THX 1138 - Trailer

Posted August 30, 2004

Movies & TV - In George Lucas' fascinating feature debut, bald, drone like workers are forced to take drugs to regulate their moods and stifle their libidos. THX1138(Robert Duvall) and his mate, LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie), are factory workers, building the robotic police that keep order in their stark world. The soundtrack to their lives is a nonstop news service that broadcasts information about factory accidents, as well as sex and drug crimes, a la George Orwell's 1984. In the workers' electronic confessional, THX expresses his unhappiness with his life. When LUH and THX decide to stop taking their medication, their sense of humanity -- and their desire and love for each other as a couple -- is unleashed. Imprisonment soon follows, and LUH learns that she is pregnant. Separated, THX embarks on a journey to find her with the help of rebel SEN (Donald Pleasence) and hologram SRT (Don Pedro Colley), eventually attempting escape to the outside world. Combining complex editing and sound techniques with brilliantly subtle performances, THX 1138 is a little-known and vastly underrated sci-fi masterpiece.

The new two-disc DVD release includes the director's cut, and two new documentaries: A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope and Artifact. Zoetrope features interviews with producer Coppola, director Lucas, Robert Duvall, Martin Scorsese, John Milius, Matthew Robbins, Walter Murch, Caleb Deschanel and others who helped build American Zoetrope. It also includes the short film on which Lucas based his feature, Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB.