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Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 12:39:17 AM   
Kazuya


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From: The Eighth Dimension c/o Buckaroo Banzai
 Outland is a little gem released in 1981 and,in my opinion,somewhat overlooked. It tells the story of a marshal assigned to uphold the law in a mining colony on one of Jupiter“s moons, Io. An increasing number of workers in this mining colony are dying,often horribly and this is due to the use of a lethal drug which increases stamina and allows the workers to take much longer shifts without breaks.
The marshal,played with convincing authority by the always brilliant Sean Connery must take down the drug dealers and their leader,who also happens to run the colony(played by a very good Peter Boyle). This one“s got it all,science fiction,action,western and mystery in one great little package. Excellent direction by Peter Hyams who has made some bad choices in his career recently,but I really like his style of directing and photographing and I“m sure he“ll be back on track soon. This to me, is really essentially the gunfight at the O.K. Corall transferred to a space station in the future. Anybody else seen this one? If you haven“t, you should..
Oh yeah, and Serenity is a brilliant space western too,arent many of those

< Message edited by Kazuya -- 3/10/2006 5:53:01 AM >

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 12:56:48 AM   
Peter A. Quinn


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 It's definitely one of Hyams' best, up there with The Star Chamber and Running Scared, though I'd say it's closer to High Noon than Gunfight At the O.K. Corral in Western terms. It's full of Hyams' trademark well-staged chase scenes, moments of ultra-violence, and Stephen Goldblatt's photography ensures it's always great to look at. A nice touch was Hyams' refusal to use lasers as weapons as was the trend at the time, sticking to good old-fashioned firearms, which also provides Connery's best line in the film- after chasing down a psychotic miner, he cocks his shotgun (chik-chak!), and says, "Think it over." Also worth a mention is Frances Sternhagen as the mining colony's fiesty chief medic, and Steven Berkoff going nuts, just for a change. One of the '80's top ten action films, IMO.

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 1:04:19 AM   
Kazuya


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From: The Eighth Dimension c/o Buckaroo Banzai
 Thats true about High Noon,Gunfight just sprung to mind I really like some of Hyams“other efforts too,Narrow Margin and Capricorn One are very good and I actually liked his effort Timecop with the otherwise abysmal Van Damme. I think he was doing that show Threshold until recently.. Oh,yeah right, James B. Sikking is very good in Outland too.

< Message edited by Kazuya -- 3/10/2006 1:05:14 AM >

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 1:11:50 AM   
Peter A. Quinn


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 It's a shame to see Hyams career go downhill, Kaz, as I'm a big fan of most of his stuff. I thought it was pretty ballsy of him to make the sequel to 2001, and it was actually pretty good! The Presidio is a bit of a guilty pleasure-there's some pretty cheesy dialogue in it, but the action scenes are so well choreographed, I didn't mind. I especially liked the foot-chase through Chinatown with Mark Harmon(after he cops a nasty reverse head-butt!). The Relic was a right stinker, however. Maybe he needs to make another film with Connery instead of bloody Van Damme (or Sizemore)...

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 1:19:04 AM   
Kazuya


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From: The Eighth Dimension c/o Buckaroo Banzai
 Yeah man, you said it. And I wholeheartedly agree that The Presidio is a guilty pleasure and I also liked 2010,expertly directed and edited. I actually saw good things in his other Van Damme effort,Sudden Death,a shame he could not get a better leading man (Van Damme probably thought his career was on the gravy train).
He has also served as editor or producer for other directors right? Most recently I saw The Musketeer,couldnt believe he actually directed that mess.

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 1:29:06 AM   
Peter A. Quinn


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 IMDb lists him only as director/writer/producer/cinematographer, but I'm sure he's edited some of his own stuff. He also wrote The Hunter, which was McQueen's last film, and the Charles Bronson film Telefon. He's a terrific cinematographer, it's a pity he doesn't do more of that for other directors. I guess when you've been a director, it's hard to step down again, though others have done it - Chris Menges, and maybe Stuart Baird (who also edited Outland) to name two, but I'm sure there's more.

