Awesome Movie

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

In this extremely grim, but in some ways prophetic movie set in a dystopian future where people have no names, live underground and are kept drugged by the government, the totalitarian big brother keeps an eye on everyone, while keeping total control of their lives. A really dark, humorless, depressing movie, it's also intelligent and well worth seeing.

Everyone knows why George Lucas is a larger than life figure in pop culture. His creation of the Star Wars universe on film and subsequently the franchise has made him almost a mythic figure. But before achieving the unprecedented love from the masses, Lucas actually had already garnered acclaim in the critic circles. THX 1138 is effectively the first film that brought him some sort of recognition.'Abstract Intellectualism' is the phrase that I'll use to describe the film because Lucas explores many philosophical as well as social relevant ideas, but does so in a very abstract and unconventional way. THX 1138 is clearly a product of the America dealing with McCarthyism and then Nixon's reign as president and Lucas has admitted that. The film was supposed to be an indictment on the manner in which a large portion of American population was being forced to live under fear due to their beliefs leading to encroachment of human rights. These issues do get addressed in the film. Mindless consumerism is also something that Lucas hints at. The film is set in a dystopian future. The concept of a dystopian future where people are living miserably in totalitarian societies and dictatorships isn't something that we are unfamiliar with. This particular concept has been used in many works of literature and film like 1984, Metropolis, Fahrenheit 451, Blade Runner,etc. The intrusion of privacy, the idea of love and sex being made illegal,etc. are very reminiscent of Orwell's 1984. The very distant and detached style of filmmaking is lightly reminiscent of Blade Runner. But the film that this detached and abstract style of filmmaking strongly reminded me of is Yorgos Lanthimos' 'Dogtooth'. In both THX 1138 and Dogtooth, the main characters remain detached from the audience and we don't get to know much about them. In both the films the main characters are expected to obey and conform to beliefs and rules that are pre-established. In both the films the primary theme is the desire to break out of the symbolic prison.I have established that THX 1138 does have similarities with other pieces of work. But Lucas distinguishes his philosophical content from the works that I mentioned by not having a distinct villain. In 1984 there is Big Brother, in Blade Runner there is Tyrell, in V for Vendetta there is Adam Susan. Even in 'Dogtooth' the father can be seen as the wicked figure of authority. But in THX 1138 there is no personification of a villain. Lucas implies that the villain is the society itself. The villain lies in the minds of the people. While watching the film I was constantly thinking that the robotic guards in the film looked very feeble and not intimidating enough and I thought that maybe this was a weakness of the film. But after watching the film and on subsequent analysis it hit me that it was never Lucas' intention to portray these guards as huge all conquering intimidating figures. They were intentionally made to look not challenging enough to show that the establishment and the state is actually nowhere near as powerful as the ordinary people think them to be. They are fallible. The world that THX 1138 lives in is situated underground. What lies above is unknown. My interpretation is that after some catastrophe that took place on the surface, the remaining population retreated underground and created their own society which gradually became a totalitarian one leading to people being denied their human rights. But over the years the ordinary masses became accustomed to this way of life and their reluctance to break out and the fear of the unknown above the surface have made the ordinary people avoid protesting and have made them contented with the life that they are allowed to lead. THX 1138 is a very ordinary human being who does only one thing different to the others in the society. He decides to rebel and not conform as he comes to the conclusion that breaking out of this underground prison and confronting whatever that's on the surface is better than living this rotten meaningless life without any feelings.The screenplay was written by Lucas and Walter Murch based on an idea from Matthew Robbins. Although the dialogue of the screenplay plays a role in the film, but what makes it work is Lucas' visual style of creating this uncomfortable, claustrophobic environment coupled with Murch's bizarrely incredible sound mixing. The editing in the film can at times be a bit jarring specially during a sex scene reminiscent of the jumpy editing in Godard's 'Breathless', but I think in a thematic way it made sense. The look of the film is very unique. There are lengthy scenes where characters find themselves in white nothingness and it looks quite amazing. Some of these shots reminded me of 'Under the Skin'. The very last shot of the film is absolutely brilliant and very reminiscent of the shot of the binary sun in Episode IV.The acting is good from everyone. The actors needed to be extremely understated and somewhat non-demonstrative. Robert Duvall and Donald Pleasence are actors that I already knew and loved. So the fact that they are good in the film is not a surprise. The actor that surprised me was Maggie McOmie who plays LUH. She is not someone I was familiar with before watching this film but she really impressed me. Her eyes express this pure and inherent sense of pain and sorrow which was essential for the role and the story. In a way, in the context of the story, LUH is the most important character and McOmie deserves praise for her performance.THX 1138 is a unique film exhibiting George Lucas' philosophical ideas and opinions. The subject is still socially relevant. The theme of breaking out and showing the guts to explore what's beyond the bubble of safety also found its place in Lucas' next film 'American Graffiti'.

