Outland

Starring:Sean Connery, Peter Boyle, Frances Sternhagen, James Sikking, Kika Markham, Clarke Peters, Steven Berkoff, John Ratzenberger, Nicholas Barnes, Manning Redwood, Pat Starr, Hal Galili, Angus MacInnes, Stuart Milligan, Eugene Lipinski, Norman Chancer, Ron Travis, Anni Domingo, Bill Bailey (II), Chris Williams
Director: Peter Hyams
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Outland is another in a long line of Westerns retooled for science fiction. Writer-director Peter Hyams (Capricorn One, 2010, Timecop) restages High Noon in outer space, with Sean Connery as O'Neil, the marshal for a settlement on one of Jupiter's moons. While investigating the deaths of some miners, O'Neil discovers that mine boss Peter Boyle has been giving his workers an amphetamine-like work-enhancing drug that keeps them productive for months--until they finally snap and go berserk. When Boyle sends killer henchmen to neutralize the lawman, O'Neil is unable to get the miners to back him up. Outland is no classic, but it offers solid suspense in an otherworldly atmosphere. Also starring Frances Sternhagen, James B. Sikking (Howard on television's Hill Street Blues), and John Ratzenberger (later to become famous as Cliff on the sitcom Cheers). --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews:

"I need those files by tomorrow or I'll kick your nasty ... all over this hospital, that's a Marshall joke" Sean Connery .......2007-04-12

Sure it's "High Noon" in space, but it works well with a very powerful star turn by Sean Connery as a Marshall of a mining town on Jupiter's moon Io. Backing him up are Frances Sternhagen as the "town" doctor and his only help, and Peter Boyle as the bad guy who runs the mine and the drugs that are killing the miners.
Miners are going mad on Io and they are killing themselves in very strange ways(exposing themselves to the outside and being blown to bits) and new Marshall O'Neil(Connery) wants to know why. With the help of the town doctor(Sternhagen, who almost steals this movie from Connery) he learns that a drug that makes you work harder and is very illegal is being given to the works and the town manager(Boyle reeking with venom) is the one getting it to him. Connery then begins to shut the system down.
I won't say anymore, but it is really quite good. The production design has an "Alien" look about it and the tension is very well done. All in all a hidden "gem" worth a look.

"Think it over...".......2007-04-07

Released in the space between "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Blade Runner," "Outland" is a decent if slightly lacking film.

The plot concerns Marshall O'Niel (Sean Connery) being appointed the head officer on a mining colony on Io, a moon of Jupiter. As if his grudging family wasn't enough, he's got reports of miners dying after suffering psychotic episodes. With help from his only real ally, Dr. Lazarus (Frances Sternhagen), O'Niel discovers the miners are being supplied with a performance-enhancing drug that has some nasty after-effects. Mine manager Sheppard (the late Peter Boyle), after suffering a loss of product at O'Niel's hands, calls in some corporate thugs to fix things.

Director Peter Hyams (2010, Timecop) has on his side excellent production design and decent special effects for the 80s. But the plot, while inventive, isn't much else. Connery, Boyle and the rest do good with their roles, but the script has some pointless filler and awkward talk. Aside from one excellent chase scene through the station, the action is limited and slow. The film also plods at 109 minutes, with several interesting scenes balanced out by several patches of empty downtime.

Connery, post-Bond but pre-Untouchables, is probably the real saving grace of this film. Whether smart-talking Lazarus (Sternhagen is also excellent), taunting Sheppard (Boyle does what he can with limited screen time), or staring dumbly at his wife's video message, Connery is one of the few actors who makes a credible action hero. He gets hurt, he gets abandoned, he is left on his own to fight the mercenaries, whatever. In the hands of a lesser actor, O'Niel would be generic, but Connery makes him human.

One more thing: bodies explode in this film (probably the only reason it was rated R). You might think I'm telling you this as a warning, but it's also because it's physically impossible.

Overall, you should see the film at least once for its ambiance, but don't expect to be blown away. Good performances and effects can't compensate for slow pacing and limited action.

On a scale of 1 to 10, this film gets a 6.
On a scale of 0.0 to 10, this film gets a 6.4.
On a scale of A to F, this film gets a C-.
On a scale of 1 to 5, this film gets a 3.

Outland.......2007-02-17

Crime drama in outer space--inside a mining installation squatting on Jupiter's third moon, Io, to be exact. The new Marshal in town, played by Sean Connery, actually arrives with a conscience (and a family that deserts him when the going gets tough, which is apparently right after the opening credits--but the conscience never deserts him) and when he tries to curtail the rampant use of a killer amphetamine that's being smuggled into the colony, it's pretty much him versus, well, everybody. The mine's General Manager, Sheppard, played by Peter Boyle, rules with quiet arrogance and it seems that when he wants a minor inconvenience like O'Niel tagged and bagged, it's best to just step out of the way.

