Watch it at Amazon
45 out of 49 people found the following review useful: under-estimated sci fi western,, 31 July 2006 Author: Raegan Butcher from Rain City, Pacific Northwest
After leaving the James Bond franchise in 1971, Sean Connery gave a number of notable performances in films such as The Offense and The Man Who Would Be King but Outland is really the film that started him on the comeback trail that culminated with his Oscar acceptance speech 6 yrs later for The Untouchables. No one seems to recall this but at the time of Outland's release, no one had seen or heard from Connery for a few years and most of the reviews, while not kind to the film for a variety of reasons--chief among them being the fact that most movie critics (at least back then) harbored serious prejudice against sci fi--the main comment was "Its good to see Sean Connery back in action again".This film has one of the best production designs ever. Obviously the look was copped from Alien--blue collar workers in space--but it works remarkably well. I was often reminded of OUTLAND during my seven year prison term; the housing was remarkably similar--as was the company. But I digress...Nothing special about the plot-- it's routine cop show or western movie stuff--but who cares? Sean Connery gives a splendid performance and the whole film moves at a nice clip. Very enjoyable.
41 out of 44 people found the following review useful: Yes, it's high noon in space. And what's wrong with that?, 28 August 2001 Author: ProfessorPeach from Stourbridge, England
Sean Connery. A man's man, a woman's sex symbol. Good start! Now let's put him on a remote moon of Jupiter. So how many other films have Io as their center of action? Absolutely excellent in combining the effects that were available at the time with a darn good plot. Well overshadowed by the likes of Alien, this is late 70's/ early 80's sci-fi at it's best. No more is the future in space a Utopia, it is a grimy, nasty everyday world where people carry on their sordid business as they ever did. Except there is always a hero; a flawed hero, as is Connery. A personal crusade, a battle almost against the odds (but not unbelievably so, at all) and the true hallmark of a good sci-fi story: That is, the story would work just as well anywhere, any place, any time, as it does in space in the future. What more do you want (Just check out the shuttle landing)? Essential viewing!
31 out of 37 people found the following review useful: Outland is outstanding!, 24 October 2001 Author: Olli Voutilainen (olli-pekka.voutilainen@luukku.com) from Vantaa, Finland
What a great movie! Outland is without a doubt one of the best sci-fi movies ever made.Or perhaps sci-fi is the wrong term for this one, because where's the fiction? Everything is so realistic.No monsters,no gizmos-just space and man. Mood is just right,nothing looks too good.Mining community is dirty and dangerous,people are deceitful. Models and sets haven't really aged at all.They were once accurately made,and beat computer effects 6-0.Connery acts well and Peter Boyle's role as a twisted manager fits him. All in this movie could well occur in the future,and this is the fact which makes it so enjoyable.I'll give 9/10
24 out of 27 people found the following review useful: Realistic space mining movie, 24 May 2005 Author: lightfeather from Germany
The movie is amazingly realistic in regard to the technology used and in regard to the human characters.I totally agree with OP Voutilainen, who wrote a very good comment on this movie on 24 October 2001.The movie is never superficial if you look at its characters: The bad are not simply bad but realistically brutal. The good are not simply heroic, they rather strive to survive and struggle to keep what's left of their personal dignity and values after the school of life.People of the future will possibly wonder why anyone ever liked such a "normal life"-movie. The answer is: Simply because of the everyday life dignity that people emanate in the movie.Really a great positive movie !
16 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Back when Peter Hyams could do good sci-fi films., 28 September 2005 Author: S.C. Skafte from Nova Scotia, Canada
Peter Hyams made three respectable sci-fi films from the last 70s and 80s, but this one may well be the best. His follow-up to the clever "Capricorn One", this film also follows the vein of a more realistic future.The film stars Sean Connery, somewhere in his "will work for food" stage, and Frances Sternhagen as the mining colony doctor. I think one of the main things that work so well with the movie is that it doesn't have to take place on the moon of IO. It could almost be a small town cop story, and most of the script is in the vein of "High Noon".For fans of this era of sci-fi, this is heaven. For general movie fans, it might be a little harder to recommend. Still, it's worth the watch, if only for the interesting script.7.3 out of 10
18 out of 20 people found the following review useful: not underrated, but rather ignored, 10 August 2004 Author: brett smart from northumberland, England
I first watched this movie not expecting much as i had never really heard much about it and it didn't seem to be particularly acclaimed, but I was pleasantly surprised by it, Connery's performance is solid and the rest of the cast do a good job, there are some exciting scenes in this movie and the settings (outer space,mining colony) are convincing enough to keep you emersed in the story, the story is like a western in space, (which is about all I heard of this before I saw it),though its not particularly original and doesn't try to be spectacular, it is an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours and good fun for Connery fans to see him kicking arse back in the days.
