| Major Cast | |
|---|---|
| Michael York | as Logan 6 |
| Richard Jordan | as Francis 7 |
| Jenny Agutter | as Jessica 5 |
| Roscoe Lee Brown | as Box |
| Farrah Fawcett | as Holly 13 |
| Michael Anderson, Jr. | as Doc |
| Peter Ustinov | as Old Man |
| Randolph Roberts | as 2nd Sanctuary Man |
| Lara Lindsay | as Woman Runner |
| Gary Morgan | as Billy |
| Michelle Stacy | as Mary 2 |
| Laura Hippe | as Woman Customer |
| David Westberg | as Sandman |
| Camilla Carr | as Sanctuary Woman |
| Gregg Lewis | as Cub |
| Ashley Cox | as Timid Girl |
| Bill Couch | as Sandman |
| Glen Wilder | as Runner |
| MPAA Rating: | PG |
| Production Company: | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Distributors (US): | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (all media) United Artists (theatrical) CBS (TV) MGM/UA Home Entertainment (video/laserdisc) Image Entertainment (video/laserdisc) Warner Home Video (DVD, Blu-ray) MGM/CBS Home Video (VHS, video/laserdisc) MGM/UA Home Video (VHS) |
| Release Date (US): | 23 June 1976 |
| Running Time: | 119 minutes |
| Language: | English |
| Production Budget: | $9,000,000 (Est.) |
| Domestic Box Office: | $25,000,000 |
| Foreign Box Office: | $? |
It is the year 2274. Life has proceeded in the city since the time of the catastrophe, but no one in the city cares. Citizens are born, they get creche conditioning, and they live an idyllic life until, at 30, the lifeclocks set in their palms begin blinking red. Then they undergo a ceremony called Carousel — an alleged rebirth.
But some citizens understand that Carousel is not rebirth but elimination. Some of these become Runners — desperate to escape their fate, they flee by any possible means. The city employs Sandmen to stop them by putting them to sleep — which means killing them.
Logan 6 is a typical Sandman, though more curious than most. One day the city computer gives him a special assignment: he is to take the Ankh he recovered from the runner he killed and leave the city to find a place called Sanctuary. Runners speak of finding this place, and because the computer has no record of 1,056 of them, it concludes Sanctuary is real. It reprograms Logan's lifeclock to make it seem he is due for Carousel.
Logan meets Jessica 5, whose lifeclock is blinking red. He asks her for information about Sanctuary; she, being cautious, arranges with some friends to lure Logan out of the city and kill him there. But when he spares a woman Runner in a place called Cathedral, she decides he's on the level. Logan 6's best buddy Francis 7 also sees him spare the woman runner as he flees the city with Jessica 5, and sets off in pursuit.
Through many adventures, Logan and Jessica manage to reach Outside, a place they thought didn't exist. They are dazzled by the Sun — as is Francis, who also finds the way out. Logan and Jessica find sanctuary of a sort with an old man and many cats in what used to be our nation's capital. There they discover the lifeclocks have no power over them. But Logan is determined to carry the news of his discovery back to the city to set his people free of Carousel.
This film drew remarkable performances from its three lead actors, who demonstrate the epitome of professionalism in the normal sense and in enduring rough treatment in the stunts. The plot, loosely based on the novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson (published 1967), is fast-paced and coherent. The sets are imaginitive and beautifully real. The special effects are very good for 1976, and nicely balanced with the other aspects of the drama -- including an affecting musical score by Jerry Goldsmith.
If I had to complain about something, it would be the robot Box. Evidently the Three Laws of Robotics were never programmed into it.1
My Rating:
9 out of 10
Capsule review: To me the robot Box is the one jarring note in this otherwise excellent film, which always keeps the humanity of the main characters central to the plot, despite lots of action and whizzy special effects.
| IMDB Rating: 6.8 | Raters: 45,294 |
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