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THX 1138
on DVD (1970)
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Brief synopsis of THX 1138
In George Lucas's fascinating feature debut (based on his short student film), the young director creates a futuristic, underground world in which bald, dronelike workers are forced to take drugs to regulate their moods and stifle their libidos. THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) and his mate, LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie), are factory workers, building the robotic police that keep order in their stark world. The soundtrack to their lives is a news service that continually lists information about factory accidents, as well as sex and drug crimes, ala George Orwell's 1984. There are electronic confessionals for workers to admit to mistakes they've made, and THX uses these outlets to express his unhappiness with his life. When LUH decides she and THX should stop taking their medication, their sense of humanity--and their desire and love for each other as a couple--is unleashed. It's not long, however, before they are imprisoned for this crime, and LUH learns then that she is pregnant. Separated, THX embarks on a journey to find her with the help of rebel SEN (Donald Pleasence) and hologram SRT (Don Pedro Colley), eventually attempting escape to the outside world. Combining complex editing and sound techniques with brilliantly subtle performances, THX 1138 is a little-known and vastly underrated sci-fi masterpiece. In an eerily prophetic moment, Lucas also predicts what people will be watching on TV in this future--news, sexually explicit films, and vapid comedy shows.
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All DVDs in this series
THX 1138 - Feature
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THX 1138 - Bonus Features
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Related
Critics Reviews
Radio Times
The debut feature from Star Wars maestro George Lucas is a bleak, claustrophobic affair which is light years away from the straightforward heroics of Luke Skywalker and co. The always excellent Robert Duvall takes the title role as a man quietly rebelling against a repressive world where everyone has to have Yul Brynner haircuts, and the police are as frighteningly bland as a McDonald's assistant. The obtuse script doesn't help, but it looks wonderful and Lucas conjures up a genuinely chilling air. Executive producer is none other than Francis Ford Coppola, made under the banner of his Zoetrope production company.
Time Out
Lucas' first film, a reworking of 1984 set in a computer-controlled future world where THX 1138 (Duvall) becomes an...
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Halliwell's Film Guide
Orwellian science fiction; a thoughtful, rather cold affair which is always good to look at.
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