Outland (1981)

Cover of Outland

Sen Connery. What a man. A man's man. A ladies' man. A Sci-Fi man.

Oh yes, indeed. The bold Sen has made the several forays into the world of Science-Fiction, some good ('The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' for all its faults is still hugely enjoyable), some not so good (1974's 'Zardoz' - Connery is a big red nappy - and it's Irish!).

But one of his better ventures was Peter Hyams' forgotten Sci-Fi actioner, 'Outland', released to critical approval in 1981. Aptly summed up as 'High Noon' in space, it deals with a police officer (Connery) being dispatched to a large mining colony on Io, one of the moons of Jupiter. There he encounters corruption, organized crime, drug smuggling, unscrupulous corporate politics and a shootout finale. All this takes place in a maze of low-light tunnels, futuristic corridors and metal-wrapped rooms that look like they came straight out of Ridley Scott's 'Alien'.

Indeed the marked similarities in layout and design between both movies has often been remarked upon, usually to the disparagement of 'Outland', but in fact both movies merely extrapolate a future based upon the ideas and concepts of the late 1970s and early '80s in a realistic manner and come up unsurprisingly with much the same results. The mining colony of Io looks remarkably lifelike, with a worn, industrial lived-in look. It is a dark, grimy place reflecting its purpose and much of the technology still looks remarkably believable today.

Though liked by critics the audience reaction upon release was mixed and today the movie enjoys a greater reputation than it did then as a primer of what a realistic Science-Fiction movie should look like - and feel. Thirty years on it can still be enjoyed as a western set in space, and any film with Sen Connery is always going to be good.

Biography of James Bond Creator Ian Fleming

Image via Wikipedia

Born in Mayfair, London, 1908, Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist, and World War II Navy Commander. Though, in popular culture, Fleming is best known for creating the James Bond character, chronicling his adventures in twelve novels and nine short stories.

Also accredited to Fleming are the children's story, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and two other non-fiction books. Fleming died in 1964, but his timeless character James Bond continues to live on with numerous movies, the more recent movies being throwbacks to the first book, Casino Royale, and its sequel, Quantum of Solace.

Fleming was born to Valentine Fleming, a Member of Parliament, and his wife Evelyn Ste Croix Fleming. He was the younger brother of travel writer Peter Fleming and the older brother of Michael and Richard Fleming. Fleming was educated at Sunningdale School in Berkshire, Eton College, and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

He was honored Victor Ludorum at Eton, two years in a row - something that had been achieved only once before. Fleming would attend school in Austria, attempting to improve his German and prepare for Foreign Office exams. Finally, he ended up at the University of Geneva, where he failed to join the Foreign Office, ultimately working as sub-editor and journalist for the Reuters news service.

In 1939, on the eve of World War II, Fleming was recruited as Rear Admiral John Godfrey's personal assistant. Fleming was eventually promoted to Commander with the codename 17F.

In 1942, Fleming formed an Auxiliary Unit known as 30AU, or 30 Assault Unit that he nicknamed "Red Indians", the unit was specifically trained in lock-picking, safe-cracking, hand-to-hand combat, and other techniques and skills involving collecting intelligence. Fleming's group collected key intelligence for many missions during the war, especially with successful missions such as Operation Overlord.

Fleming's time in the service of the Navy proved to be inspiration for his writing career. The intelligence work provided him with a solid background for spy novels.

In 1953, he published his first novel, Casino Royale. It was with this classic novel that Fleming introduced the world to the character, James Bond, famously known by his code number, 007. Rumors of Fleming's involvement with Camp X, a specialized training program during WWII, supplied Fleming with character details for Bond.

Bond's actual name came from famed ornithologist James Bond, son of the Bond family who befriended Fleming, allowing him to use their Jamaican estate to write. The Bonds were wealthy manufacturers whose estate outside of Philadelphia, Pa. eventually became Gwynedd Mercy College.

The Bond novels realized little to no success with the American audience until then President John F. Kennedy cited From Russia With Love on a list of his favorite books. After that, sales quickly increased. Fleming would go on to write a total of 14 Bond books.

After the financial success of the Bond series, Fleming was able to retire. Along with the Bond series, Fleming has also written a children's novel and two guide books: Thrilling Cities, and a study of The Diamond Smugglers.