Tron (1982)

A computer hacker is abducted into the digital world and forced to participate in gladiatorial games where his only chance of escape is with the help of a heroic security program.

Director:

Steven Lisberger

Writers:

Steven Lisberger (screenplay), Steven Lisberger (story)

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Kevin Flynn / Clu
Bruce Boxleitner	...	Alan Bradley / Tron
David Warner	...	Ed Dillinger / Sark / Master Control Program
Cindy Morgan	...	Lora / Yori
Barnard Hughes	...	Dr. Walter Gibbs / Dumont
Dan Shor	...	Ram / Popcorn Co-Worker
Peter Jurasik	...	Crom
Tony Stephano	...	Peter / Sark's Lieutenant
Craig Chudy	...	Warrior #1
Vince Deadrick Jr.	...	Warrior #2 (as Vince Deadrick)
Sam Schatz	...	Expert Disc Warrior
Jackson Bostwick	...	Head Guard
David S. Cass Sr.	...	Factory Guard (as Dave Cass)
Gerald Berns	...	Guard #1
Bob Neill	...	Guard #2

Storyline

Hacker/arcade owner Kevin Flynn is digitally broken down into a data stream by a villainous software pirate known as Master Control and reconstituted into the internal, 3-D graphical world of computers. It is there, in the ultimate blazingly colorful, geometrically intense landscapes of cyberspace, that Flynn joins forces with Tron to outmaneuver the Master Control Program that holds them captive in the equivalent of a gigantic, infinitely challenging computer game.

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Plot Keywords:

computer | arcade | computer hacker | security | escape | 

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Taglines:

Trapped inside an electronic arena, where love, and escape, do not compute!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Disney's Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1982 (France)

Also Known As:

Tron

Filming Locations:

1150 S Olive St, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$33,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions, Lisberger/Kushner

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many Disney animators refused to work on this movie because they feared that computers would put them out of business. In fact, 22 years later Disney closed its hand-drawn animation studio in favor of CGI animation. Hand-drawn animation was ultimately resumed at Disney at the behest of new creative director John Lasseter, also head of Pixar- ironically a computer animation company.

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Goofs

When Alan walks to Dillinger's office at the beginning, the sounds of the footsteps do not match Alan's steps.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Boy in Video Game Arcade: All right, give me room. Here we go.

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Crazy Credits

A section of the end credits is in Taiwanese.

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Connections

Referenced in The Soup: Episode #12.48 (2015)

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Soundtracks

1990s Theme
Written and Performed by Journey

User Reviews

Tron works

For the average viewer, 'Tron' is a puzzling film. The language is loaded with jargon, the world experienced by Clu and Tron (inside the computer) appears strange, forbidding and two-dimensional. It is a world that seems to work though, but how does the human Clu instantly know how to adjust to its peculiarities?

Viewers have come to expect that techno-babble jargon in SciFi flicks is completely meaningless. That isn't entirely the case for 'Tron', much of it is firmly based in computing. Even more importantly, this strange world Clu and Tron inhabit is equally firmly based on the way computer operating systems work, and that is the reason why Clu (in real live a computer hacker) knows how to handle it.

Using this world as the basis for a movie was pretty audacious, especially in 1982. Thankfully, the writers did not compromise on their idea, and consequently the film not only worked but it stood the test of time.

'Tron' works, because computers work.