What would you do if you knew you were going to die at thirty? Would you have sex with a lot of men or women? Would you eat all the best riches of the Earth? Would you sample fine wines? Would you run? You might wonder what the last one has to do with all the pleasures described earlier. You know how they say that you can’t run away from death? Well, some people have figured out a way to do so. Although not very efficient, it still buys them a couple more minutes. Do you know what I’m talking about? If not, then let me tell me you about it.
In the year 2274 the World has gone to hell. After wars, famine, pollution and overpopulation, mankind has sealed itself inside a giant dome-city. The population number is always constant, because for every person who dies, another one is born, or that’s what the city’s powerful computer wants its residents to think… Everyone is free to do whatever he/ she wants, as I said in the introduction: sex, food, alcohol; a very carefree lifestyle. But, there’s a catch: life must be terminated at 30, in order to prevent the dome from overpopulating. This is done so in a circus-like ceremony called “Carrousel”, where the people whose lives are about to end are dressed in ceremonial garments and masks on their faces. They are them lifted into the air and pulverized by some sort of powerful laser, in the excited cheering of the crowd. Sometimes, there are people who don’t consider this ceremony to be holy or life giving or whatever you’d like to call it. They are the ones who RUN, who try to escape. The job of catching these individuals falls in the hands of “Sandmen”, morbidly called that way, because they are the ones who put the runners to sleep (as in killing them).
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the story, I’m talking about the movie “Logan’s Run”, directed by Michael Anderson. Based on a novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson with the same name as that of the movie, “Logan’s Run” paints a picture of a future world where morality and sanctity of life have no meaning anymore. Although there are rumors of a place called “Sanctuary”, where the runners may escape and live out the rest of their days as God intended, none of the authority figures knows about this for sure. So, Logan 5 (Michael York) (called that way because he is the fifth generation of “renewed”, or “reborn” humans), a Sandman, is designated with the task of finding “Sanctuary” and wielding the sword of justice upon their criminal actions of living past 30 years of age. But for this to happen, Logan must become a runner himself. His life crystal, which he holds in the palm of his hand, is therefore ttransformed into glowing red, meaning that his last years have been taken away from him and he is officially 30 years old. Joining the action is the lovely Jessica 6 (Jenny Agutter), who wears an ANKH pendant. This is the symbol of the people helping runners to reach Sanctuary. Also joining is Logan’s Sandman partner, Francis 7 (Richard Jordan). He is the one who has to hunt down Logan, now a runner. Later in the movie, we find Peter Ustinov as The Old Man. Will Logan find Sanctuary? Will he be able to fulfill his mission? Will he survive Francis? The whole movie exuberates in typical 70’s Sci-Fi storylines, props, gadgets and costumes. That doesn’t make it a bad movie, because, I believe that the story is among the best that I have ever come across (for that decade, at least). It’s mind-blowing how most people can just accept their fate like that, instead of forming a rebellion. It saddens me to see that the authoritarian system of rule has once again brainwashed its citizens into believing all those lies about “rebirth” and “honorable termination” or whatever it’s called. I guess humans will just be humans even in Science Fiction…
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