THX 1138

Tittle:  THX 1138

Director: George Lucas

Release Year: 11 March 1971

Trivia: The underground chase near the end was shot in a not-yet-completed segment of the BART subway system in San Francisco

George Lucas has worked the title of this film, or parts of it, in some of his other films. In American Graffiti, the license plate of one car is “THX 138”. In Star Wars, a reference is made to “prison cell 1138”. The cinema sound certification his company developed is called “THX”

This film was made as a result of George Lucas’s student film short project at USC, Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB.

Runtime: 86 min

Review:

This film is pretty well known but one of those films a lot of people have not seen .To clarify which version I am watching I viewed the recent directors cut special addition version. This version has very poorly implemented CGI with the very effective original practical effects. But I will go into more detail about that later the main difference between the version saw and the original is about three minutes if new footage and slight changes to the dialogue. The film is set in a grim future society a sedated future where consumerism is the religion of the masses. It follows the fortunes of Thx played by Robert Duvall as he attempts to find his partner called Lut played by Maggie McOmie. They are separated after they go off their meds and a wonderful Donald Pleasence as Sen. Of course Donald Pleasence is probably best known for playing Dr. Sam Loomis in the Halloween film. Also plays a part in there separation playing in the film a creepy overseer .The acting through out the film is superb and it would be difficult to find fault in. Also the original vision of the designer and the creation of the future  is amazing and in terms of art direction is a master class in creating a familiar but also unfamiliar future. The score and sound design again are a stand out feature well-crafted music and fantastic sound design over all make it a very interesting watch.

But where the film falls a little flat I would say has to be in the script it feels disjointed and at times seems to stumble from place to place. There is some plot convenience and a few moment s where the suspension of disbelief is stretched to the very limit. Now onto the effects the practical original effects are fantastic. The new CGI effects stick out like a sour thumb poorly implemented and lacking and relation to eh scene .At times it felt like they just wanted to clutter up the frame with more CGI. There is an added scene completely created inn CGI where the robot police are getting dressed in a locker room. A idea if you think about is absolutely stupid .Why are robot dressing and undressing do they have of time or is this a robot police officer gym do they go home to their robot wife’s and picks up there robot kids .A pointless scene and one that showcases hoe poor CGI looks in comparison to a person in a mask. There are some moments where the original effects are very clever they have a normal guy play a hologram no need for any other effects. It’s a normal human who says he is a hologram who left the mainframe because he was bored an interesting idea in itself and done well.

This film is  also a famous flop it was the first in a planned series of films for a co-production with MGM and  American Zoetrope the company founded by Francis Ford Coppola. When they showed this film to MGM they cancelled there seven picture deal and demanded the money back for the script development .Over all it is a fascinating film very ambitious showing  the audience a sterile inorganic future with some wonderful acting. But does Thx find his love Lut? Well you will have to watch it to find out.