Outland was a first time watch for me but one I’d always meant to get to in the careers of Sean Connery and Peter Hyams. Boy, a company increasing productivity at the cost of dead workers sure is relevant still. But, since this is sci-fi on the moon of Jupiter, those compromised workers just expose their bodies to the vacuum of space with graphic consequences.
It is essentially a mundane conspiracy in an extraordinary location and they sure make use of it. The visual effects hold up for reasons that become apparent in the bonus features, and look great in 4K.
Space is nice and black, shadowing the models of the Jupiter station and deep canyons. It’s cool how the models get shrouded in darkness the lower they go. Then inside is all white halls and metal rooms. Chases go through dark corridors of the factory, a shootout in a cafeteria with the lights out, and the spacewalk finale.
In a new interview, Hyams talks for 52 minutes about all of his films prior to Outland too. Cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt and VFX supervisor William Mesa also go a solid half hour each about the process of Introvision. Introvision was an immersive compositing technique that looked way more interactive than today’s green screen and LED volume. That’s why it holds up in 4K.
Jim Nelson gives a video essay on the deep western influences on Outland. Howard S. Berger’s Hyams appreciation includes Stay Tuned and Timecop. Hyams’ previous DVD commentary is included but a new one by Chris Alexander contextualizes all the famous faces in 1981 and the post Star Wars sci-fi boom as applied to other subgenres.