Logan's Run
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Logan's Run ( 1976 ) (Theme: SciFi) Starring Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett and Peter Ustinov (IMDB# 0074812) |
"Logan's Run" is a 1976 American science fiction film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett and Peter Ustinov. The screenplay by David Zelag Goodman is based on "Logan's Run" by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. It depicts a dystopian future society in which population and the consumption of resources are maintained in equilibrium by killing everyone who reaches the age of thirty, preventing overpopulation. The story follows the actions of Logan 5, a "Sandman", as he runs from society's lethal demand.
The film was shot primarily in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex-including locations such as the Fort Worth Water Gardens and the Dallas Market Center-between June and September 1975. The film uses only the basic premise from the novel, that everyone must die at a set age and Logan runs off with Jessica as his companion, while being chased by Francis. The motivations of the characters are quite different in the film. It was the first film to use Dolby Stereo on 70 mm prints.
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, won a Special Academy Award for its visual effects (shared by L. B. Abbott, Glen Robinson and Matthew Yuricich), effects which included the use of laser holography for the first time in a feature film, and won six Saturn Awards including Best Science Fiction Film. In 1977, a short-lived TV series aired, though only 14 episodes were produced. Since 1994, there have been several unsuccessful efforts to remake "Logan's Run".
- Logan's Run
On the set--
Jenny Agutter
Jenny Agutter
Farrah Fawcett
Plot
In the year 2274, the remnants of human civilization live in a sealed city contained beneath a cluster of geodesic domes, a utopia run by a computer that takes care of all aspects of their life, including reproduction. The citizens live a hedonistic life but, to maintain the city, everyone must undergo the ritual of "Carrousel" [sic] when they reach the age of 30. There, they are vaporized and ostensibly "renewed." To track this, each person is implanted at birth with a "life-clock" crystal in the palm of their hand that changes color as they get older and begins blinking as they approach their "Last Day." Most residents accept this promise of rebirth, but those who do not and attempt to flee the city are known as "Runners." An elite team of policemen known as "Sandmen," outfitted in predominantly black uniforms and serving in an agency of the city called "Deep Sleep," are assigned to pursue and terminate Runners as they try to escape.
Logan 5 and Francis 7 are both Sandmen. After terminating a Runner, to whose presence they were alerted during a Carrousel ritual, Logan finds an ankh among his possessions. Later that evening, he meets Jessica 6, a young woman also wearing an ankh pendant. Logan takes the ankh to the computer, which tells him that it is a symbol for a secret group whose members help the Runners find "Sanctuary," a mythical place where they will be safe to live out the rest of their lives; it points out that the Sandmen have lost one thousand and fifty-six (1056) Runners that way. The computer instructs Logan to find Sanctuary and destroy it, a mission he has to keep secret from the other Sandmen of Deep Sleep, which it code-names "Assignment 033-03." It then (by a procedure it calls a "retrogram") changes the color of his life-clock to flashing red, four years early. In order to escape Carrousel, Logan is now forced to become a Runner. Logan meets Jessica and explains his situation. They meet with the underground group that leads them to the periphery of the city. Logan finds that the ankh symbol is actually a key that unlocks an exit from the city. They come out into a frozen cave, with Francis following closely behind. In the cave, they meet Box, a robot designed to capture food for the city from the outside. Logan discovers to his horror that Box also captures escaped Runners and freezes them. Before he (Box) can freeze Logan and Jessica, they escape, causing the cave to collapse on Box.
Once outside, Logan and Jessica notice that their life-clocks are no longer operational. They discover that the remains of human civilization have become a wilderness. They explore an old, seemingly abandoned city, which was once Washington D.C.. In the ruins of the United States Senate chamber, they discover an elderly man. His appearance is a shock to them since neither has seen anyone over the age of 30. The old man explains what he remembers of what happened to humanity outside of the city, and Logan realizes that Sanctuary is a myth and had been all along. However, Francis has followed them and he and Logan fight. Logan fatally wounds Francis and as he dies, he sees that Logan's life-clock is now clear and assumes that Logan has renewed. Logan and Jessica convince the old man to return to the city with them. Leaving the man outside, the two enter and try to convince everyone that Carrousel is a lie and unnecessary. The two are captured by other Sandmen and taken to the computer. The computer interrogates Logan about Assignment 033-03 and asks if he completed his mission. But Logan insists, "There is no Sanctuary." What he had found was "old ruins, exposed," "an old man," and that the missing Runners were "all frozen." These answers, however, are not accepted by the computer, even after scanning Logan's mind, and the computer overloads, causing the city's systems to fail and release the exterior seals. Logan, Jessica and the other citizens flee the ruined city. Once outside, the citizens see the old man, who is the first human they have met who is older than 30, proving that they can indeed live their lives much longer.
Production
Locations
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in Culver City and locations in California and Texas:
- Texas
- Burton Park Building, 8700 Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, 23rd Century Apartment Building
- Dallas Market Center, Dallas, Interior city scenes, main interior courtyard
- First National Bank Building, 1401 Elm Street, Dallas, exteriors
- Oz Club, Dallas, Love Shop sequences
- Fort Worth Water Gardens, return to city
- Hulen Mall, Fort Worth
- Health Center, Arlington, Sandman Gymnasium
- Hyatt Regency Hotel, Houston, interiors
- Zale Jewelry Headquarters, Irving, Sandman Headquarters exteriors
- California
- Malibu Creek State Park, swim taken by Jessica 6 and Logan after escaping the city
- The Sewage Disposal Plant, El Segundo, underground escape sequences
Post-production
The film was previewed for test audiences prior to its release. A few sequences were edited or shortened as a result. These included a longer sequence in the ice cave, where Box asked Logan and Jessica to pose for his ice sculpture. This was cut due to extensive nudity so that the film could receive a PG rating and for length.
Other scenes were removed, including a sequence where Francis hunts down a runner by himself at the beginning of the film. Other sequences were trimmed. These scenes survive in the shooting script but the footage appears lost.
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