15 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Very well crafted and entertaining film with a good Sean Connery, 18 July 2003 Author: tharsis-1 from Paris, France
In the near-future, in a space mine set on the Jupiter satellite Io, the new Marshall O'Niel (Sean Connery) discovered a mortal drug trafic. This amphetamine-like drug drives the addicted miners mad and makes them committed suicide. O'Niel encovers the conspiracy, involving the director of the mine, but becomes the target of hitmen, with almost no body helping him. The film is a Science Fiction remake of "High Noon"("le train sifflera trois fois" in French). The train is here replaced by a shuttle from a space station and the Far West by the set on a deep space mining outpost (Not Deep Space Nine).This a well paced film with a solid acting from Sean Connery. The pursuits, especialy the first in the corridors of the space habitat, are gripping. The film was made in 1981, when the CGI effects were not as prevalent as today. For exemple scenes where humans are dwarfed by huge metalic structures, were executed thanks to a then traditional play of mirrors. I have seen this film at the cinema when it played for the first time in 1981. I have recently watched it again on cable TV and I think it has not aged much. Because it is set on a makeshift sleazy outpost and not a shiny white place as too often in science fiction film, it remains realistic enough, twenty two years later. The themes,a bit overlooked, dangerous mind drugs, greedy multinational (or multi-planet, here) companies, the will and courage of one man against the cowardice of all the others, resonate still in our mind, nowadays. But make no mistake, it not a heavy political film but a good suspense and action film with a science fiction flavour.Despite some scientific oddities like heads exploding and weightlessness in a zero pressure atmosphere, where as inside the habitat the gravity is normal (by Earth standards), the script remains coherent enough. The strong performance of Sean Connery is helped by those of a serious Peter Boyle and a pre-ER Frances Sternhagen. Rent this film on your local video store or watch it on TV, it is worth seeing it.
11 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Worth a look...a different take on sci-fi, 6 August 2004 Author: medic249a2 from Langley, Canada
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I remember wanting to see this when it came out in '81, on the heels of sci-fi classics such as 'Star Wars', 'Alien', and 'The Empire Strikes Back'. Of course because of its 'R' rating I could never see it until it came out on video. I found it offered a different take on sci-fi films as it had no involvement with sinister aliens, and the only alien world explored is the Jupiter moon.***WARNING! POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!***'Outland' is set on Io, one of Jupiter's moons, in a mining colony. Marshal W.T. O'Niel (Connery) is assigned to the moon colony. Shortly after he arrives he discovers that several miners have been committing suicide in bizarre and ugly ways, such as walking into zero-atmosphere minus a pressure suit. When he investigates he finds that the dead men have been taking an amphetamine-like drug. According to Dr. Lazarus (Frances Sternhagen) the drug enables the miners to go for days without sleep and work at extended intervals, thereby increasing the mine's productivity. When O'Niel follows the dealers' trail he discovers that it leads to the head of the mining operation. These men have no intention of letting O'Niel stop their dirty work, and now the marshal has to watch his back at every turn, as a hit contract is put out on his head. O'Niel also finds that his own men are willing to turn on him...***END SPOILER ALERT***Like someone else mentioned, the production design does not show space as a shiny, clean environment - space is 'dirty' here. The mining colony looks like a real operation, in a similar way to the way the Nostromo appeared in 'Alien'. Jerry Goldsmith's music also sounds much like the low, sinister tones of 'Alien' which he had written only 2 years before. While it lacks most of the spectacular effects of the 'Star Wars' trilogy it gives a believable sense of the awesome size of space. The story is not unlike a western set in outer space, only that the crime the marshal is trying to stop is drug-dealing as opposed to train or stagecoach robbery. Not a bad movie, not on the scale of 'Star Wars' or 'Alien' but definitely worth looking into.
10 out of 12 people found the following review useful: A collage of genres put into one good movie, 21 December 2001 Author: coverme6 from Allentown, PA
The genres of science fiction, western, and even film noir (if you notice the moody atmposphere the movie sometimes displays) arepresented in a good fashion in OUTLAND. Sean Connery stars as amarshal (where the western category fits in) assigned to solvemysterious deaths on a galactic mining company (sci-fi), along with meeting different and unique characters, some of which have sullen and suspicious dispostitions (the film-noir part). Connery is fineas usual as the marshal who has his hands full trying to make sense of the whole situation, at the same time entertaining the audience with his typical great thespian skills.
13 out of 18 people found the following review useful: An impression of the films style, 22 August 2001 Author: jimbee23 from London, England
Outland is brilliant. So many good moments in the movie -the first time you see someones head explode from change of pressure, the bloodied elevator as it returns from the bottom of the mining shaft and the overall excellent visionary style of the mining colony. Connery is perfectly cast as the marshall who cannot be bought and Frances Sternhagen brings much needed warm relief from the terror with her smart, down-to-earth manner. Hyams directs the film with excellent vigour and his choice of filters and lighting, (especially the scene in the prostitues room which is blood red from the emergency lighting), gives an instant impression of heat, fear and so cool relief from the space shots. It could quite easily be overlooked as just another sci-fi flick but I think it established much more the benefits of bringing earth-realism to outer-space than any other film in it's day.(Probably best to watch it, as I did, when you are 10 years old!!)
Add another review