This film is assisted--over twenty-five years later--by four key elements: Sean Connery, Peter Boyle, James B. Sikking, and Frances Sternhagen, not necessarily out of that order. Two of those people don't have all that many scenes (Boyle is effective both in direct confrontation with Connery, and as an unseen controller of his many pawns; and I won't tell you who ends up strangled and bound in a locker), but all these actors slowly reveal their true characters to us as the tension mounts. Sikking and Sternhagen, in supporting roles, each go through very different metamorphoses before the viewer's eyes, and both do wonderfully well at playing people who are not necessarily saying at all what they're thinking.

Special mention should go to Sean Connery, who probably doesn't get enough credit for the tight-lipped, stubborn but honourable old goat he plays in this eerie, claustrophobic film. One of my favourite Connery moments is when he gets home after a hard day's work only to be greeted by a video message from his wife explaining why she has taken the kid and abandoned him. Connery's facial reactions to all the woman's comments say as much as any of his Untouchables rantings--feeling like a dope for not seeing it coming that morning (all the clues were there for him and the viewer); feeling anger and hurt; feeling truly alone; feeling like quiting the job and running after her. But if a silent Connery doesn't work for you, he's got some great lines here, especially when trading dry wit with his one reluctant ally, Sternhagen as the crusty old doctor.

Meanwhile, the sets, the music, and the action sequences still maintain a vigorous pulse even today. I wish O'Niel had had to do a bit more deducting rather than simply watching bad guys reveal themselves on monitor screens if you sit there monitoring them long enough, and I wish the writer/director had not made some things a bit too obvious well before they were officially revealed (the wife's planning to bail out being hinted at four different ways; lingering camera shots on faces turning from friendly to sinister at the end of scenes, as Connery walks away). And I wouldn't have minded if there were SOME kind of a subplot to make the whole affair a bit less straightforward. But the hectic chase through what seems to be the entire installation, ending in Connery sticking his hand in a boiling pot of liquid rather than let crucial evidence melt away (while the bad guy goes for the nearest knife), was cool--as was the revelation of one final villain (unless the director tips you off on that surprise, too).

If you haven't seen this film, then it's a no-brainer: check it out.

The western side of space.......2007-02-07

It's a ramshackle little mining town. Everything is either the work, the bar, or the prostitutes. (For the prostitutes, it's the work or the bar, and that's work.) Then, as happens every year, a new marshall comes into town. The gang bosses let him know with lead-pipe subtlety who's in charge, but he's gonna stick by his star and his guns. That means the big showdown: hired guns come in on the next train - professionals. The word gets out, and his deputies cower. "They're young, they have families." Even the bar's cootchie dancers go into hiding. Then it's sawed-off shotguns at dusk, man against men. You know, the usual.

The time, the mining camp is on one of Jupiter's moons, as if that changes anything. The marshall is Sean Connery, the only reason for watching this drivel. I mean, this movie lost credibility faster than just about any I can remember: it had those space helmets with the lights conveniently pointed in so we can see who's there, night vision be darned.

Effects are mostly absent, by 21st century standards. Sets and models are good, in keeping with what they probably had to pay Connery even then. The story moves along well, and I really liked Lazarus (did I mention the rustic and humble but brave country doctor? Leonard McCoy, shove over). Connery's career had his debonair young man phase and is currently in his suave elder statesman phase. In between he went through the dumpies, epitomized by "Zardoz." This comes from the end of that unfortunate period, and is better for its distance from the worst of it.

//wiredweird

HIGH NOON On Io.......2007-01-30

Though it was largely dismissed by critics and audiences when it was originally released in 1981, writer/director Peter Hyams' science fiction film OUTLAND has since gained a considerable cult following. Much of that has to do with the notion that this is essentially a reworking of the classic 1952 western HIGH NOON set in outer space--or more specifically, on Jupiter's major inner moon of Io.

Sean Connery, who rarely gives a subpar performance in anything, more or less steps into the Gary Cooper role of a newly-appointed marshal at a mining operation on Io run by a corporation known as Con-Amalgamated. When several miners start dying off in horrible ways, Connery begins to ask questions--which obviously doesn't sit well with Con-Am's chief (the late Peter Boyle). With the help of the operation's sarcastic coroner (Frances Sternhagen), he manages to uncover the reason why: a powerful drug injected into the workers that makes them work twice as fast, and sooner or later turns them psychotic or suicidal. When Boyle sends hired killers on a space shuttle to eliminate Connery from the scene, no one other than Sternhagen is willing to help, leading to the HIGH NOON-style showdown.

Hyams, who wrote and directed the 1978 sci-fi conspiracy film CAPRICORN ONE, and who would later direct the superb "2010" in 1984, does a fairly credible job here both as writer and director in depicting how such an outer space mining operation might go about, especially on a moon like Io which, by the time of OUTLAND's making, was known to be the most volcanically active body in our Solar System. Much of the credit for this must go to special effects supervisor John Stears, who worked on the original STAR WARS and the fourth James Bond opus, 1965's THUNDERBALL. The effects may seem plenty dated by the CGI standards of today, but they still work, even given some minor plot holes in them. It also helps, however, to have the presence of Connery, in one of his best post-Bond roles, as the hero, ably matched by Boyle's steely villain role, a role not unlike the one that Henry Fonda essayed in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (itself a film that also borrows a bit from HIGH NOON).

Though it may not be derivative, and is arguably a bit more violent than it really ought to be (hence the 'R' rating), OUTLAND still manages to deliver enough action and suspense to work. This is a film in serious need of reassessment and a possible revival.

Sean Connery Collection: Just Cause/The Man Who Would Be King/Outland

Average customer rating:

Sean Coonnery Co;;ection
Is Warner Brothers Cleaning House?

Sean Connery Collection: Just Cause/The Man Who Would Be King/Outland
Starring: Sean Connery , Michael Caine , Christopher Plummer , Saeed Jaffrey , and Doghmi Larbi
Director: John Huston , Peter Hyams , and Arne Glimcher
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Wind and the Lion
Sean Connery Collection (The Hunt for Red October - Special Collector's Edition / The Presidio / The Untouchables - Special Collector's Edition)
Soylent Green
Robin and Marian
Never Say Never Again

ASIN: B00006JMSY
Release Date: 2003-05-13

Customer Reviews:

Sean Coonnery Co;;ection.......2005-08-23

The collection was good except that audio for The Man Who Would Be King did not play on my dvd player. I returned it as soon as possiable

Is Warner Brothers Cleaning House?.......2002-10-15

Haven't seen "Just Cause" but "Outland" and "The Man Who Would Be King" were good (not great, good) movies that were TERRIBLE DVDs, they look like they were mastered from VHS cassettes!

OUTLAND--3 Stars for the movie, 1 star for the DVD

Sci-fi fans searching for an overlooked gem should check out "Outland". Taking place at a mining town on Io (Jupiter's moon), the new marshall (Sean Connery) discovers that the station is rife with corruption and sets to clean things up.

There are great performances by Connery, Peter Doyle, and Frances Sternhagen. The pacing is set for suspence and the story keeps you interested. But the things that stick and make this worth checking out are the sets and special effects (by the late, great John Stears of Star Wars fame). Criticized at the time for being too grimy, the station seems both realistic and otherworldly--not an easy trick to pull off. The production values for the film (especially the model and matte work) were stellar and stand up very well 20 years later. Throw in a great score by Jerry "Star Trek" Goldsmith and you have a winner.

Unfortunatly, the transfer quality of the DVD is astoundingly bad. It's hard to believe that Time-Warner could allow their names to go on this jittery, grainy, shaky, fuzzy transfer--faults that are especially obvious on the DVD. Peter Hymes (2010, Timecop, Capricorn One) may not be John Huston, but a movie that inspired Blade Runner and Frankie Goes To Hollywood deserves better treatment. Extras are skimpy too.

MAN WHO WOULD BE KING--4 stars for the movie 1 star for the DVD

The Man Who Would Be King is another overlooked gem. John Huston deserves his place in the pantheon of American Directors (you don't think so? See "The African Queen" or "Treasure of the Sierra Madre").

Adventure without violence, humor without irony, satire without cynicism (well, without much cynicism), you'll find yourself saying "they just don't make 'em like this anymore" about a hundred times; but the movie is only 27 years old! Huston captures Connery, Michael Caine, and Christopher Plummer at the top of their careers. It's an adventure flick, but it is also laugh-out-loud funny.

Again, though, the transfer looks and sounds horrible. There is no evidence of quality control. I've gotten better sound from broadcast television. And no, I'm not exaggerating. Extras are OK (lots of trailers).

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

"I need those files by tomorrow or I'll kick your nasty ... all over this hospital, that's a Marshall joke" Sean Connery .......2007-04-12

"Think it over...".......2007-04-07

Outland.......2007-02-17

The western side of space.......2007-02-07

HIGH NOON On Io.......2007-01-30

Average customer rating:

"I need those files by tomorrow or I'll kick your nasty ... all over this hospital, that's a Marshall joke" Sean Connery
"Think it over..."
Outland
The western side of space
HIGH NOON On Io

Outland [Region 2]
Starring: Sean Connery , Peter Boyle , Frances Sternhagen , James Sikking , and Kika Markham
Director: Peter Hyams
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Zardoz
Alien Nation
2010: The Year We Make Contact
The Name of the Rose
Westworld

ASIN: B00004CX8J

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

"I need those files by tomorrow or I'll kick your nasty ... all over this hospital, that's a Marshall joke" Sean Connery .......2007-04-12

"Think it over...".......2007-04-07

Outland.......2007-02-17

The western side of space.......2007-02-07

HIGH NOON On Io.......2007-01-30

Average customer rating:

Outland [Region 2]
Starring: Sean Connery , Peter Boyle , Frances Sternhagen , James Sikking , and Kika Markham
Director: Peter Hyams
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004VYN6

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

If Loving You Is Wrong

Steve-O : DVD

In the Dead of Space (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: The Car Man (Matthew Bourne)

Du bist ein Mensch