Logan's Run    

By Jeff Shannon

If you can stifle the urge to laugh at its pastel unisex costumes and futuristic shopping-mall décor, this extravagant science fiction film from 1976 (which spawned a TV show) is still visually fascinating and provocatively entertaining. Set in the year 2274, when ecological disaster has driven civilization to the protection of domed cities, the story revolves around a society that holds a ceremonial death ritual for all citizens who reach the age of 30. In a diseaseless city where free sex is encouraged and old age is virtually unknown, Logan (Michael York) is a "sandman," one who enforces this radical method of population control (but he's about to turn 30 and he doesn't want to die). Escaping from the domed city via a network of underground passages, Logan is joined by another "runner" named Jessica (Jenny Agutter), while his former sandman partner (Richard Jordan) is determined to terminate Logan's rebellion. Using a variety of splendid matte paintings and miniatures, Logan's Run earned a special Oscar for visual effects (images of a long-abandoned Washington, D.C., are particularly impressive), and in addition to fine performances by Jordan and Peter Ustinov, the film features Super70s poster babe Farrah Fawcett in a cheesy supporting role. Jerry Goldsmith's semi-electronic score is still one of the prolific composer's best, and Logan's Run remains an interesting example of '70s sci-fi that preceded Star Wars by less than a year.

Academy Awards

Logan's Run received an Academy Award for Special Achievement Award (L.B. Abbott - Visual Effects, Glen Robinson - Visual Effects, Matthew Yuricich - Visual Effects). Logan's Run also received Academy Awards nominations for Art Direction/Set Decoration (Dale Hennesy - Art Direction, Robert DeVestel - Set Decoration) and Cinematography (Ernest Laszlo).

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