Logan's Run

Logan’s Run (1976)

Runtime: 118 confounding minutes

Directed by: Michael Anderson

Starring: Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett

From: MGM

If only the characters, plot and especially storytelling could have matched the audio and visual components. As someone in my mid-40’s, I have known of Logan’s Run for years, including the main plot point that there’s a utopian society in the 23rd century where everyone dies at the age of 30… unless they are “renewed” in a ceremony called “carrousel” (yes, that’s how they spell it). I DVR’ed it from a TCM showing yesterday. Finally, I saw the movie in full and… for a plot that wasn’t overly complex, the way the story was told was just too baffling and too confusing too often. I still have no idea why certain key moments occurred, except “just because.”

What a shame it is. Some of the visual effects do show their age half a century after the fact but otherwise the aesthetic is awesome. A few of the sets I did pause for a bit to admire; the same goes for many of the miniatures. I did laugh that not only was “underwear” apparently not a thing by 2273, but many areas in the domed city look like malls or hotels in the future, including atriums all over the place. No hate for that; the filmmakers tried to use actual buildings when possible and it did amuse me. Also, the costuming was unforgettable, especially Jenny Agutter’s outfits… and you should have seen/heard my reaction at when Roscoe Lee Browne first appeared!

Logan (Michael York) and Jessica (Agutter) are on the run, looking to escape the domed world and reach “sanctuary”… don’t play a drinking game where you quaff a drink whenever “sanctuary” is said—you won’t make it to the end of the film! The plot’s destination wasn’t much a surprise; this would not have been an issue if I did not have multiple complaints concerning said plot. Sigh… another benefit is a unique Jerry Goldsmith score that sometimes goes 70’s electronic, which is a compliment.

While it’s a movie I wish could be loved by me, no regrets in experiencing the visually pleasant aesthetic moments throughout. At times I was reminded of Rollerball, another flawed 70’s sci-fi movie that has issues with its plot. How the 2002 Rollerball remake turned out reminds me why a new version of Logan’s Run does give me pause. It’s always nice seeing Peter Ustinov and what was needed after a bad day yesterday was my howling w/ laughter at the character Roscoe Lee Browne portrayed. Nothing could have prepared me (or you either) for his appearance; I was dumbfounded.