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 1:49:54 AM   
Kazuya


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From: The Eighth Dimension c/o Buckaroo Banzai
 Isnt Robert Rodriguez doing pretty much everything himself? I saw the list after watching Once Upon A Time In Mexico,crazy..Hyams wrote Telefon?  Thats one of my favourites,love 70“s movies..

< Message edited by Kazuya -- 3/10/2006 1:50:26 AM >

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 2:36:18 AM   
Peter A. Quinn


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 I think Rodriguez does a lot of his own stuff to save money, Kaz! At least he's good at it. I've still not seen Once Upon a Time In Mexico, yet- but it's got Mickey Rourke in it, so it's only a matter of time until I do.

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 2:41:37 AM   
Kazuya


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From: The Eighth Dimension c/o Buckaroo Banzai
 Yeah that was probably it to begin with,but I also think he does it because he likes the speed of it and amount of control..You should see Once Upon A Time In Mexico,shot on digital video and it shows immensely that this was too hastily put together, but it does offer some treats in the form of a delicious performance by Johnny Depp and the absolutely gorgeous Eva Mendes. Oh yeah and Mickey Rourke is solid as well,Pete

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 12:19:22 PM   
great_badir


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 I love Outland.  I actually prefer it to High Noon (which I find quite stilted).  That sequence with the lengthy foot-chase is right up there with Blade Runner and French Connection 2.

It is a shame Hyams seems to be MIA these days.  When I think back to the stuff he did in the late 70s to the early 90s - Hanover Street (an admirable failure, I suppose) aside, he had a great run of films from Capricorn One right up to the under rated Stay Tuned in '92.  And some of those were genuine classics - Capricorn One itself, Running Scared, and Outland and 2010 are all great and "lesser" Presidio, his Narrow Margin remake and The Star Chamber weren't too shabby either.

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 12:41:08 PM   
Peter A. Quinn


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 I've yet to see Capricorn One, but my personal fave of Hyams' films would have to be The Star Chamber, followed closely by Outland. I still remember Mad magazine's parody of it, called Outlandish. Heh.

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 1:10:49 PM   
great_badir


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 Ooohh, make sure you see Capricorn One - riveting stuff right up to the end.

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 1:17:16 PM   
Kazuya


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From: The Eighth Dimension c/o Buckaroo Banzai
 Do you remember that scene in Temple of Doom,when Indy was tied up and about to be whipped? Spielberg and Lucas actually had Barbara Streisand come in and start whipping him while shouting "This is for Hanover Street"! That must have hilarious to watch. Hanover Street is slickly directed though. I agree with you in regards to Stay Tuned, saw it a couple of months and it still holds up. The late John Ritter is good and so is that cat who was Ferris“ principal,Jeffrey Jones.

< Message edited by Kazuya -- 3/10/2006 1:37:04 PM >

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 1:28:00 PM   
great_badir


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From: A breaking rope bridge in the middle of the jungle
quote:

ORIGINAL: Kazuya

Do you remember that scene in Temple of Doom,when Indy was tied up and about to be whipped? Spielberg and Lucas actually had Glenn Close come in and start whipping him while shouting "This is for Hanover Street"! That must have hilarious to watch. Hanover Street is slickly directed though. I agree with you in regards to Stay Tuned, saw it a couple of months and it still holds up. The late John Ritter is good and so is that cat who was Ferris“ principal,Jeffrey Jones.


Yeah, but it was Barbara Streisand, not Glenn Close.

Ritter was great, though I fear a lot of people are only singing his praises since (and perhaps partly due to) his death.  Think back to when he was in Problem Child, and he was frequently called one of the worst comedy actors in the business.

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 1:32:11 PM   
Kazuya


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From: The Eighth Dimension c/o Buckaroo Banzai
 Right,thats true,had them mixed up. Yeah,John Ritter was considered rather crude at that time and I hated Problem Child too. He didnt really have a flourishing career,I think you may have a point that it maybe due to his untimely death.

