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THX 1138 (The George Lucas Director's Cut)
 
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THX 1138 (The George Lucas Director's Cut) (1971)

Starring: Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence Director: George Lucas Rating: R (Restricted) Format: DVD
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)

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Customers buy this DVD with Fahrenheit 451 DVD ~ Oskar Werner

THX 1138 (The George Lucas Director's Cut) + Fahrenheit 451
  • This item: THX 1138 (The George Lucas Director's Cut) DVD ~ Robert Duvall

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

THX 1138 (The George Lucas Director's Cut)
61% buy the item featured on this page:
THX 1138 (The George Lucas Director's Cut) 4.0 out of 5 stars (58)
$17.99
THX 1138 - The Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)
29% buy
THX 1138 - The Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) 3.9 out of 5 stars (132)
$20.49
Logan's Run
4% buy
Logan's Run 4.1 out of 5 stars (207)
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Product Details


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

George Lucas's enigmatic feature film debut expands on a student film he made at USC. Created under the wing of producer Francis Ford Coppola, this movie is a bleak vision of a world in which technology, not man, is the ultimate dictator. Efficiency overrides every other aspect of human life, as people are reduced to code names and their lives are contained, monitored, and manipulated for the sake of the system. Featuring unsettling performances by Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasance, and Maggie McOmie, THX 1138 does not attempt to explain how things became this way; rather, it utilizes the alienation of its characters, the stifling white-on-white imagery of its sterilized society, and the claustrophobic, droning sound design to emphasize the dangers of a world reliant on soulless technology. Even though this is not a film one will want to take in repeatedly, THX 1138 merits attention because it is that rare film that uses images and sounds--rather than relying heavily on dialogue--to communicate its dark prophecy. --Bryan Reesman


Product Description

* Digitally remastered with THX certified sound
* Commentary by George Lucas and co-writer/sound effects editor Walter Murch

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58 Reviews
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 (13)
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (58 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Old School Lucas, June 22, 2001
This review is from: Thx1138 (Thx) [VHS] (VHS Tape)
George Lucas's debut Based on his award-winning student short, feature cerebrally celebrates the possibility for individual freedom against all odds. In a 1984-esque white-washed future underground dystopia where sexuality is banned, all humans sport shaved heads and the same shapeless outfits as they go about their work in a mandated state of sedation, listening to exhortations to "Buy and Be Happy." Black-clad robot cops chant a mantra to their victims that "everything will be all right" and automated confessional booths emit soothing therapeutic bromides. But unbeknownst to THX 1138 (Robert Duvall), his roommate LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie) has been reducing their meds, resulting in their mutual discovery of love and THX's subsequent imprisonment for drug evasion and sexual misconduct. Determined to find the pregnant LUH, THX breaks out of prison with the help of his cellmate SEN 5241 (Donald Pleasence) and an escaped TV hologram (Don Pedro Colley). With fugitive pursuits strictly budgeted, THX only has to evade the robocops until the funds run out, but surveillance is omnipresent and THX's vehicle keeps overheating. Making the only film produced through the first incarnation of Francis Ford Coppola's independent studio American Zoetrope, Lucas and his small crew, including co-writer and sound editor Walter Murch, shot THX 1138 in northern California with no interference from distributor Warner Bros. When Warners saw the austere result, however, they recut the film before its release. Neither the studio's nor Lucas's cut was a popular success, but THX 1138's coolly minimalist style and story-telling gained fans on the college screening circuit, just as Stanley Kubrick's poetic 2001: A Space Odyssey had attracted a large youth audience in 1968. When Lucas returned to sci-fi after American Graffiti, he traded restraint for nostalgic fun in the film that guaranteed his creative freedom!
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52 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars THX 1138 - Sound the missing dimension, November 24, 1999
By alan fortune (Coventry UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Thx1138 (Thx) [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Much ignored by many reviewers, this film (THX 1138) has a ground breaking soundtrack. Assembled and Edited by Walter Murch (the Conversation), the constant babble of an electronic, cybernetic society, creates an audio montage that greatly enhances George Lucas' excellent first full production movie.

