THX 1138 (1971) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

THX 1138 (1971) movie

Genre              |   Science Fiction

Classification   |   MA 15+

Running time   |   86 minutes

Released         |   11 March 1971

cast

Robert Duvall ... THX
​Donald Pleasence ... SEN
Don Pedro Colley ... SRT
Maggie McOmie ... LUH
Ian Wolfe ... PTO
​Marshall Efron ... TWA

director

George Lucas

writer

​George Lucas ... (story by)
 
George Lucas ... (screenplay by) and
Walter Murch ... (screenplay by)

cinematographer

​

Albert Kihn ... director of photography
David Myers ... director of photography

music

Lalo Schifrin

film editor

George Lucas ​

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box office result

Worldwide             $​​​​​​​2,437,000

Australia                 $​​​​​ not available

North America       $​​​​​​​​​​​2,437,000

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movie minutiae

​This film was made as a result of George Lucas' student film short project at USC, Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967). Having won significant praise and attention for what was, at the time, an unconventional short, Lucas was given the opportunity to direct a feature-length version starring Robert Duvall, produced by his mentor Francis Ford Coppola under his newly formed production company American Zoetrope. Zoetrope was a financial failure, as was this movie, but the attention was enough to win Lucas the opportunity to make American Graffiti (1973), the success of which paved the way for the opportunity to make STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (1977).

​On completion of editing of the film, Francis Ford Coppola took it to Warner Brothers. Executives there disliked the film, and insisted that Coppola turn over the negative to an in-house Warner Brothers editor, who cut approximately four minutes of the film prior to release.

​After completion of photography, Francis Ford Coppola scheduled a year for George Lucas to complete post-production. Lucas edited the film on a German-made K-E-M flatbed editor in his Mill Valley house by day, with Walter Murch editing sound at night. The two would compare notes when they changed over. Murch compiled and synchronized the sound montage, which includes all of the "overhead" voices heard throughout the film, radio chatter, announcements, et cetera. The bulk of the editing was finished by mid 1970.

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related movies

STAR WARS:
A NEW HOPE
​(1977)

THX 1138 (1971) MOVIE IMAGES

Images

Posters

Images

Posters

THX 1138 (1971) STORY SYNOPSIS

In the future, mankind lives in vast underground cities and free will is outlawed by means of mandatory medication that controls human emotion. But when THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) and LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie) stop taking their meds, they wake up to the bleak reality of their own existence and fall in love with each other in the process. But love is also illegal in this dystopian society, and the act of making love has made both of them outlaws on the run from an army of robotic police.

THX 1138 (1971) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 11 March 2014

​​Pop Movee Rating

In the twenty-first century science fiction film market place, dystopian youth-oriented movies have taken the lead in speculating about the future direction of society. The majority of these movies use authoritarian oppressor tropes as the antagonistic force at odds with the story’s heroes.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, however, the face of the “establishment” was more impenetrable than those that are seen in today’s releases such as THE HUNGER GAMES, DIVERGENT and THE MAZE RUNNER.  One of the very best science fiction films from the early 1970s, epitomising the individual’s anti-establishment struggle, is THX-1138.

The original film established George Lucas as a genuine film-making talent, but it a debut feature and Warner Bros, at the time, wasn’t quite sure how to market the film. The film’s financial results were underwhelming, but Lucas showed enough promise to get a shot at another film that was to prove far more successful: AMERICAN GRAFFITI.

THX-1138, much like the director’s reissued STAR WARS films, was not the first time he had filmed the story. In 1967, while undertaking post-graduate studies at University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, Lucas wrote & directed ELECTRONIC LABYRINTH: THX 1138 4EB. The film won first prize at the 1967-1968 National Student Film Festival and earned Lucas a scholarship at Warner Bros working under Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola and Lucas went on to found the independent film company American Zoetrope, allowing Lucas to secure funding for his first feature film - a reimaging of ELECTRONIC LABYRINTH: THX 1138 4EB. The film was released in 1971 as THX 1138.


In the thirty-three years that passed between 1971 and 2004, George Lucas became the most successful independent film producer in history. His management of both the STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES franchises, along with the technical feats of his ILM effects company, gave him absolute film-making freedom.

One of the projects he chose to revisit in the early 2000s was THX 1138.

