as a pretty good party movie-- the guests could all get trashed and laugh their butts off at the sheer stupidity of the writing & acting.

With the exception of some of the "Washington in ruins" backdrops toward the end of the film, and maybe Ustinov's quirky character, the ONLY good thing about this movie is the wonderful score by Jerry Goldsmith-- one of the first real film composers to effectively use electronic effects merged with the usual orchestral arrangements. It would be worth it to search out this soundtrack on a cd, so's not to be distracted by the inanity of the movie itself.

Don't waste your time with this arfer. If you want to see some much better sci-fi's from that general time period, try Soylent Green, Rollerball, Planet of the Apes, or Silent Running (I won't even mention 2001-- that's in a class by itself). Hell, even Westworld and Zardoz were far better than this bit of shallow fluff.

Margaret S. (morgan2010) from GLENVIEW, IL wrote on 9/27/2009...

0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Gosh. How history repeats itself! In Logan's Run anyone under 30 is safe and there are no old people because they renew. This movie was produced when USA citizens had a majority population of citizens under 30 years old. Today, in real life, like in the movie, if your old your asked to renew too... And they say movie depicts real life. Boy, did they have that right!