NOTE: This film was recommended to me by Dennis Brian for "Steve Pulaski Sees It." George Lucas's directorial debut THX 1138 proves one major thing in its concise, eighty-eight minute runtime, and that is that a science-fiction film doesn't need to extend past two hours in order to be thoughtful or contemplative. It's all about what a writer/director is willing to convey during its runtime, and whether or not he or she wants to leave the audience with a rich interpretation or a rather lean one. THX 1138 manages to eek out ideas of what it want kind of ideas and themes it wants to leave with its audience, and those ideas question how elaborate and unforeseen the consequences will be for a futuristic dystopia where any emotions that aren't computerized are prohibited, leaving humans and humanoids incapable, or worse, strictly forbidden, from thinking and feeling.THX 1138 takes place in an undetermined time in the future where sex of any kind is prohibited, and a drug that alters the mind in ways that try to prevent sexual urges is distributed amongst society and made mandatory by the government. Emotions of any kind, as well as family identification are all taboos in this world, and everyone looks the same, boasting an all-white uniform with shaved heads. People are kept in line by a series of police humanoids that come cloaked in black and silver and unafraid to use blunt force on its people.Social norms and conformity are enforced by two individuals, SEN 5241 (Donald Pleasence) and LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie), who monitor a series of surveillance cameras on the city. LUH lives with a male roommate, THX 1138 (Robert Duvall), who works in a factory that creates the same police androids that are watching over the land. THX learns that his workplace is celebrating a record low 195 worker deaths in the last period, which is significantly lower than another factory's 242. It is then that we see what this world is really about: high productivity, few accidents, and a faux idea of happiness so the two former features can commence uninterrupted or with few snags.Things start taking a turn for the worse for this futuristic land when THX and LUH become romantically involved, specifically when THX's drug dosage gets mixed up and his ability to feel aroused, empathetic, and passion are all restored in his mind. The two wind up carrying out a forbidden relationship that sends this society into a complete meltdown; as a result, the hunt is on for THX to force him to either comply with the lack of emotional tolerance in his community or simply be tried and eventually executed for his so-called crimes.I'll be blunt and say that I had to thoroughly read the synopsis of THX 1138 upon finishing it. This is one of the few films that I can remember that had me almost completely and totally lost throughout the entire runtime that I needed secondary sources to inform me what was going on and what I had just witnessed. In the case of films by subversive directors, like Orson Welles, or in a modern sense, Christopher Nolan, that kind of narrative ambiguity is expected and welcomed. For Lucas's directorial debut, it comes off as murky and unclear, not necessarily because THX 1138 finds itself functioning largely as a stylistic exercise, but because it is so void of style and color.Lucas favors backdrops that are whiter than porcelain, with characters in all-white jumpsuits that practically melt into the background, leaving only what appear to be scalps floating in the foreground. Dialog is written in a jumbled, jargon-heavy manner, making conversations between characters unclear and confusing most of the time, and characters are as bland and as non-existent as they come. Obviously, these were conscious decisions made on part of Lucas, who wanted to create this very broad, basic environment where everything we've come to know and accept as people was subtracted and replaced with eternal nothingness. This is an admirable concept, but the execution here leaves a lot to be desired and feels self-defeating.When characters, thoughtful conversations, and major events are substituted for a lost of aimless wandering and conversing, regardless of the themes the picture is trying to convey, the act of watching such a thing inherently promotes a disconnect amongst the audience. When audiences feel disconnected or alienated, they generally lose interest or don't pay attention, and that is precisely what happened to me during most of THX 1138. I can admire the ambition in scope and idealism from a young Lucas, who would go and craft Star Wars just six years later and start another beast that was just waiting to be dissected and embraced by similar fans of THX 1138, but this is a film that almost entirely escaped me from start to finish.Starring: Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, and Maggic McOmie. Directed by: George Lucas.

In a dystopian future, people are controlled in every aspect of their lives with the use of drugs and technology. THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) is paired with LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie). LUH replaces their drugs and they start to feel for each other. SEN 5241 (Donald Pleasence) takes LUH away from him. THX turns SEN in for his illegal shifting. THX is struggling at work and they place a mindblock on him. THX is sent to holding. LUH tells THX that she got pregnant. THX is joined by SEN while imprisoned. They escape with the help of SRT who turns out to be a hologram.The version I saw was remastered by George Lucas. The obvious CGI does take away from the sense of 70s sci-fi. It's got interesting style and a compelling premise. The story is a little muddled and it needs to be more of a driven thriller. Duvall and Pleasence should stick together. When they split up, some of the tension is lost. The premise works but the story needs a little bit more work.