by Science fiction is one of the most reliable genres in publishing ever since the end of the 19th century. Writers such as W.G. Wells and Jules Verne toyed with ideas of scientific progress and what the future would hold in store. There’s a rough and blurry line between utopian and dystopian science fiction and often a tendency to do both at the same time. In the wake of the sensational Alien (1979), there was a trend towards the grim, dark dystopian science fiction that Outland represents. Whereas Alien withstood the test of time, Outland by contrast is widely unknown these days, despite offering a lot more than could be expected. Dystopian and dirty, it’s a space western much different to the all-conquering Star Wars (1977).
When George Lucas conceived what would later become Star Wars, he was turned down by many that heard about his vision. Nobody believed the western could conquer space first , than cinemas. Aside from all it does well , Star Wars is a relatively simple story of cowboys and Indians, good and bad, much like a fairy tale (which sounds more harsh than is intended). Outland has a plot often and correctly compared to the western classic High Noon (1952). Also simple, the plot is more of a vehicle to tell a man’s story of conscientiousness at the cost of family and happiness, and also at somebody else’s expense. But where High Noon is a classic western, regardless of its importance, writer and director Peter Hyams has a lot more creative freedom to work with.
Set on the Jupiter moon lo, we see what a space mining town could look like. It is futuristic, yet dirty and dystopian. A bad environment, where miners work their backs to the bone as obviously, space travel technology didn’t produce robots or at least heavy machinery to do the mining of titanium on lo on man’s behalf. While the setting is some years in the future, the men are the same as miners from the 80s Earth. It seems that, even with technological progress, hard work demands hard drinking and money spending on prostitutes. Drugs seem only natural in a world like this, very similar to the 80s drug epidemic seeing Wall Street yuppies snorting coke at expensive restaurants’ restrooms. The drugs are given to workers in order to push them to work harder. But after a while of using, they lose their minds, hallucinating and turning violent. Even though this is science fiction, the human condition is unaltered. Neither of the social issues is new. It’s as if mankind turned to conquering space and took all its bad habits with it.
To investigate the odd deaths of workers, Marshal William O’Niel (Sean Connery) is transferred to the outpost. General manager Mark Sheppard (Peter Boyle, known for playing Wizard in Taxi Driver) , comes across as a typical fortune hunter and genuinely bad apple. Good from the outside but rotten within. The Marshal isn’t warmly welcomed. The only supporter he finds is Sergeant Montone (James Sikking) and the outpost’s doctor Marian Lazarus (Frances Sternhagen). Even his wife and son abandon the Marshal soon after. When begged by his wife to join them, O’Niel is characterized as yet another stubborn cowboy. That he loves his family is beside the point. Duty first, then anything else. Determined to crack this case, he investigates only to find his hunches confirmed. The drugs are administered by the management. This is a new variant of a typical western plot, yet the plot of Outland isn’t very strong in the first place. In novel format , it would probably not work at all. Because, all social criticism and skepticism towards scientific progress aside, this is a visual film that excites most by what it depicts.
In other words, you don’t do anything bad, you just don’t do anything good, do you?
Marshall William T. O’Neil
Outland features set design, costumes and dystopian science fiction atmosphere that’s second to none. Nothing’s a knock-off of a proven concept. It’s as dirty and creative as John Carpenter’s Dark Star (1974), the science fiction film that, visual-wise, set the tone for those to come. Carpenter always found the polished future in films such as Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) boring and uninspiring. And, truth be told, 2001 is mostly a well-made and over-polished film that oozes with Kubrick’s desperate need to put himself above every other filmmaker. That’s the reason why it’s an impressive film – with a story so tedious it’s hard to watch and subtleness that puts allusion as stylistic device to shame. As much as 2001 is well-made and important, as boring it is to watch. Such is often the fate of science fiction that features intriguing ideas and visionary insights, only to fall flat in the entertainment department. Based on Arthur C. Clarke’s novel of the same name, Kubrick’s “masterpiece” brings everything on screen the visionary Clarke wrote about but fails to entertain just the same. Hyams clearly found inspiration elsewhere, which makes it all the more remarkable he later made 2010: The Year We Made Contact (1984), the sequel to 2001 also written by Clarke.
Hyams knows how to bring off his effects without stripping the fun by trying to develop a visual language that would be too intellectual for a film like this. When the Marshal chases a suspect by foot through the workers’ quarters made up mostly of ladders and several levels, Fritz, Lang’s 1928 film Spies comes to mind. Outland utilizes some of the visual language from 20s German Expressionism but still retains its unique style. And the framework is clearly reminiscent of Lang’s Metropolis (1927), evidence that progress never by default solves any social issues or, more naively, cures the human condition. All of the characters in Outland are self-centered. Sheppard exploits his workers. Dr. Lazarus, turns two blind eyes on the suspicious deaths and tries to atone by helping the Marshall, if only for her own sake. O’Niel’s wife leaves a taped message to flee the scene instead of support her husband. And Marshall O’Niel apparently must feed his ego instead of being a “coward” for his family’s well-being. Connery does this with lots of dignity and style. He has the same level of authority John Wayne, the Duke, expressed in a classic western. Competition fuels him, even when he’s playing a remarkably ordinary squash with Mantone.
Without being overly intellectual, this speaks a clear language. Earth is, falsely, turned into utopia, lo is the Wild West, amoral and downright bad. The Conquest of Space is not a second chance but history repeated, a sequel to the American Conquest. We ask ourselves what happened to great hopes expressed by men such as John Winthrop in 1630: “We must consider that we are a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.” Winthrop based this on Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mound.” And we all know how that story turned out. But it’s unnecessary to take this side of Outland too seriously, even though it’s a nice addition.
Outland is one of the forgotten space western films that do a lot right and have only few flaws. A stronger plot could’ve been at the expanse of its impressive visuals. Nevertheless, Peter Hyams knows what he wants with this film. It’s entertaining and every single set is fun to look at. Disregarding Outland just because it’s not a masterpiece would be unfair. Thanks to its absence of a filmmaker’s overinflated ego, this space western is much more pleasing than some of the classics.
