THX 1138 is actually pretty darned good

It's funny that it took so long for me to watch this movie...

...but I'm glad I watched it now, because I'm pretty sure my 20s self wouldn't have appreciated it.

THX 1138 is George Lucas's first big Hollywood production and comes in two flavors. The original release and the 2004 Director's Cut.

Yes, this is the same George Lucas that did Star Wars.

1971

The fact this was released in '71 is what impresses me more than anything else. THX happened before Logan's Run and A Clockwork Orange.

Just to put this in further perspective, some other films released in '71 were Dirty Harry, Diamonds Are Forever and Le Mans. When THX was released, the closest thing to it was 2001: A Space Odyssey that happened 3 years earlier in '68.

Original theatrical release vs. Director's Cut

I purposely watched the original theatrical version first before Director's Cut. The difference between the two is that the original is what was put in theaters in 1971, and DC was the "enhanced" version released in 2004 that has a bunch of CG in it.

The dumbest thing about DC is the car chase scene, no question about it. It comes out of nowhere, doesn't fit at all and took me right out of the movie experience. But aside from that, most of the other changed stuff isn't all that bad. The best part of DC is obviously the cleaned up film. You can see a lot more in DC that you can't in OT.

Another thing about DC is that I got a better idea of what the story was about compared to OT. Granted, THX is not good on story, but I understood better what was going on with the DC version.

Actors that keep routinely showing up in movies I like

In both the 1954 BBC version and the 1956 full motion picture version of Nineteen Eighty-Four, David Pleasance was in it. He's in THX 1138 and was amazing as usual.

Robert Duvall is also in the movie as the lead character THX 1138. He's also three other movies I like, Network, Apocalypse Now and Thank You For Smoking.

Nineteen Eighty-Four heavy influence

I got a strong 1984 vibe from THX. And that's not a bad thing. It's more or less the same dystopian style future where everyone and everything is controlled by the state, except with a lot more futuristic stuff.

The two stories aren't the same. THX wasn't trying to be a carbon copy of 1984. But I could definitely tell it was strongly influenced by it.

Cops are cool in THX

Chrome Robots are the cops in THX, but the interesting thing is that they're almost cute and lovable at times. They're somewhat dopey, and the children in the movie aren't even afraid of them. Some of the lines they say are just outright funny. An example is when THX 1138 purposely locks them out of a room, and one of the robots says, "The door seems to be jammed. Please check the lock on your side."

A good boring

What prompted me to finally watch this movie is that I was hearing someone talk about it on a live stream, and he described THX as "a good boring"; he meant this in a complimentary way. Some movies are boring and bad, but said this movie was boring and good. And he was right.

I consider this a better watch than 2001, because that movie is a genuine chore to get through. THX is a good movie to kick back and relax to. And with the OT version I did get immersed in the world the movie presented to me. With the DC version, it's broken with all that CG garbage. But with OT, it's a genuinely good sci-fi movie. Pacing is a bit weird, and it can get boring. But it's a good boring.

Published 2018 Feb 19