THX 1138: BD Review
|
Page 1 of 3 Warner / 89 Minutes / 1971 / Rated R / Street Date: September 7, 2010
George Lucas' big debut, THX 1138 is a tough pill to swallow, especially in its recently-revised version. Back in college, THX was a hard-to-find curio, proof positive that before Mr. Star Wars revitalized the cars-and-chicks genre with American Graffiti and took his voyage to a galaxy far, far away, he was a strange bird, a dude who was willing to really push the limits of traditional narrative in order to find a distinct storytelling style. But I think all but the super Lucas-nerd set can agree that while the risk-taking involved with THX 1138 is laudable in its oddity and anomalous eeriness- who would have thought that the guy who directed this would define the modern blockbuster a few years later? - the movie as it appears now is an oddly unengaging art film/video game that doesn't really gel. Like other movies that are more notable for being precursors to other achievements than they are for their own tonal and cinematic regard, THX 1138 is a movie easy to appreciate and difficult to like.
See, in the future, all humanoids are drugged zombies, devoid of emotion or passion of any kind. But one day a lady named LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie) opts to say no to her soma pills in an attempt to see what lies on the other side. The results are so scary and interesting that she slips her bunkmate THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) placebos instead of the real deal so they can experience 'life' together. The results take them beyond the parameters of both their personal comfort zones and the boundaries of approved scientific culture at large. So, yes - Lucas has a deft control of pacing and texture in THX 1138, and the movie's Orwell-meets-Huxley-in-BART-tubes tone is definitely intoxicating, but the film is absolutely more notable for being a stepping stone to Lucas' later masterworks than it is as a standalone statement. And this Director's Cut is simply to CG-y to stomach easily: While the fusion of original footage and new effects is all but completely seamless in style, there's a certain incongruence there that never showcases the organic, terrifying futuristic punch it should. Long story short: The film is a fascinatingly beautiful collection of missed opportunities. |
Comments (0)