Outland
directed by Peter Hyams
starring Sean Connery, Peter Boyle
Arrow Video
Peter Hyams’ blue collar space western, Outland, was unfairly dismissed by critics and audiences upon release, but over the years has undergone a re-evaluation and now has a loyal cult following, Arrow Video has restored and upgraded the film on a new 4K UHD release boasting a new 4K transfer from the original 35mm camera negative.
On mining colony Con-Am 27, situated on Jupiter’s moon Io, the only law is in the form of Federal Marshal William O’Niel (Sean Connery). O’Neil, a tough, principled cop, would seem a perfect fit for the rough mining town. Before O’Neil can even get settled in his office, he is faced with a string of suicides and psychotic episodes from some of the miners. O’Neil quickly butts heads with the corporate director, Sheppard (Peter Boyle), over the trafficking of the drugs causing the deadly situation in the mine. Refusing to tow the line, O’Niel finds himself without allies, as a team of assassins are on the next shuttle and he must fight for his life and for what’s right.
Critics seemed to take great joy in dismissing Outland as “High Noon in space,” as if that is a bad thing. Outer space is a terrific analog for the frontier of the American West, and it just makes sense that isolated and dangerous jobs would be blue collar. That blue collar aesthetic, previously explored in films like Dark Star, Silent Running, and Alien, is on full display in Outland. The film looks, feels, and even sounds grimy and only barely functional. There is no gee-whiz technology. This is a world lit with fluorescent tubes where people still play golf and racquetball, and the racquetball courts are scarred with black marks from the ball, and Sheppard’s video golf simulator is glitchy. The little touches really ground the film in reality that subconsciously raises the stakes and creates tension. Despite the futuristic setting, it is a western with a hard-nosed sheriff whose stubborn resolve to do the right thing may be his undoing.
Outland’s transfer is lush, and the disc is absolutely loaded with interviews, essays, and commentaries. Audio commentaries from director Peter Hyams and film critic Chris Alexander are both standouts. Director Peter Hyams, director of photography Stephen Goldblatt, and visual effects artist William Mesa all have interviews along with visual essays from film historians Howard S. Berger and Josh Nelson, and a handsome booklet with writing by film critics Priscilla Page and Brandon Streussnig rounds out this impressive release.
