Best Blue Ray Movies

I vividly remember going to see this brilliant film at seven or eight years of age and having been totally enamored with the overall theme. A few years later, I read "Logan's Run," "Logan's World" and "Logan's Search" by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, all of which not only served to further this brilliant story but turned it into an extraordinary Science Fiction trilogy!

Michael York, Richard Jordan and Jenny Agutter all perform superbly in this silver screen classic! Between the films overall success, the exceptional actors and the demand for a sequel, I'm quite surprised one never followed.

If one were to make the comparison between "Logan's Run" and other big budget, extraordinary Science Fiction films of the seventies, like "Star Wars™ you could definitely say that it holds its own quite well.

The premise:

Imagine a future some two hundred years down the road where most of humanity has been wiped out leaving the remainder to build and live in domes with limited resources and the measures that would be taken to continue survival. That is the "basic" premise behind "Logan's Run." The more explicit premise is human nature at its need to expand beyond where it's at and its need to question everything.

In "Logan's Run," the society of the future has a need to limit the number of people due to limited resources, therefore when born; everyone has a life crystal placed in the palm of their hand. Run by the domes central computer, this life crystal goes through stages based on its owner's hand. At certain ages it changes colors. Upon nearing the owners thirtieth birthday it starts blinking, meaning it's nearly time for renewal. Renewal being when the respective thirty year old human is blown up quite spectacularly in a huge ceremony. For those that do not wish to end their lives, they become runners who are chased down by "Sandmen." It is the job of the Sandmen to track down runners, wherever they may go, and kill them.

Logan, who is one of the Sandmen does his job perfectly, tracking down a runner and kills him. After doing so, he removes the runner's possessions; among them is an Anck, which he does not yet know what it is. The next day, when he attempts to turn in the runner's possessions, the domes central computer asks him if he knows what the Anck is, which of course he doesn't. The central computer then effectively turns him into a runner by adding several years to his life clock and orders him to determine what and where "Sanctuary" is. Sanctuary is the mythical place where runners are trying to run to. What follows is nothing less than one of the best Science Fiction films of the seventies!

I highly recommend this film to any and all fans of the genre! {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

- Feature Length commentary by Michael York, Director Michael Anderson and costume designer Bill Thomas.
- Behind The Scenes documentary - A Look into the 23rd Century
- Remastered soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1
- Theatrical Trailer

"Logan's Run" is an adventure tale, a love story, a crime drama, a social satire, and a sumptuous visual spectacle all in one. The whole package is superbly enhanced by Jerry Goldsmith's inventive and varied score. This is one of the most visually stylish science fiction films ever made; it's full of scenes that are truly unforgettable.

The film is really grounded by the performances by the superb cast. Michael York and Jenny Agutter make an absolutely enchanting screen couple; the evolution of their characters' relationship is one of the key pleasures of the film. Richard Jordan brings complexity and intensity to his role as a fellow Sandman. And Peter Ustinov is delightfully warm, funny, and loveable in a critical supporting role.

The DVD includes a vintage "making of" featurette, as well as a full-length audio commentary by actor York, director Anderson, and costume designer Bill Thomas. The three discuss casting, stunts, special effects, Peter Ustinov's ad-libbing, and other aspects of making the film. They reveal some fascinating and delightful bits of trivia along the way. This is one of those great commentary tracks that makes you appreciate the film even more.

In reflecting why this is so, for a moment ignore the logic inconsistencies (if the computer is all-powerful, why doesn't it implant a timed poison pill to be released at age 30?) and the numerous continuity problems (there are four crystal age colors, but that doesn't neatly divide into 30, and "red" seems to last for 8 years???). Many have said that it was unusually dark for its period, but a screening of "Soylent Green", "Rollerball", and "Silent Running" puts that theory to bed. On the surface, it's just one more of a long list of early 1970s eschatological nightmares. But why the hell does a city near Washington (Baltimore? Alexandria?) have so many citizens with English accents?

So why is this film remembered when so many of its peers fade away? I think the answer lies in its indictment of youth oriented culture...we see that a culture based on the young is glamorous, but things don't work very well and break down (a theme from the William F. Nolan/George Clayton Johnson novel). For example, there is a slum in "Cathedral" and in the undersea city works that the all-powerful computer can't seem to repair. In a deleted scene, Francis off-handedly wishes a former lover luck as she participates in the Carrousel early in the film. We know from that encounter that adult relationships are incredibly shallow, and this is reinforced by the Sandman who "beam in" lovers for the evening.

After the initial luster of "Logan's Run" wore off, many remember it for its camp (unintentional) and its scathing spotlight on pop culture and youth worship. So it remains a de rigeur film to see on the eve of one's 30th birthday, and an interesting paragraph in the history of 1970s sci-fi.

The presentation of the DVD is fine. Audiophiles and videophiles may take issue with its dated sound and artifacting, but for most it's quite beautiful in DD 5.1 and TODD-AO glory. The director's commentary is interesting, but the great comments come from Michael York. Also included is a "making of" documentary, and the usual subtititles, language tracks, and bios.

Very strongly recommended!