Outland

[Finch]

4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

Brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray™ presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless stereo 2.0 and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio options
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Archive audio commentary by writer-director Peter Hyams
Brand new audio commentary by film critic Chris Alexander
A Corridor of Accidents, a newly filmed interview with writer-director Peter Hyams
Outlandish, a newly filmed interview with director of photography Stephen Goldblatt
Introvision: William Mesa on Outland, a newly filmed interview with visual effects artist William Mesa
No Place for Heroes, a brand new appreciation by film scholar Josh Nelson
Hollywoodland Outland, a brand new visual essay by film historian Howard S. Berger
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Pye Parr
Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Pye Parr
Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by film critics Priscilla Page and Brandon Streussnig

[beamish14]

I love how Peter Hyams was urged by MGM to get Stanley Kubrick’s blessing before making 2010, but all Kubrick wanted to talk about was what had changed in New York since he’d left and the VFX in this film

[flyonthewall2983]

I refer to this as “sawdust in space”. It feels like a planet of nearly unfinished everything.

[beamish14]

I refer to this as “sawdust in space”. It feels like a planet of nearly unfinished everything.

Yes, it’s a lot like Die Hard in that regard. Scaffolding and exposed panels everywhere

[colinr0380]

Excellent! It is of course "High Noon in space" where our new Sheriff gets into conflict and eventually has to wait out the arrival of hired killers sent to take care of him, whilst everyone else in the community turns a blind eye. This has a bit less of the angst-ridden wife aspect, and more emphasis on the investigation into the mysterious spate of suicides tied to a recreational drug going around the colony that is suggested to be the only thing that keeps the population docile enough to tolerate their working conditions. A great supporting cast too including Frances Sternagen (providing the template for jaded female techs in sci-fi films which I suspect influenced the doctor figure in Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence, which itself factored into the Anamaria Marinca figure in the US remake of Ghost In The Shell); and James B. Sikking and Peter Boyle as the baddies.

Yes, it’s a lot like Die Hard in that regard. Scaffolding and exposed panels everywhere

I wonder if Total Recall took some inspiration from that kind of set design, particularly in this brief moment.

[thirtyframesasecond]

Peter Hyams was a good 'solid pro' director, who could churn out effective movies of various genres; whether the buddy-cop 'Running Scared', ''the noir-remake 'Narrow Margin' or the excellent horror 'The Relic'. And Timecop of course.

[colinr0380]

Peter Hyams was a good 'solid pro' director, who could churn out effective movies of various genres; whether the buddy-cop 'Running Scared', ''the noir-remake 'Narrow Margin' or the excellent horror 'The Relic'. And Timecop of course.

I certainly agree with this. If only all 'disposable entertainment' films were as entertaining as the average Peter Hyams film, that would raise the average a lot! I particularly like Outland, Narrow Margin, The Relic and the other film Hyams made with Jean-Claude Van Damme post-Timecop, 1995's Sudden Death. Plus he did the excellent surreal comedy Stay Tuned (which is probably controversial now due to the presence of Jeffrey Jones in the film (though he does play the Devil!) but having only ever seen it in its pan-and-scanned television screenings I would love to see it in its original widescreen ratio some time!) and seven years after Outland re-teamed with Sean Connery for The Presidio (an early example of the 'on the military base investigation' subgenre that would later encompass films like A Few Good Men and The General's Daughter).

I even like 2010 which even though it is facing the utterly impossible task of following up 2001: A Space Odyssey, and is more disappointingly grounded in 'real world' human politics than the more "Beyond The Infinite" stuff, still has some amazing moments in it.

[flyonthewall2983]

This falls into maybe my favorite sub genre in all of cinema, science fiction/crime. The very obvious Western cliches push it more towards something earth-bound, and dramatically more appealing with as solid an ensemble like this is. It prefigures Aliens in a way too bringing in even more firepower and hard-R elements to what Lucas and Spielberg were on top of.

Writing all this up has me curious about the Kino Lorber release of Repo Men, I haven’t seen that in a long time but rememeber liking it. That fits as well within the cop movie tropes it has within its more standard 2000s sci-fi/action tropes.