THX 1138

• Co-Written and Directed by George Lucas (Directorial Debut)
• March 11, 1971
• Based on Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB by George Lucas

A man and a woman in a dystopian future rebel against their rigidly controlled society.

THX 1138-the film that essentially gave George Lucas is his start. And while a science-fiction film, it is completely different from his crowning achievement of Star Wars and quite different from his classic American Graffiti. After watching this I find myself curious what he could have given us if he stuck with directing over producing. What other unique visions could he have crafted?

In this film which started as Lucas’s 1967 student film Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB we get a very dystopian world not too uncommon in 70s science-fiction. This world is one of complete control and a distinct lack of free will. With the minimal sound and undifferentiated dress of much of a cast the film itself is bleak and exceedingly downbeat. The god that they pray to and confess their sins to is a machine intelligence run by the state known as OMM 0000 (voice of James Wheaton) who is visually represented by Hans Memling’s Christ Giving His Blessing from 1478. This is just weird!

There’s no warmth in this society. They are there to produce for the state and if they get hurt or injured it is really not that important. Citizens are drugged up and completely unaware of just how crappy and controlled their life is because they are given simple pleasures. Mere crumbs when they could have the whole cookie. This world seems insane but has a logic that makes sense. It’s what we fear the world is coming to and considering this came out in the early 70s it’s not a new fear.

It’s an all-powerful state that crushes free will and freethought and controls every aspect down of life down to sex. In fact, the title character of THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) has unauthorized sexual activity with his roommate LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie)-whom he has fallen in love with as much as he can anyway-in a rather weird moment that moves into voyeurism.

Donald Pleasance shows up in this as SEN 5241 and is a far cry from Dr. Loomis in the Halloween films or even his turn in The Great Escape. He’s one of the more animated and talkative individuals in this whole film. In that he stands out. Much like THX, SEN breaks the rules of the state. Unlike THX, his actions come off as a bit nefarious.

Now I did watch the George Lucas Director’s Cut and there looks to be some CGI added but nothing so out of place that it would greatly change anything. Instead in my opinion what we get helps to flesh out the world that Lucas created. He did nothing to CGI the big chase scene which is a mix of full scale as well as miniatures. Then again unless you’re really looking you will not see that it is.

But what really sells this movie is the resolution to the story. With increasing frequency, there are mentions of the expenditure to recapture THX 1138. And then there is the announcement the chase is about to go over budget and he is let go. That may seem silly but in a society purely driven by costs it is a perverted logic that works. Unlike one would expect THX 1138 doesn’t get the girl, nor does he overthrow a society. He survives and makes it to freedom.

I guess you could see this as not only freewill versus control but as capitalism versus another form. Not sure if that is socialism or communism. It is definitely an -ism though. Not only do the characters come out a bit different on the other side but there are things left to discuss. The inhabitants of this world accept life as it is without question so long as their minimal needs are met. Those rebelling generally get brought under a level of control and may even find ways to justify the situation while thinking they are standing against something. Compromise has left them hollow.

THX 1138 is a great piece of cinema with a uniquely executed vision of the future. It is weird and borders on the surreal and will keep you hooked until the end. A definite must watch!