The original theatrical release in 1971 had not been successful. Nor had a subsequent re-release in 1977, which had tried to cash-in on the success of Star Wars. Undeterred, Lucas invested part of 2003 and 2004 in a Director's Cut of THX 1138. The result is a seriously good piece of speculative storytelling; unlike the much-maligned Star Wars reissues with new effects and technically enhanced picture and sound quality. THX-1138: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT is a wildly inventive piece of film making; especially the sound track.

The story breaks into two parts, even though it conforms to the standard three act screenplay structure...

The first part of the story establishes the relationship between THX 1138, played by Robert Duvall, and LUH 3417, played by Maggie McOmie. The relationship develops against the backdrop of an oppressive future regime, where the citizenry is drugged to maintain peace and a Christ-like image is obeyed without question. LUH slowly but surely manages to wean THX off his drugs in an effort to have a truly meaningful, fulfilling relationship with genuine emotion. When SEN 5241, played by Donald Pleasance, changes one of LUH's work shifts in order to endear himself to THX, THX, who is longer drugged, becomes angry and reports SEN. This results in all three of the main characters being imprisoned for their so-called abhorrent behaviour.

The second part of the story sees THX, SEN and a hologram known as SRT, played by Don Pedro Colley, escape from their imprisonment and go on the run. Soon after their escape, SEN is separated from THX and SRT and THX learns that LUH has been "consumed". (This is a nice way of saying LUH has been murdered by the Government).SEN eventually surrenders and is lead away to an uncertain future. Meanwhile, THX and SRT steal two law enforcement vehicles, but SRT crashes his into a concrete pillar, leaving THX as the solo escapee. THX is pursued by two police androids on motor cycles and is forced to abandon his stolen car, turning the last minutes of the film into a foot race to freedom. With only metres between them, the police androids receive a message that they are to discontinue their pursuit as the budget for the recapture of THX 1138 has been exceeded. THX scales his way up a long ladder and exits into a new world knowing not what he will find.

Some viewers may find the character’s dialogue a little difficult to comprehend, as Lucas has created a vocabulary that is unique to the world of THX. Reviewing this part of the film takes on a different approach in a contemporary context, as current day society's language has changed in the last decade with the increased use of texting and tweeting. It is entirely conceivable that our language, as English speaking humans, will change to the point where future humans look at today's language and judge it as quaint and old-fashioned; much the same as we judge the language of prior centuries ourselves. This is an important acknowledgement in the judgement of THX 1138 as a genuine work of science fiction. The language the characters use is speculative, with all of the technical jargon littered throughout the film, but it is very much grounded in the language currently in use today.

The film's pacing, even with THE DIRECTOR'S CUT adjustments, is a little uneven and, at times, feels as though its story is not about the destination, but the journey. Striking visuals are followed with long static scenes where the plot slows to a crawl in order to reinforce that narrative theme of isolation.

THX-1138 relies as much on sound as it does on image.

​That's one of the reasons to fall in love with the Director's Cut version of the film. The best basis for comparison is ELECTRONIC LABYRINTH: THX 1138 4EB, which is readily available on YouTube and was a good practice run for the feature film version. Some of it works really well, other elements leave you scratching your head. The original feature length film’s lack of availability make it hard for a genuine comparison, but, based on all reports, it falls somewhere between the short film and the 2004 version. 

In addition to Lucas's efforts, much of the the success of THX 1138 can be attributed to Walter Murch, who collaborated with Lucas on the screenplay and provided the 'sound montage', as its referred to in the credits. Murch has gone on to have an incredibly successful career and has worked on APOCALYPSE NOW and THE GODFATHER movies for Francis Ford Coppola. He has also won three Academy Awards for sound and film editing work including two for THE ENGLISH PATIENT in 1997. The 2004 version of THX-1138 brings together the very best of his sound work on the film and makes for an incredibly dense soundtrack. A great deal of the film’s exposition is provided by the background dialogue and sound effects which are uniquely assembled by Murch for the viewer to glean narrative themes and plot points. 

​THX 1138 is a wonderful piece of film making from a person who has his fair share of critics for his subsequent work; especially the 1999 to 2005 STAR WARS films. While some of its content may confound the casual viewer, THX 1138 is a genuine work of science fiction that genuinely postulates an alternative future for humanity, where our reliance on prescription drugs and automated technology has reduced our capacity to feel happiness, hope and, importantly, love.

THX 1138 (1971) USEFUL LINKS

THX 1138 - Wikipedia
​THX 1138 (1971) - IMDb
​THX 1138 (1971) - Rotten Tomatoes

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