Outland (4K UHD Review)
Director
Peter HyamsRelease Date(s)
1981 (November 4, 2025)Studio(s)
The Ladd Company/Warner Bros. Pictures (Arrow Video)- Film/Program Grade: B-
- Video Grade: B+
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B
Review
William O’Neil (Sean Connery, The Hunt for Red October) is a Federal District Marshall newly-assigned to a one year tour on Con-Am 27, a hardscrabble titanium mining outpost on Jupiter’s moon Io. O’Neil’s responsible for keeping the peace and watching over the outpost’s 2,100 workers, administrative personnel, and their dependents, including his own wife and teenage son, neither of whom is exactly thrilled to be there.
It seems like a straightforward task at first. O’Neil is no-nonsense, blue-collar, and equal to the challenge, despite an insufferable boss in the form of Mark Sheppard (Peter Boyle, Young Frankenstein), the corporate manager in charge of the outpost, who’s determined to keep productivity—and executive bonus checks—as high as possible. But things go south when O’Neil’s wife suddenly leaves with their son on the first shuttle back to Earth.
And when workers on the outpost begin dying as a result of strange psychotic episodes, O’Neil and his team (including Sergeant Montone, played by James B. Sikking of Hill Street Blues fame) investigate and discover that they’re suffering from the side effects of a powerful drug. But who exactly is smuggling that drug onto the outpost—and why—is a bigger conspiracy than O’Neil bargained for.
Directed by Peter Hyams (2010, Capricorn One), Outland is a sci-fi curiosity. If you squint, you can easily imagine that it takes place in the same universe as Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979). Outland borrows liberally from Scott’s classic, including its overall aesthetic and production design. (It’s no surprise that costume designer John Mollo worked on both projects). Outland even features a score by Jerry Goldsmith, which is of much the same tone. And storywise, Con-Amalgamated could certainly be a corporate peer of Weyland-Yutani. (A bit of trivia: Con-Amalgamated is also the company that produced the defective spacesuits in Hyams’ Capricorn One.)
But apart from its setting, there’s little about Outland that feels like science fiction—the film could just as well take place in the Old West (its resemblance to Fred Zinneman’s High Noon (1957) has been noted many times), on a deep sea drilling platform, or in an oil refinery on the edge of the Bronx. Ultimately, this is a pretty standard crime drama about cops, drugs, and corruption. But the film is workmanlike in its construction and mostly entertaining. The visual effects and miniature work are solid. And the supporting cast includes a host of familiar 1980s character actors, including Frances Sternhagen (Doc Hollywood), Clarke Peters (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), John Ratzengerger (Cheers), and Steven Berkoff (Beverly Hills Cop).
It should be noted that while Stephen Goldblatt (Lethal Weapon, Batman Forever) is the credited director of photography on Outland, Hyams operated the camera himself on his sets more often than not (tending to treat his DPs as “stand by photographers” only). Goldblatt did at least direct many of the second unit and visual effects shots himself.
In any case, Outland was shot on 35 mm photochemical film using Panavision Panaflex Gold and Panaflex-X cameras with Panavision C-and E-series anamorphic lenses. For its release on Ultra HD, the original camera negative was scanned in 16-bit 4K by Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging with digital restoration and grading for high dynamic range (compatible with both HDR10 and Dolby Vision) by Silver Salt. It’s presented here in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio on a 100GB disc. Image-wise, the quality is quite good, with high bitrates (averaging 80-90 Mbps), genuinely vibrant color, truly deep blacks, and medium-strong organic grain. However while Outland is a striking film, it isn’t a particularly beautiful one. Much of it takes place in gray and dimly-lit compartments, with abundant on-set smoke employed to enhance the look and lighting, which also tends to reduce fine detail in many shots. Thankfully, the visual effects are not subject to such atmospherics. Accomplished using the “Introvision” process—in which models, background plates, and live action elements were combined in camera—the resulting footage looks fantastic.
The original English audio is included here in two different formats, including 24-bit LPCM stereo and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, both obviously lossless. Of the two, the 5.1 mix is certainly more robust and immersive, though some fans may prefer the stereo regardless for that “original theatrical” sound experience. Either way, the dialogue clarity is excellent, and even the stereo has a pleasingly wide soundstage. The 5.1 mix is definitely more engaging sonically—it really benefits the Goldsmith score tremendously. Bass is rich and muscular. What’s more, the staging and atmospheric effects in the surrounds are impressive, even subtle, such as when you see the spacesuited workers exiting the lift and stepping out into the mines—you can hear machine noises, com chatter, sparks, hissing, and lasers start quietly in the front of the soundstage, then grow in volume and expand to the surrounds as the camera pans over and down to reveal the crew working on the nearby gantry. This is a very good and remarkably nuanced surround mix. Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing are also included.
Arrow Video’s 4K package is a single disc set that includes the film in 2160p on UHD only (a Blu-ray version is available separately). Extras on the disc include:
- Audio Commentary by Peter Hyams
- Audio Commentary by Chris Alexander
- A Corridor of Accidents: An Interview with Peter Hyams (HD – 52:08)
- Outlandish: Stephen Goldblatt Remembers Filming Peter Hyams’ Outland (HD – 29:01)
- The Introvision Files: William Mesa on Outland (HD – 34:05)
- No Place for Heroes (HD – 18:22)
- Hollywoodland Outland (HD – 21:11)
- Teaser Trailer (HD – 1:55)
- Theatrical Trailer (HD – 2:55)
- Image Gallery (HD – 2:39)
The Hyams commentary and theatrical trailer represent legacy content that carries over here from the 2012 Blu-ray release. The rest of this material is all-new, produced by Arrow for this release. What’s fascinating is that both Hyams and Goldblatt have participated in new on camera interviews, and they talk at some length about their respective careers and the making of this film. There’s also a great piece on the Introvision process by VFX artist William Mesa, as well as an appreciation of Outland by Josh Nelson and a compelling visual essay by historian Howard S. Berger on Hyams’ unique approach to filmmaking. Added to this is a new commentary by film critic Chris Alexander, an image gallery, and the film’s teaser trailer. The packaging includes an attractive slipcover, the sleeve art is reversible (including both the original poster and newly commissioned art by Pye Parr), and the booklet offers liner notes and new essays on the film by critics Priscilla Page and Brandon Streussnig. All in all, it’s a fine batch of content, and frankly far more than anyone could reasonably expect for this particular film.
Fans of Outland should be pleased with Arrow’s new 4K release, which delivers far better A/V quality than the film ever enjoyed before, certainly in the home, and with special features that are a rich vein of ore indeed. But for my money, Peter Hyams’s 2010: The Year We Make Contact is his best science fiction film. And the good news is, Arrow has licensed that from Warner Bros. too. So if they do as good a job with 2010 in 4K Ultra HD (look for it to arrive on disc sometime next year), I will be happy indeed. In the meantime, it should go without saying that this Ultra HD release is very much recommended.
-Bill Hunt
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