THX was started as a student project and subsequently turned into a full movie with the production assistance of Francis Coppola.

I originally came across this film on late night TV in 1977. Obviously, there were no videos then, but I had an audio cassette recorder connected to my tv, so for many years I had only an audio copy of the film. Clearly this has caused me to focus on the sound of the movie. If you have your tv or video connected to your HiFi (if not why not?) play the video with your HiFi on at a decent (cinema) level. You won't be disapponted by the cyberbabble - 'make the correction THX!'.

Is our society going the same way as Lucas' vision? Next time you're in a shopping mall, think of this video and 'buy more now, buy more and ...be happy'.

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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars New scenes destroy integrity of a classic, September 8, 2005
George Lucas' film of a stark data-based future was a very poignant commentary as well as advanced filmmaking. The issues that the film brought up are just as relevant today if not more so, and the original film was a great piece of filmmaking from both an artistic and technical perspective.
However, the injection of new CGI scenes, which do not match the original film whatsoever, destroy the integrity and potency of this once classic. Although some of it is subtle, there are a lot of obvious scenes and CGI backgrounds, editing, and even characters.
Unlike films of the same era with similar themes (such as Logan's Run) which exude 'cheesiness' and kitsch (they might be fun nonetheless), THX 1138 was one that stood up well with age due to its conservative and high quality visual design, focus on story and use of existing visual references.
However, with these new scenes, the movie does seem cheesy and less believable. The scenes do not match the movie and take away from the style. They also give it today's overly literal, overdone visual cues and take away from the strong subtle tone of the movie.
Other 'director's cuts' have editing changes, usually inserting scenes that were previously taken out. This instead is a re-done movie that has taken out a lot emotionally and put back in very little.
Perhaps the director did not recall the theme of the movie regarding a society over-reliant on computers. ;)
Having the original version available on DVD would do justice to the movie that it once was.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars George Lucas ruining his movies
I didn't want to give this movie 1 star because the original version was phenomenal but the extra cg scenes Lucas sliced in are totally out of context and in bad taste with the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Irishmobsta

3.0 out of 5 stars THX 1138 - Drug Evasion is a Felony
THX 1138 was a very interesting film made by George Lukas back in 1970. It was visually exciting, a bit cerebral and required some real effort to follow. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Keith Mirenberg

2.0 out of 5 stars Georgie screws it up (again)
When I first saw THX 1138 back in the '70s I was spellbound. George Lucas' vision of an antiseptic consumer driven dystopia where not taking drugs was a crime really resonated... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Chet Fakir

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Pretty good and interesting movie. A different take for its time and a very intelligent look into the future. Read more
Published 22 months ago by john m mozuke

5.0 out of 5 stars Lucas' Premier Movie (Meaning his First)
This is a really fantastic movie!! And I mean that literally as well as figuratively. The society it portrays is of a different world-- but which is an extension of ours. Read more
Published on May 12, 2007 by Phillip Spengeman

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie Buy
The movie is in great condition and couldn't believe I would find it but I did and at a great value. This is one of George Lucas, as a young director and I am happy that I have it.
Published on January 4, 2007 by Mary Montgomery

3.0 out of 5 stars George Lucas is a Fool
Yes, he is you know... George Lucas is a fool. I used to really like this film, regardless of what some boneheads might think. Read more
Published on October 1, 2006 by Barry Fanaka

4.0 out of 5 stars How it just seems so relevant today
However, it should I guess as this is a science fiction movie. This takes place in the future as a society where everything goes except for love. Read more
Published on August 29, 2006 by Daniel Hayes

3.0 out of 5 stars Different, but not terribly thought provoking, OK "classic"
I had never seen this movie completely before, so the DVD gave me the chance to. I must say the DVD remaster and Sound quality were excellent. Read more
Published on July 28, 2006 by Wiseguy 945

1.0 out of 5 stars Negative 5 stars!
Because there were so many great reviews for this movie, I decided to go out and rent this film and watch it. Read more
Published on December 9, 2005 by James

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