A federal marshal stationed at a mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy. He gets no help from the workers or authorities when he finds himself marked fo... Read allA federal marshal stationed at a mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy. He gets no help from the workers or authorities when he finds himself marked for murder.A federal marshal stationed at a mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy. He gets no help from the workers or authorities when he finds himself marked for murder.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 7 nominations total
- Sergeant Montone
- (as James B. Sikking)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
A particular rendition of ¨High noon¨ set in outer space on a volcanic moon of Jupiter , stars Sean Connery alone versus a planet-wide drug ring . In fact , this one is no more or less than a Western in space , replacing Gary Cooper by Sean Connery . This enjoyable Sci-Fi is plenty of suspense as the dreaded noon hour approaches and the protagonist realizes he must stand alone , but asking his base fellows for help , nobody is willing to help him . An agreeable Science Fiction movie full of emotional thrills , action and suspense , though the science is rather poor . It is a highly mysterious thriller , filled with non-stop action , including a spectacular denouement in its final part . The narration is adjusted in real time , from the beginning to arrival of the enemy aircraft , at a final showdown and it is approximately developed in ninety minutes as the many on-screen ticks clocks will check . It might make a catching double feature along with ¨High noon¨ . Connery is perfect as the flawed hero who faces off professional killers . He gives first-rate acting as a tough agent who takes on vicious hired killers , facing alone after being abandoned to his fate by the gutless population . Suppport cast is pretty well , giving brief but decent acting , such as : James B. Sikking , Steven Berkoff , Clarke Peters , John Ratzenberger , Angus MacInnes , Eugene Lipinski and Peter Boyle is just right as a heinous villain . And special mention for Frances Sternhagen as the veteran doctor who helps Connery , she steals the show , thanks to her sympathetic and valiant performance .
The motion picture contains an excellent cinematography by cameraman Stephen Goldblatt . Rousing and suspenseful musical score by the great Jerry Goldsmith , performed by London symphony orchestra . The yarn was compellingly directed by Peter Hyams . Peter is an uneven filmmaker who has directed all kinds of genres with successes and flops , such as Adventure : ¨Musketeer¨ ; Terror : ¨The relic¨, ¨End of days¨ ; Action : ¨The Presidio¨, ¨Sudden death¨, ¨Timecop¨ , ¨Narrow margin¨ ; Sci-fi : ¨2010 , the year we make contact¨ , ¨Capricorn one¨, ¨Sound and thunder ¨; Drama : ¨The star chamber¨, ¨Our time¨ ; and Comedy : Running scared¨, ¨Stay tuned¨
Did you know
- TriviaSir Sean Connery lost a major extended cameo role in Les Chariots de feu (1981) because this movie went over schedule.
- GoofsSeveral times during the first half hour of the movie, O'Niel's uniform name tag changes spelling from "O'Niel" to "O'Neil" and back again.
- Quotes
Dr. Marian Lazarus: You know, if you're the kind of guy you're supposed to be, you wouldn't stick around. That's why they sent you here.
Marshal William T. O'Niel: Maybe they made a mistake.
Dr. Marian Lazarus: I was afraid you'd say something like that. You really think you're making a difference?
[O'Neil is silent]
Dr. Marian Lazarus: Then why, for god's sake?
Marshal William T. O'Niel: Because... maybe they *are* right. They send me here to this pile of shit because they think I belong here. I want to find out if... well, if they're right. 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. That's what's in the program. That's my rotten little part, in the rotten machine... I don't like it. So I'm... going to find out if they're right.
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $16,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $17,374,595
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,059,638
- May 25, 1981
- Gross worldwide
- $17,374,595
- Runtime
- 1h 49m(109 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1