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
Stuart Thomas	...	Peter / Sark's Lieutenant (as Tony Stephano)
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:

arcade | computer | computer hacker | cyberspace | computer program | 

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Taglines:

A world inside the computer where man has never been. Never before now.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although now regarded as a special effects milestone, in truth only about 20 minutes of TRON (1982) consists of its highly influential animation techniques.

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Goofs

When Alan leaves his cubicle to see Dillinger (after he finds the Tron program unavailable), the line between the built set and the matte painting of the cubicles moves distinctly (clearly visible on the DVD).

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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

There are no opening credits, save for the production companies (and the opening prologue in the English language foriegn version.) For the title, a pair of lightning bolts flare, forming a brilliant point of light, where various parts coalesce to form a human figure. The point of light flares, revealing the title TRON, which an electric point of light shimmering in the "O". The title TRON rushes toward the camera, rotating around the "O", and as the title gets closer, a landscape of three dimensional circuitry appears within the letters themselves. As the camera dives in, it levels off, and the circuitry turns into the lights of a cityscape, dissolving into the establishing shot of the arcade.

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Alternate Versions

Some non-USA versions of the film have a brief prologue of text explaining the difference between the computer world and the real world right before the starting credits.

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Connections

Referenced in South Park: The Tooth Fairy's Tats 2000 (2000)

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Soundtracks

Only Solutions
Written and Performed by Journey

User Reviews

Poetical cyberadventure

Excuse me, but : wow ! I feel sorry for those who are disillusioned, but Tron (1982) is nothing to me but pure magic ! A poetical "cyberadventure" where the cyber world is a methaphorical representation of the "real" one. And to think that those images were produced, and more unbelievable, imagined, in the early eighties ! OK, by today's standards, it might not look so impressive to some viewers, but still... And the imagination behind that movie, those graphics : wonderful ! I wish to be yet surprised by unexpected ideas such as Tron. And I am not necessarily thinking about a sequel : just surprise me ! Tron (1982) : a classic of the 7th art !

Eric Quebec, Canada

P.S.: Excuse my English, I am French-Canadian.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 July 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

TRON: The Original Classic

Filming Locations:

Stage 4, Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,761,795, 11 July 1982

Gross USA:

$33,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$33,000,000

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:

2.20 : 1