Why it’s daunting: If the ’50s were science fiction’s rock ’n’ roll period, and the ’60s were its psychedelic phase, then the ’70s were when SF finally went emo. The genre was always uniquely equipped to reflect a particular era’s hang-ups and anxieties, and the early ’70s found science-fiction films grappling with some doozies: war, technology, hedonism, authority, freedom, and the environment. Oh, and sex. Gone were 1950s Cold War allegories and 1960s escapism. In their place were cerebral, angsty films that wallowed in visions of post-apocalyptic societies gone to seed. Dystopian views of the future were nothing new, but the ’70s proved to be especially ripe for this particular kind of science-fiction navel-gazing. Ushered in by late-’60s pictures like Planet Of The Apes and 2001: A Space Odyssey, the era saw the proliferation of dozens of likeminded dystopian films—from A Boy And His Dog to Logan’s Run—before finally falling out of vogue late in the decade, all thanks to a scruffy little space opera called Star Wars. Lacking the narrative zip and polished special effects of today’s blockbusters, ’70s sci-fi can seem plodding and dated to modern viewers, and between that pacing, the grim subject matter, and all the pontificating about heady themes, films in this category often look like particularly dire ways to spend 90 minutes.
Where to start: Logan’s Run (1976)
Why: Logan’s Run’s main conceit is certainly its most famous—everyone in its society gets zapped to dust in an elaborate ceremony known as “Carousel” on their 30th birthdays—but there’s a lot more on the film’s mind than preemptive euthanasia. Based on the 1967 novel of the same name by fantasy-lifers William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, the film touches on many basic ’70s dystopian themes: humanity’s reliance on technology; the price of vanity and hedonism; overpopulation; and dodgy special effects. In the 23rd century, a society of blissful, jumpsuit-clad Eloi types weather out a post-apocalyptic storm inside a domed, underground metropolis. An all-seeing computer controls every aspect of daily life—food, recreation, reproduction, and fiery execution—and the populace lives only for pleasure. Logan 5 (Michael York) is a straitlaced keeper of the peace (a “Sandman,” in the film’s parlance) charged with hunting down defectors (“runners”) who choose not to play by the computer’s “30-and-out” rule. The groovy but sinister world Logan inhabits—and later abandons, after meeting a runner named Jessica 6 (Jenny Agutter)—is one where casual sex is the norm, and concepts of parenthood and monogamy are patently absurd. Indeed, Logan’s Run sees the future as something of a fully automated, futuristic key party. (Logan, moments after meeting Jessica: “You’re beautiful. Let’s have sex.”)
For all its aspirations to be a whiz-bang adventure story, the film is remarkably weighty, and wonderfully of its time. That’s partly due to its nuts-and-bolts filmmaking, which places it squarely in the ’70s. Methodically staged by British director Michael Anderson, the film is paced light-years away from the action-oriented zip that defined Star Wars just one year later. It’s also a terrific showcase for the era’s practical, sometimes clunky special effects. The miniatures of the underground domed city are especially delightful, even though they’re only one red trolley away from the opening credits of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.
Though thoroughly enjoyable, Logan’s Run is far from perfect. It’s a strangely paced, episodic film, with extended detours to a tripped-out orgy, an ice cave lorded over by a maniacal robot, and a futuristic plastic surgeon’s office staffed by Farrah Fawcett. The film’s final third is even more problematic. During an extended sojourn through the ruins of Washington D.C., Logan and Jessica happen upon a doddering old coot (played by Peter Ustinov) who teaches them a thing or two about age, freedom, and cats. But the film still succeeds in spite of these tangents, and creates a fully realized world that can shoulder timely issues like sex and freedom, and still make time for some gloriously handmade effects sequences.