The overall experience you get from the THX 1138 Directors Cut DVD is certainly a good insight to the mind-set and creativity of George Lucas. This futuristic film is one of the "must have" films around - even if you watch it just once.
The film itself is set in a stark, white-washed, micro-managed ... Read review
Robert Duvall is THX-1138 a humble worker in a soulless sprawling subterranean society ... more
where each person has a number not a name sex is outlawed and laws are enforced by constant surveillance and sinister silver faced androids. His discovery that ...
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A chilling exploration of the future is also a compelling examination of the present in ... more
George Lucas' THX 1138, starring Robert Duvall as a man whose mind and body are controlled by the government. THX makes a harrowing attempt to escape from a world w...
George Lucas's enigmatic feature film debut expands on a student film he made at USC. ... more
Created under the wing of producer Francis Ford Coppola, this movie is a bleak vision of a world in which technology, not man, is the ultimate dictator. Efficiency overrides every other aspect of human life, as people are reduced to code names and their lives are contained, monitored and manipulated for the sake of the system. Featuring unsettling performances by Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasance and Maggie McOmie,THX 1138does not attempt to explain how things became this way; rather, it utilises the alienation of its characters, the stifling white-on-white imagery of its sterilised society, and the claustrophobic, droning sound design to emphasise the dangers of a world reliant on soulless technology. Even though this is not a film one will want to take in repeatedly,THX 1138merits attention because it is that rare film that uses images and sounds--rather than relying heavily on dialogue--to communicate its dark prophecy. --Bryan Reesman
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Science Fiction - Director: Hiroyuki Yamaga - Original Language: Japanese - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Ayako Kawasumi, Fujiko Takimoto
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Advantages: Good bonus material on the DVD Disadvantages: Storyline of the film needs patience to follow it fully.
...experience you get from the THX 1138 Directors Cut DVD is certainly a good insight to the mind-set and creativity of George Lucas. This futuristic film is one of the "must have" films around - even if you watch it just once.
The film itself is set in a stark, white-washed, micro-managed land - where everything done is watched and scrutinised: what is watched on the entertainment system; what medicine you use and how much; ... ...routines, with the lead character, THX 1138 - yes, they have an insignia as their name - shown as working as a handler of radioactive materials, carefully monitored by Big Brother-esq controllers.
Within the environment these people inhabit, there are numerous "confessional" booths, which are automated - obviously showing that someone has the great idea of caring for people - but not too much.
The overall experience you get from the THX 1138 Directors Cut DVD is certainly a good insight to the mind-set and creativity of George Lucas. This futuristic film is one of the "must have" films around - even if you watch it just once.
The film itself is set in a stark, white-washed, micro-managed land - where everything done is watched and scrutinised: what is watched on the entertainment system; what medicine you use and how much; who you make love to - and when.
The shaven-head, nameless, populous go about their daily routines, with the lead character, THX 1138 - yes, they have an insignia as their name - shown as working as a handler of radioactive materials, carefully monitored by Big Brother-esq controllers.
Within the environment these people inhabit, there are numerous "confessional" booths, which are automated - obviously showing that someone has the great idea of caring for people - but not too much.
The "prison" where THX end's up can only really be described as "hell". A sheer vast white "field" as it where, where the captives are so far from anything else, they can only see white all around them. However, of course, the main character eventually escapes and liberates himself from this Orwellian nightmare.
The story itself is simple, yet complex and we find that this "utopia" is a façade, just as with other similar films, such as "Logans Run". Let's face it, there are a few similarities between the two films with the way the environments are, and how people are controlled.
With regards to the Director's Cut, there are some additional scenes and effects not in the original - obviously due to the advancements of technology, and that Lucas himself had gone on to create Star Wars.
The bonus features on the disc are well worth watching, especially for film enthusiasts, or anyone wanting to take steps into film making or production. It is amazing how complex the "simple" things seem.
Personally I enjoy watching this film from time-to-time, as it is unique and you always notice something new every time you watch it - no matter if it is how the people walk, the TV shows they watch, peoples physical gestures. For me, this is a truly artistic film and well worth getting.
Advantages: Light years ahead of the usual 1970s rubbish Disadvantages: What was the point - it is 1984
...Lucas University film submission of THX 1138 - al waffling intentionally warped picture of 15 minutes of movie.
3) An hour of documentary on Zoetrope - watch this before you watch the movie - you will at least understand the concepts and the context of the movie.
4) Effects pieces, etc
HMV price £19.99 for 2 discs - probably not really worth it, but it is a bit of cinema history although please someone do a true to the book re-make of 1984 instead. ...
coleecip 12.01.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of THX 1138 (Director's Cut) (DVD)
Advantages: Dark, Gripping, Thought-Provoking Disadvantages: Need to sit down and watch it - Only disadvantage I could think of!
...to mediate the film's impact. THX 1138 simply shows us a world. Take from it whatever moral you deem fit. This is a dimension with no unemployment and no pollution, but also no sun, no sky, no grass, no hope, no love. Industrial accidents that shred human bodies flash by in sound-bite form. The carnage is unfortunate, but if it does not affect us directly, who cares? Policemen are courteous robots with the personality of ATM machines. Every individual ... ...The awfulness of THX 1138 is so realistic, and so spared of temporal ideologies, that the movie is beautiful, even inspiring in the sheer purity of its horror. Some say that THX is risibly obscure, but consider that the password THX 1138 is used by millions today for their log-in names. An advanced calculator's brand name is based on it, along with, of course, Lucas' own "THX" sound system in countless movie theatres. One of Lucas' own cars even ...
cinerarium 22.06.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of THX 1138 (Director's Cut) (DVD)
Advantages: Interesting story line and revolutionary (for the time) Special Effects Disadvantages: Sort of artsy not for everyone
While many others have not seen this film I myself would rank it within some of my top movies. It is not something for everyone with a fairly artistic and sometimes confusing story line.For those trying to compare it to Star Wars I emplore you to simply forget that this is a George Lucas film, you really cannot compare the two or feel like one should be as good as another. I have always enjoyed early Sci fi films and looking at older special effects ... ...and Lucas's views for the future are quite intense and revolutionary. Some of his predictions are quite breathtaking as we have come to own and use some of the items which he describes in his film. The characters Lucas creates are excellent in their development and you can truly see who they are as people. ...
Jeffreys_16 20.07.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of THX 1138 (Director's Cut) (DVD)
A chilling drama set in a computer programmed, drug controlled, society in which one couple reduce their drug intake and set out to break all the rules. Based on a story by George Lucas.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
WARNER HOME VIDEO; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date
13/09/2004
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
D 011162
Barcode
7321900111621
Composer
Lalo Schifrin
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Commentary - 1. George Lucas (Co-writer, Director) and Walter Murch (co-writer, sound designer), Featurette - 1. Master Sessions with Walter Murch., 2. 'Bald' - Classic production featurette., 3. 'Electronic Labyrinth THX 11384EB' - Lucas' student film that inspired the movie., Documentary - 1. 'A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope', 2. 'Artifact from the Future: The Making of THX 1138', Original Theatrical Trailer, 'Theatre of Noise' - Isolated sound-effects track.
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround English
DVD Description
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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