Peter Hyams crafts genre films with maturity and a sense for pacing, which sets them apart from the vast majority. He has a terrific method of filming action sequences, which prioritises the dynamic movement of the camera and actors rather than a reliance on any special effects or CGI. Hyams keeps things simple and, more importantly, in-camera.

Hyams generally worked in sci-fi and action, occasionally branching out into horror, before closing his career by making a number of political thrillers. What is interesting about Outland, however, is its ability to blend numerous genres together within just one film. Despite primarily appearing as science fiction, it also plays at times as a noirish mystery, a political thriller, an action film and a western.

The most apparent influence upon Outland is Alien. When Outland begins, the similarities between its visual style and Alien's become clear. The interiors of the buildings on Io, where Outland is set, share a clear likeness to the USCSS Nostromo's white fluorescent lights and claustrophobic corridors. The two films even share a composer, Jerry Goldsmith, and as Outland's mystery begins to unfurl, it comes to share one of the key themes of the Alien franchise: the idea of a corrupt organisation exploiting its workers for profit. Alien's Weyland-Yutani and Outland's Con-Amalgamated are both more the villains of their films than the creatures (Alien's Xenomorph, or Outland's human gangsters), which their respective leads actually spend the film fighting against.

Outland's opening sequence is chilling. The camera moves through Io's mining facilities, where men work painfully long shifts for incentivising bonuses. One of the workers becomes hysterical, writhing around the floor before exposing himself to the space air, which causes his head to explode (seen via some visceral practical effects). Later that day, Io's administrative workers meet to discuss the daily problems on the planet. When this violent incident is brought up, it is quickly dismissed as a suicide caused by insanity.

We then see the arrival of Sean Connery's Marshal William O'Niel. His arrival is met by immediate threats from Mark Sheppard (Peter Boyle), who tells O'Niel that every previous marshal has allowed him to run his part of Io exactly as he likes. Of course, it doesn't take long for O'Niel to start peeling back the layers of a larger conspiracy.

While most continue to dismiss these violent events as nothing to be concerned about, Connery's character investigates, along the way earning the reluctant assistance of the cynical Dr Lazarus (Frances Sternhagen), who warms the film with wry camaraderie. O'Niel manages to access one of the corpses to gather some blood for Dr Lazarus to test, revealing that the miners are being drugged with an amphetamine which allows them to ‘work like a horse' until they snap and become psychotic. A disturbed O'Niel begins planning to stop Sheppard.

It is in the third act of Outland that its other key influence becomes clear. After some confrontation with Sheppard and a terrific chase sequence involving exhilarating camera movement, Hyams' film reveals that it never truly wanted to be a sci-fi film at all.

While the film's first hour or so feels connected to Alien, it concludes with 30 minutes that feel ripped straight from the classic western High Noon as an outnumbered O'Niel prepares to stand alone in battle against the corruption he has witnessed throughout the film. The High Noon connection is made complete with a countdown to the arrival of more enemies, as well as a final decision from the protagonist to leave their job in policing, having seen firsthand the sickening corruption.

As O'Niel explains to Dr Lazarus: ‘There's a whole machine that works because everybody does what they're supposed to. And I found out… I was supposed to be something I didn't like.' O'Niel is not fighting for money (as Sheppard anticipates, trying to bribe O'Niel), nor is he doing it for revenge. He is fighting as one small cog in a much larger capitalist machine. Hyam confirms this through the action of the film's tense climactic sequence itself.

Outland's influences may be abundantly clear, but it weaves them together in a way that feels original. Its characters are fleshed out, its setting is distinctive, and its set design is terrific in terms of building atmosphere. The noirish framing of its mystery is a terrific way to move towards its bleaker anti-capitalist themes, ones which see Connery's character fight with all of his might only to realise that he cannot change the system alone.

4K Ultra HD Limited Edition Special Features

Brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray™ presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless stereo 2.0 and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio options
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Archive audio commentary by writer-director Peter Hyams
Brand new audio commentary by film critic Chris Alexander
A Corridor of Accidents, a newly filmed interview with writer-director Peter Hyams
Outlandish, a newly filmed interview with director of photography Stephen Goldblatt
Introvision: William Mesa on Outland, a newly filmed interview with visual effects artist William Mesa
No Place for Heroes, a brand new appreciation by film scholar Josh Nelson
Hollywoodland Outland, a brand new visual essay by film historian Howard S. Berger
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Pye Parr
Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Pye Parr
Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by film critics Priscilla Page and Brandon Streussnig