THX 1138 (1971)

In the twenty-fifth century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly controlled society.

Director:

George Lucas

Writers:

George Lucas (story by), George Lucas (screenplay by)

Stars:

Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Don Pedro Colley

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Duvall	...	THX
Donald Pleasence	...	SEN
Don Pedro Colley	...	SRT
Maggie McOmie	...	LUH
Ian Wolfe	...	PTO
Marshall Efron	...	TWA
Sid Haig	...	NCH
John Pearce	...	DWY
Irene Cagen	...	IMM (as Irene Forrest)
Gary Alan Marsh	...	CAM
John Seaton	...	OUE
Eugene I. Stillman	...	JOT
Jack Walsh	...	TRG (as Raymond J. Walsh)
Mark Lawhead	...	Shell Dweller
Robert Feero	...	Chrome Robot

Storyline

It's sometime in the future in a state controlled society, where conformity and homogeneity are the rule. What is also the rule is that the populace follows the wants of the faceless state without question. How this is achieved is through a mandatory drug regimen, which also suppresses human desire, with sexual intercourse and human relationships banned. The law of the state is policed by a force of robocops. The physical environment is totally within a manufactured enclosure, what being outside of this unknown. THX 1138 is a loyal subject, he who goes about his business as a skilled factory working building robocops. And even when he begins to have strange feelings, he does what is obliged by going to the state run confessional, which further brainwashes through its reinforced mantra of happiness, loyalty and understanding. THX 1138 is given a glimpse into the other side through his computer matched and thus appointed female roommate, LUH 3417, and her surveillance colleague SEN 5241...

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | psychotronic film | drugs | escape | factory | 

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Taglines:

Visit the future where love is the ultimate crime.

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 March 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

THX-1138

Filming Locations:

One Maritime Plaza, Financial District, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$777,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,437,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,437,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Zoetrope, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min 88 min (director's cut) 81 min (1971 Studio Theatrical Cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the final sequence, in which THX is climbing up to the surface, it is a simple perspective trick. It is not a ladder, but rebar embedded in concrete. The cast members are crawling along a horizontal surface. By tilting the camera to appropriate angles, it appears that the characters are climbing upward.

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Goofs

At the end of the car chase, the view from within the car shows it sliding into the scaffolding and the right side of the car hitting first. But the next shot from outside the car shows the car sliding into the scaffolding with the left side of it hitting the scaffolding first.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Male voice (medicine cabinet): What's wrong?
THX 1138: Nothing. Nothing really. I just feel that I need something stronger.
Male voice (medicine cabinet): If you have a problem, don't hesitate to ask for assistance.
THX 1138: Yes, thank you, I'll be alright.
Male voice (medicine cabinet): Call 3485...

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Crazy Credits

Credits roll down instead of up.

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Alternate Versions

There are technically three versions of this movie: 1. The 1971 Warner Bros. Studio Theatrical Cut. Warner Bros in house cut 4 minutes from the film. This version has not been released on any home media. 2. The 1970/1977 Restored Version which is the version originally cut by the director prior to Warner Bros. cutting it for its 1971 theatrical release. This was finally released in 1977 following the success of "Star Wars" and later released on VHS and laserdisc releases. 3. The 2004 George Lucas Director's Cut with many scenes improved using CGI and some new shots added in following extensive work done by George Lucas and THX in 2003/2004. This was later released on all DVD and Blu-ray releases.

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Connections

Referenced in Cyber Tracker (1994)

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Soundtracks

St. Matthew Passion
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach

User Reviews

Pretentious and bad

Wow. Who knew that George Lucas, the king of Saturday matinée action movies, could make such pompous pap? This awful movie is everything I hate about bad science fiction: it's pretentious, it makes inane attempts at social commentary, and worst of all, its world is uninteresting and makes no sense. It's just painful to watch. (In fact, sometimes it is literally painful to watch, as throughout most of the film, every character is dressed in white, standing in front of white walls. My eyes were sore.)

The plot is the standard sci-fi refugee story. The hero, THX 1138, chafes against his oppressive society, then decides to flee, meeting other weirdos along the way. Meanwhile, robot cops who look and move like dancers from a Kraftwerk video try to catch him.

That is all you will remember about this film. Most of the time, ancillary characters are pontificating about society's laws, the nature of society, the importance of coriander in a good fish taco, blah blah blah. Never once are we really given a reason to care about any of this. Beyond that, the film consists of... well, that's it, really.

Except for the Ferrari 330P4 that was used as a prop in one scene, I enjoyed nothing about this movie. It was a pretentious version of "Logan's Run." It was a high tech B-movie based on Ayn Rand's "Anthem." Unless you are a Star Wars geek, avoid.