THX 1138

This movie has been seen by most film buffs many, many years ago on late night TV. If you are like me, it was an interesting film purely as a reference point for a young George Lucas. If you remembered it at all, it was for the use of white space and the long periods during which almost nothing discernible happens.

Well, it is almost 35 years later (35 YEARS!) and for reasons best known to film and DVD marketers, George Lucas has pulled it out of the vaults. Instead of just transferring the original print to new film stock, Lucas has re-cut several critical scenes; added a tasteful bit of CGI; zipped up the sound track and film score; and, best of all, turned it into the best reason yet for digital projection. Whether this is the original version he had in his head as a 26-year-old or one that he has fleshed out over the years is sort of beside the point. What is on the screen now is definitely worth your $10.

Yes, it is still a bit tedious at times (in a '2001: A Space Odyssey' kind of way) and, yes, the plot holes and infamous continuity issues are still there.

But, Wow! The plot is a weird stew in which an allegorical Adam and Eve story is crossed with 'Brave New World.' (The Catholic act of confession will never be the same after you see it re-imagined here.) The crystal clear cinematography is a revelation. The characters' multiple layers are wonderful. Donald Pleasence's performance as the would-be leader/rebel is downright creepy. The way the camera lingers on a scene rather than quick cutting for effect is a welcome relief. This is adult subject matter and it is not what you expect out of Lucas. You have to ask why he didn't pursue themes like this in later films. (Who knows, maybe the upcoming Darth Vader fest will return us to the dark side.)

Be forewarned, this is not a casual film that you can sit back and munch popcorn while it plays out in front of you. This is definitely art-house fare by a young director finding his chops.

Many of the message boards and most of the reviews of this film point out how many elements carry over to later Lucas films. (C3PO, the climactic chase scene, drones in service to masters, etc.) For me, the touchstone is not for Lucas, but for the Executive Producer, Francis Ford Coppola. Many of the themes explored in THX show up in Coppola's 'The Conversation' three years later. Gene Hackman's Harry Caul character is a clone of Robert Duvall's loner forced to confront a faceless progenitor. See if you don't agree.

Though they are releasing the film to theaters ahead of the DVD release, the place to see it is in a theater with digital projection. Similar to 'Lawrence of Arabia,' much of the action takes place in the far corners of the scene and I can't imagine seeing this on anything less than a very large HDTV screen.

Nameless man lives in an oppressive future society where behavior is controlled by mandatory drugs. Minimal budget, acting, dialog and special effects more than compensated by astute direction and soundtrack integration. Superior to "ZPG" (1972) and "Logan's Run" (1976). Viewers may also enjoy "Gattaca" (1997). (Rating: A-minus)

George Lucas has a fairly small body of work, as a director; and most of it is fairly simplistic, except this film. Lucas' first feature is steeped in the French New Wave mode of philosophical musings and strange visuals. Unfortunately, that doesn't necessarily make for an exciting film. However, there are enough intriguing ideas to sustain some interest, although you do have to fight off the boredom factor.

Lucas is, and has always been, a visual filmmaker. He is not great with actors and his films aren't noted for their performances, except American Graffiti. That was a more personal film, and Lucas probably had a clearer idea of the characters thoughts and emotions. Here, emotions are stifled by drugs and the wooden performances reinforce this.

According to Lucas, the film is the story of escape, told in three different forms: an escape from the drugs that keep people in check, an escape from a prison with no visible barriers, and an escape from the city itself. The final sequence contains most of the action, but is marred by the budget constraints.

Robert Duvall commands attention when he is on screen, but you never really feel like you get to know THX. Donald Pleasance, as SEN, provides a nice turn as the antagonist, of sorts. The rest of the cast is fairly forgettable, with only minor moments. The philosophical underpinnings of the film are often lost in pretension, the same flaw which hit the Matrix in its sequels. Lucas could have delivered his message in a far simpler fashion, probably with greater result. Still, the film does have its interesting moments and memorable ideas and images. The robot police are quite chilling, although they are used sparingly. The white prison is quite unsettling as well. The final escape is the most riveting sequence of the film.

