So I watched Logan's Run tonight. Pretty interesting film, and I can definitely see why it's viewed as a genre classic. What I find most interesting about the film, however, is not anything that the movie itself does, but a common thread that seems to run through a number of the futuristic science fiction films that I've seen from the 70s. In current sci-fi films set in the future, although the futuristic societies in which people live are depicted as being or less the same as in these older films (think "The Jetsons", with slight variations), the filmmakers' opinions of them seem to be quite different. These future worlds are glorified in current cinema -- look at the progress we've made! look how much better things are! etc. -- whereas in the older films the futuristic worlds are viewed as lacking; people have somehow lost sight of what makes them human and venture forth from their domed, metal cities to rediscover nature. Granted, there are elements of this viewpoint even in modern films, but it's hardly as strong -- whereas in a lot of movies (frex, Demolition Man), the characters will come to realize that some of the trappings of the old days weren't all bad, the characters in the older sci-fi films conclude that almost all of the elements of the future society are unacceptable -- to the point that they actually retreat from that brave new world rather than try to fix it. No doubt the zeitgeist of the 70s has something to do with it.

Another thing that I find kind of interesting about these films is that whereas the future societies in current sci-fi are almost completely devoid of religion, the societies depicted in these older films are almost always dominated in one way or another by some sort of freaky religion/cult fabricated to keep order in some kind of way. I don't know if that's because thirty years ago people couldn't imagine a society in which religion didn't play a pivotal role or if they included it because they wanted to say something about it (as opposed to not including it because they wanted to say something about it or to avoid explicitly commenting on it altogether), but then and now the opinion of religion depicted in such films seems to be similarly negative -- in current sci-fi cinema, it's seen as something that humanity has outgrown; in older films, it's a lie that's necessary for keeping the futuristic society in line, but the futuristic society is the reason that people are no longer people. Food for thought.

Also, Jenny Agutter was hella hot as Jessica 6. And Peter Ustinov (not pictured) was in the movie! I'd heard the name recently on a Lauren Christy CD I picked up in Boston, but I'd simply assumed that Ustinov was a fictional character. In the song, "The Night I Saved Peter Ustinov", Christy sings of an actor about to commit suicide by jumping off of a bridge, but whom she "saves" by convincing him that she appreciates his work. I think the song strikes a chord with me because I feel similarly unappreciated and could definitely see standing on a bridge in the middle of the night, talking absently to a God that probably isn't there as I prepared to hurl myself to a watery grave, but could probably be talked out of it by someone who actually thought my work was worth something. It's a neat song. And now that I know that Ustinov was a real person, I'm not only anxious to see more of his work -- the film Billy Budd is also mentioned in the song (which, given the name of the movie, I not only assumed was fictional as well, but was meant to suggest that Ustinov's work wasn't even all that great -- because really, the name "Billy Budd" puts me in mind of Cletus the slack-jawed yokel) -- but to know more about the man himself. Was he known for being depressed? What would prompt Christy to write this song about him? Etc. He seemed like a thoroughly likable old fellow in Logan's Run.

Anyway, I've got more to say, but I'll save it for later. Ja.