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 1:47:39 PM   
Peter A. Quinn


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 I've always been a fan of Ritter's since I was a kid-I used to love Three's Company and later on I thought (and still think) Steven Bochco's Hooperman was the best thing he ever did. But back to Hyams, I'll definitely check out Capricorn One when I get the chance, g_b. I'm a sucker for those left-wing conspiracy films (see also The Parallax View). Where did you guys hear that story about Streisand flogging Ford? Why Streisand? And when do we get the chance to do the same to her ("This is for Yentl! And this is for Prince of Tides! Have another for The Mirror Has Two Faces! You get the picture...)?

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 1:54:56 PM   
great_badir


Posts: 4172
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From: A breaking rope bridge in the middle of the jungle
quote:

ORIGINAL: Peter A. Quinn

I've always been a fan of Ritter's since I was a kid-I used to love Three's Company and later on I thought (and still think) Steven Bochco's Hooperman was the best thing he ever did. But back to Hyams, I'll definitely check out Capricorn One when I get the chance, g_b. I'm a sucker for those left-wing conspiracy films (see also The Parallax View). Where did you guys hear that story about Streisand flogging Ford? Why Streisand? And when do we get the chance to do the same to her ("This is for Yentl! And this is for Prince of Tides! Have another for The Mirror Has Two Faces! You get the picture...)?


Hooperman!!!!!!!!  I totally forgot he was in that.  Yeah, that was good.

The Temple Of Doom thing with Streisand has been going round as Hollywood folklore (though it did actually happen - it was filmed and Spielberg's apparently still got the negative) since it happened.  It was mentioned briefly in Empire's Indy retrospective last issue, too.

Though quite why it was Streisand, I don't know.  I can only guess that she was either touring the UK, or also filming at Borehamwood at the time.  I think she's mates with Spielberg, too.

< Message edited by great_badir -- 3/10/2006 1:56:11 PM >

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 2:07:29 PM   
Kazuya


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From: The Eighth Dimension c/o Buckaroo Banzai
 I actually think I heard about the Streisand bit when watching the special features disc on the Indy Trilogy box,thought it was hilarious,God I would have paid money to see that and Ford was supposedly laughing his ass off. The Parallax View is great,like I mentioned before I really love 70“s films. Totally agree about Streisand,but she was pretty good in Meet The Fockers,I thought. By the way, didnt Hyams write that one with McQueen, The Hunter?

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 2:09:22 PM   
Peter A. Quinn


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 If ever there was an extra to put in an Indiana Jones box set, that would be it! They should have put it in there! Is there anyone who Spielberg's not friends with? I mean besides me? And yeah, Hooperman rocked. I think it only lasted one season (maybe two). Awaiting the DVD release (it'll probably come out around the same time as the director's cut of Sorcerer...bastards!)...

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 2:11:29 PM   
great_badir


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From: A breaking rope bridge in the middle of the jungle
quote:

ORIGINAL: Peter A. Quinn

(it'll probably come out around the same time as the director's cut of Sorcerer...bastards!)...


Is that a "it'll never come out" or a "it will come out, but not for a while yet"??

I'm personally thinking more of Sorcerer than Hooperman.....

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 2:15:38 PM   
Peter A. Quinn


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Kazuya

By the way, didnt Hyams write that one with McQueen, The Hunter?


Yep, he sure did, Kaz. I haven't seen it, but I've heard it's not much chop. Glad to hear you're a Parallax View fan, too - there's not enough in this world! I have a lot of love for '80's films(they were my formative years!) but the '70's was where it was all happening- all the Movie Brats were doing their best stuff. If you haven't already, Kaz, read Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind-it's a top read about the best years of Hollywood, IMO.

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 2:20:00 PM   
Peter A. Quinn


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quote:

ORIGINAL: great_badir

quote:

ORIGINAL: Peter A. Quinn

(it'll probably come out around the same time as the director's cut of Sorcerer...bastards!)...


Is that a "it'll never come out" or a "it will come out, but not for a while yet"??

I'm personally thinking more of Sorcerer than Hooperman.....


I'm sure it'll come out eventually, g_b. But it's such an important film, I wish Friedkin would at least talk about bringing it out - but so far, nada. Maybe I should e-mail Universal and ask them if there's any plans to release it in our lifetime.

