Outland (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Outland | |
|---|---|
 original film poster |
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| Directed by | Peter Hyams |
| Produced by | Richard A. Roth |
| Written by | Peter Hyams |
| Starring | Sean Connery Peter Boyle Frances Sternhagen James Sikking Kika Markham Clarke Peters Steven Berkoff |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Release date(s) | May 22 1981 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 109 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Outland is a 1981 science fiction movie starring Sean Connery. It has been described as space western, that is, a Western set in the future, with a specific nod towards High Noon. Connery's character is the federal marshal of a mining colony on Io, a moon of Jupiter, rather than in the Wild West.
[edit] Plot summary
The manager of the colony (Peter Boyle) is part of a drug smuggling ring that brings a drug called Polydichloric Euthimal, an amphetamine into the colony in order to maintain high production levels. Unfortunately, with sustained use over a period of time, the drug causes hallucinations and psychotic behavior. After several miners experience hallucinations and die in mishaps, the marshal (Connery) investigates and uncovers the smuggling ring. The marshal confronts the manager to stop the drug shipments, but the manager says that nobody else wants the drug shipments to be stopped. The manager contacts his smuggling ring and several assassins are sent to the station to murder the marshal. With the sole help of the station doctor (Frances Sternhagen), the marshal evades the assassins through a desperate kill-or-be-killed chase throughout the colony.
[edit] Trivia
- This film is notable because it was one of the first science fiction genre films to use "retro" ballistic weapons such as revolvers, automatic pistols, machine guns, and shotguns, rather than "energy" weapons such as lasers or other ray guns.
- The song "High Moon" by the heavy metal group Star One is based on the events in this movie.
- The Italian and Spanish title translate to Atmosphere Zero because several people die exploding by sudden exposure to the vacuum of space; however, the real effects of exposure to the vacuum of space are not so dramatic.
- Selected premiere engagements of Outland were presented in Megasound, a high-impact surround sound system similar to Sensurround.
- Polydichloric Euthimal is the name of a fictional drug and is original to Outland. In the film Terminator 2 Judgement Day it is the name of the substance used to destroy Cyberdyne headquarters. It's a molecule depicted in the film The Relic.
