Released: June 1976

Directed by: Michael Anderson

Cast: Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, and Peter Ustinov as Old Man.

By 2274, humanity had overcome the over-population, starvation, and cataclysmic civilization destroying conflicts of the 2020s. Earth’s population now live in isolated domed mega-utopias, where all their needs are met. Gone are the days of feasting on Soylent Green, stepping over one another just to get down a flight of stairs, or being dumped into garbage trucks when rioting over food shortages. In 2274 things are much better. A hedonistic society of peace, harmony, free love, all pleasure, with one condition. At age 30 you surrender yourself for ‘renewal’. This is the future in 1976’s Logan’s Run.

Renewal you ask. Well, that’s when you go to a place called Carrousel, join a group of other 30-year-olds, slowly spin until you euphorically rise in front of a cheering crowd, and explode. You are then, supposedly ‘renewed’ as a baby, and get to do it all over again.

Some people question the renewal part and try to escape the city’s domes for a place called Sanctuary. To stop these ‘Runners’, guys known as ‘Sandmen’ hunt down the Runners and ‘put them to sleep’, so to speak. Logan 5 (Michael York) is one such Sandman and has begun to question the validity of renewal.

Logan’s best friend and fellow Sandman, Francis 7 (Richard Jordan) warns Logan to stop asking so many questions, and just enjoy life. Terminating Runners is fun, and the perks of being a Sandman, well it is a hedonistic society after all. But then Logan meets Jessica 6 (Jenny Agutter), who asks the same questions as Logan, and is part of a group who believe in Sanctuary. Obviously, Jessica can’t trust Logan because he’s a Sandman.

Logan is given an assignment by Computer to locate and destroy Sanctuary. None of the other Sandmen are to know about Logan’s mission. Logan’s ‘life-clock’ is advanced, placing his age at 30. Logan asks, if the assignment is accomplished, will his life-clock be set back to his original age. Computer does not answer, effectively turning Logan into a Runner.

Convinced Logan is telling the truth, Jessica joins Logan as he attempts to escape the city.

The journey is not an easy one. Francis, thinking his friend has betrayed him, relentlessly pursues Logan and Jessica. They are shot at, flooded, nearly frozen to death by a passive aggressive robot named Box (Roscoe Lee Browne), before they make it ‘outside’. Once there, Logan and Jessica discover they have been lied to by the computers that control their society.

Even though 202 years have passed since the events of Soylent Green, it’s fairly simple to make the connection to Logan’s Run. The backstory for Logan’s Run is basically the world of Soylent Green, minus the huge cataclysm. Of course, the cataclysm happens after Soylent Green is over and paves the way for civilizations’ rebirth in domed cities.

The question does remain, who built the computers that run everything? Well, that leaves us to speculate, and our own individual interpretations would probably be far more interesting than what Hollywood might invent to fill the gap.

I’ve come to believe that utopias can’t work, and Logan’s Run is a good example of why this is. It’s human nature to desire a meaningful life. And not the empty existence of leisure and pleasure, that is given to everyone. The only law in the domed cities is to partake in Carrousel when you turn 30. Naturally someone will question this. If no one questioned it, Sandmen wouldn’t be necessary. Yet, there is a need for the Sandmen. So already the idea of a utopia is flawed. Short of complete mind control, people still have the ability to think and question.

The society of Soylent Green was already a dystopia. But the transition to the utopia of Logan’s Run, however that may have transpired, was incomplete when the machines took control, leaving the population somewhat free-thinking. Mind control is the giving of unending pleasure. But where’s the challenge? The Sandmen have the challenge of tracking and terminating the Runners, but what about everyone else? In order to work, a utopia must be perfect, and human nature just will not allow that.

It’s fun to mess with science fiction, and linking Soylent Green to Logan’s Run, trying to fill the 200-year gap can be a fun discussion. Guaranteed to elicit good conversation and perhaps some fisticuffs. That’s the power of movies.

On its own, Logan’s Run is still a fun journey of pre-Star Wars science fiction. Filled with interesting ideas and production design. It’s a very 70s sci-fi film, which adds to the enjoyment. The presence of Peter Ustinov, as Old Man, in the second half of the film, is a treat. His living in the U.S. Senate chamber, with his multitude of cats, seems somehow appropriate in 2024. Especially nowadays, where the Senate seems to be populated by crazy old people.

Paired with Soylent Green, Logan’s Run is a fun viewing experience. Whether there was an intentional link between the two films I have no idea. But in a cinema world of alternate timelines, and tired multi-verses, makes both films a solid double feature. Try it sometime. For a few hours you’ll forget the real world going on outside, and you get a nice discussion out of deal. Enjoy.

Logan’s Run is available in DVD. As well as in a 4-pack, which also includes Soylent Green, Omega Man and Westworld from Warner Home Video. Or for rent on various streaming services.