THX 1138: Director’s Cut (1971, George Lucas)

THX 1138 is the film that began George Lucas’ film career. It is also the film of his that I think benefits more from multiple viewings. The more I watch it, the more I like it. While the narrative is a little too derivative for comfort – it is a essentially George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four with 1970s sensibilities – the film is a technical marvel.

The simple storyline takes backseat to the ingenious visuals and innovative sound designed (by sound guru Walter Murch). It is a true anomaly ; a Hollywood-produced film that is both avant-garde and noncommercial. It is not Lucas’ best movie but it is his riskier. Lucas’ edited the film brilliantly. Murch’s sound effects are a textbook on how sound can reinforce the main themes of a film. Lalo Schifrin’s simple yet appropriately off-putting music score is very effective.

The small but excellent cast includes Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, and Sid Haig. In 2004, Lucas added new special effects and with one notable exception – the mutants near the end of the film – the new effects are cleverly integrated into the movie. It was produced by Francis Ford Coppola’s production company American Zoetrope.