Logan’s Run (1976)

Logan’s Run was released in 1976. It came towards the end of the golden age of science fiction movies which began with the release of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. It was an era of big-budget major studio science fiction films that aimed to be more than just space operas. They tried to address big ideas and big issues, things like the meaning of life, the destiny of our species, what it means to be human. This era produced movies like Colossus: The Forbin Project, Silent Running, Westworld, Soylent Green and Demon Seed - movies that were noticeably lacking in space battles and laser pistols.

These were Hollywood movies but other countries made similar movies. There were Soviet movies like Solaris and British movies like A Clockwork Orange.

It was an era which came to an end with Star Wars. After that the studios wanted space operas.

Logan’s Run was based on a novel by William F. Nolan.

There’s been a catastrophe brought about by overpopulation (an obsession in the 1970s) and pollution. In response an immense domed city has been constructed. It is a self-contained world, totally isolated from the world outside. The people inside the city believe there is nothing outside the city. The citizens of the city have everything provided for them and their lives revolve around pleasure. There’s just one minor drawback to life in the city. It ends at the age of 30. There’s not a single person over that age in the city.

When someone reaches the age of 30 they undergo the ritual of the Carousel. They are vaporised but it is not necessarily death. Those who are worthy go through renewal. They are reborn.

At least that’s what everyone in the city believes. That’s what Logan 5 (Michael York) believes.

A very small number of misfits refuse to go to the Carousel. They try to escape from the city. They are known as Runners. They are invariably caught and terminated by the Sandmen.

Logan is a Sandman. Logan is 26. He has four years to go but he isn’t worried. He has absolute confidence that, as a Sandman, he will be renewed when he reaches 30.

Everything changes for Logan when he meets Jessica 6 (Jenny Agutter). He’s in the mood for sex so he picks a girl from the Circuit. It’s a kind of hook-up thing. There’s no emotional involvement, just sex. Nobody in the city wants emotional involvement. They just want pleasure. Logan is therefore very surprised when Jessica refuses to have sex with him. And he’s disturbed by some of the things she says. She seems to be sceptical of the whole renewal thing. She wears a medallion in the form of an ankh.

Logan then gets an important assignment. He is to penetrate an organisation that assists Runners. The ankh is the symbol of that organisation. The organisation helps Runners to find a place called Sanctuary. Logan is to pose as a Runner. While being briefed for his mission by the central computer Logan learns some horrifying facts.

Through Jessica Logan hopes to contact the Sanctuary organisation but things get very complicated for him. He discovers feelings that he didn’t know he was capable of. He discovers feelings that he didn’t know anybody was capable of. He ends up playing a dangerous game, a game which involves multiple levels of betrayal. He discovers that there is a world outside the city but to which world does he belong? Does he he belong to either world? And he has to decide what to do about Jessica 6.

He also has to decide what to do about Francis 7. Francis is a fellow Sandman and is Logan’s closest friend but if Logan is a Runner Francis will try to hunt him down.

There’s a surprising amount of emotional nuance in this movie. Logan is torn in his loyalties. He has to betray everything in which he has always believed or he has to betray the Sanctuary people whom he has persuaded to trust him. He he has to betray Francis or betray Jessica. He doesn’t know which of these choices he will make. When he tells Jessica he is a Runner and wants her help in finding Sanctuary he is lying to her. Logan however is already having doubts about the things he has always believed in. And now he finds himself experiencing very strange feelings towards Jessica. He doesn’t just want to sleep with her. He wants to be with her all the time and protect her and spend his life with her. This is love, but to Logan (who has been brought up to believe that the only possible relationship between a man and a woman is a sexual one) it seems like a bizarre perversion.

Jessica has some complexity as well. The idea of love is as novel to her as it is to Logan. There is also the question of whether she can trust him. She is also not at all certain if she wants to stay in the city where everything is familiar or venture into a strange and terrifying thing called the outside world. The very idea of not being in the city terrifies her.

There’s also an ideological dimension to the world. The city is a classic utopia which is really a dystopia. It’s a totalitarian society. No dissent whatever is allowed. Children are thoroughly indoctrinated into a set of beliefs. Logan for example is genuinely shocked when he picks Jessica up on Circuit and she refuses to have sex with him. It’s not that he’s upset about being sexually rejected. He simply cannot imagine anyone turning down the chance of casual sex. Only a misfit or a dangerous rebel would do anything so outlandish.

It’s interesting that Logan’s motivations are entirely personal. He doesn’t have a sudden ideological conversion. He never does express any interest in the welfare of society. He cares about his individual happiness and he comes to care about one individual woman. We have to decide if he’s right - if the happiness of individuals is more important than the welfare of the state.

Logan’s Run also offers plenty of action, and the action scenes are excellent.

The film ran into major censorship problems. There is some nudity but originally there was a lot more. The studio insisted it be cut to get a PG rating. The scenes of people getting blown to bits were of course no problem in that respect. That’s just good clean family fun. But nudity is of course shocking and horrifying and the censors weren’t about to let impressionable young people get a glimpse of the naked female body.

It’s a beautifully shot movie (with Ernest Laszlo doing the cinematography). The city is all bright colours and everything is clean and sparkling and excessively cheerful. It’s like a gigantic shopping mall. Once Logan makes his run we get to see plenty of grime and squalor. The special effects were absolutely cutting edge in 1976 and they’re great fun to watch today. A lot of money was spent on this movie and it shows.

The Blu-Ray release include an informative audio commentary (apparently dating from the 90s) with director Michael Anderson, star Michael York and costume designer Bill Thomas. There’s also a documentary on the film.

Logan’s Run has its problems. There are some plot points that stretch credibility. While I love the look of the movie it does look more like the 1970s than the 23rd century. It drags badly in the third quarter. The ending however is quite good. Some criticisms by modern reviewers are a bit unfair. The city does look like a shopping mall, but for me that works. And that’s the future we ended up getting - a society that revolves around shopping. The city is vulgar and garish, but again the movie was quite prescient. And it’s the last of the line of late 60s/early 70s major studio sci-fi films aimed at a grown-up audience. After Star Wars grown-up sci-fi movies would be few are far between. Highly recommended.