The new DVD has Lucas' trademark tinkering. Only this time, the alterations help to add scope to the film. The city scenes are expanded to add complexity to the environment that was missing in the original. There are no fundamental story changes, as in the Star Wars Special Edition (Greedo shoots first). The commentary and featurettes help the viewer to understand the intent of the story and help to establish the context in which it was made. Lucas makes a statement that he would like to return to this kind of film. Given the disappointing nature of the Star Wars prequels, I wouldn't mind seeing Lucas take another crack at a more cerebral sci-fi story. My only request is that he works with a great scriptwriter.

===EDIT: The following review was written before I knew the extent of the cgi doctoring that Lucas added recently. These are the "cheap action scenes" I'm talking about below. If you can find a copy of the original undoctored THX-1138, that's the one to watch.===

Aw man. This film had so much promise. It starts out abstract, minimalist, challenging and poetic. It gets deeper, more bizarre and artistic. But then it suddenly degenerates into a cheap action flick with hi-tech car chases, and it ends with the most simplistic, meaningless resolution. Total letdown.

It's as if Hamlet's famous soliloquy went:

"To be, or not to be: that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows... and CARS! and MOTORCYCLES! and fast whizzy things BAM!! The End!!!!"

I suspect that Lucas began this film with a fantastic premise & with artistic intent, but then he suddenly realized "hey wait, I don't know what I'm doing. How do I end this damn thing?" True, it's an interesting dystopian drama. George must've been reading a lot of Kurt Vonnegut when he filmed this. Yes, it's very much in the style of 2001: A Space Odyssey. George must've been watching a lot of Kubrick. But that's where it ends. George fails to present anything original. And as it unravels into a simplistic action flick in the last 20 minutes, you realize that George has been fooling you for the last hour and a half. Literally, it ended, and I said out loud, "Uh... is this where Lucas got bored and stopped filming?"

Still, I have to give him an "A" for effort. Like most of the other reviewers, I was blown away by the fact that George Lucas was capable of this type of abstract poetry. With the exception of those cheezy action scenes (which I'm sure Lucas added ex post facto, like he did with Star Wars + CGI) it is reminiscent of the old Michael Crichton films (Andromeda Strain, Westworld) with maybe a dash of Rollerball.

The early 70s was a wonderful time for scifi, because all the directors were scrambling to emulate Kubrick's masterpiece. But like this film, the effort ran out of gas and eventually slumped into plot-driven cheese. What is so frustrating is that Lucas could have made something truly great if he had just followed up on Donald Pleasence's cryptic ramblings midway. Unfortunately, he chose to go in the other direction, and the film ends with no dialogue for the last 20 minutes. Instead we get a lot of (ex post facto CGI) special effects and chase scenes. What a shame. We literally see before our eyes the unfortunate turning point of Lucas' career.

In space, sometimes a nebula--for all its swirling promise--never quite consolidates itself into a star. This movie, like Lucas, like the failed nebula, is the big one that got away.

P.S. George, if you're listening, please stop adding "new" special effects to the old films! You're not impressing anyone. You & Ted Turner both...

The first big screen commercial film of George Lucas 'THX 1138' is now back in a re-made production. I did not yet form a clear opinion about directors re-visiting their films decades after the original production. It's certainly their right to do it, but I cannot refrain from suspecting that this shows some sort of dilution of their creative force. In other words, I would rather prefer George Lucas doing something completely new, rather then re-doing old films of his.

However, 'THX 1138' is a visionary movie, almost a masterpiece. I liked it. It is one of the first Orwellian films in describing a world of the future controlled by an omni-present mind-control machine. These theme means a lot of me, and for many people who have spent part of their lives in a system that tried to create 'a new man' by using a system of control and repression that was targeting towards suppression of individual freedom and personality. What is however very strong in 'THX 1138' is the visual quality of the world created by Lucas. This is what cinema is for, this is what real art is about - creating a new world from existing materials, transporting the viewers in an alternate world of the future using the cinema art means. Although realized about 20 years before computer graphics in films, the vision is fresh and impressing.

An ageless Robert Duvall does here one of the best roles of his career. Donald Pleasance is a very good counter-part. I liked very much Maggie McOmie, how does it come that this film did not launch her in a star career? It actually looks like this is the only film she did, according to IMDb.

The extra features on the DVD are interesting and bring a lot of new information for fans of science fiction, of the 70s films and of Lucas. The film itself gets 9 out of 10 on my personal scale.