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 2:21:39 PM   
great_badir


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From: A breaking rope bridge in the middle of the jungle
quote:

ORIGINAL: Peter A. Quinn

quote:

ORIGINAL: Kazuya

By the way, didnt Hyams write that one with McQueen, The Hunter?


Yep, he sure did, Kaz. I haven't seen it, but I've heard it's not much chop. Glad to hear you're a Parallax View fan, too - there's not enough in this world! I have a lot of love for '80's films(they were my formative years!) but the '70's was where it was all happening- all the Movie Brats were doing their best stuff. If you haven't already, Kaz, read Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind-it's a top read about the best years of Hollywood, IMO.


The Hunter's not too bad.  A bit formulaic, but entertaining enough.  I actually think it would've been better had Hyams directed it, cos Buzz Kulik just made it look too much like a feature length TV show.  After all, Kulik was a TV director, whilst Hyams at that time already had a cinematic eye.


< Message edited by great_badir -- 3/10/2006 2:22:30 PM >

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 2:26:31 PM   
great_badir


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From: A breaking rope bridge in the middle of the jungle
quote:

ORIGINAL: Peter A. Quinn

quote:

ORIGINAL: great_badir

quote:

ORIGINAL: Peter A. Quinn

(it'll probably come out around the same time as the director's cut of Sorcerer...bastards!)...


Is that a "it'll never come out" or a "it will come out, but not for a while yet"??

I'm personally thinking more of Sorcerer than Hooperman.....


I'm sure it'll come out eventually, g_b. But it's such an important film, I wish Friedkin would at least talk about bringing it out - but so far, nada. Maybe I should e-mail Universal and ask them if there's any plans to release it in our lifetime.


Christ, I hope so.  My worry is that Friedkin himself doesn't seem to be too bothered about it (he walked out halfway through the re-release tour of the US they did a few years ago).  Sorcerer is like the mill stone he's been carrying on his shoulders since it came out, not only as the film that "ruined" his career, but also the film that put every major studio off him for the years that followed.

Maybe someone should actually go up to him and say "look, Bill, it's a good film.  Hell, it may even be your best.  Forget about The Exorcist for two minutes and take another look.  I mean, even the folks on IMDB like it now!!!!"

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 2:46:11 PM   
Peter A. Quinn


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 No, it doesn't seem fair that he spends so much time fawning over The Exorcist (a good film, but not in Sorcerer's league) while ignoring his possible masterpiece. I think I told you about the time he came down to Sydney when I was there, and he did a Q&A session after a screening of his cut of Sorcerer? Absolutely kickin' myself for not going. And do you know how hard it is trying to find a copy of Keith Jarrett's Spheres Movement or whatever it's called? Damn near impossible! Sorry, Kazuya, I've hijacked your thread with my Friedkin ranting...

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 2:49:03 PM   
great_badir


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 Yeah, I remember you saying about that.

It seems most of Jarrett's stuff is hard to get hold of.

Yeah, sorry Kaz.  Having said that, if anything's worth hijacking a thread over, it's Sorcerer!

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 3/10/2006 2:59:00 PM   
Kazuya


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From: The Eighth Dimension c/o Buckaroo Banzai
 Thats allright man,theres room enough for that too. I love The Sorcerer too,great stunts and goddamnit if these outcasts do not have the worst job in the world! I like Friedkin,especially his earlier work..cant say I liked Jade..

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 5/10/2006 8:47:40 PM   
Metalion


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 The strange thing is, I found out about this movie from a song, Arjen Lucassen's Star One track High Moon. Great song title and very nice lyrics: "Memories come back to me, it's the 22nd century. Unthinkable events occur on the third moon of Jupiter, I'd leave this hellhole if I could, the mining's hard but the pay is good..." It pretty much tells the same story as the film and I got so fascinated that I bought Outland on DVD. It's a fine little Sci-Fi gem really.

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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 25/6/2012 12:29:00 AM   
Spectator of Suicide


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For my fellow Outland fans, its being released on Blu-Ray!
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Outland-Blu-ray/40874/


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RE: Outland (aka the greatest space western) - 11/7/2012 10:41:27 PM   
rubadub


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 And it looks great!
And it has a Peter Hyams commentary!
£12 delivered on AmazonUS!
Go fetch!

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