Sex… drugs… and George Lucas? Really???
Before Indiana Jones… before “Star Wars”… before “American Graffiti”… there was “THX 1138” (1971).
Under the guidance of Francis Ford Coppola, Lucas expanded a 1967 student film into his first feature, an eerily-prescient piece of sci-fi dystopia, in which a faceless corporatocracy controls every aspect of human existence. Productivity, consumption, and subservience are all strictly enforced, through drugs, dehumanizing entertainments, and if necessary, android police. Personal relationships are forbidden and citizens – shorn of their hair and their individuality – are all identified by serial numbers.
This is hardcore sci-fi, the way it used to be. “THX 1138” may feel a lot longer than its 85-minute running time, but there’s a kind of excitement to be found in a 25-year-old director exploring the power of the medium in an era when people still really cared about film. What “THX 1138” lacks in narrative excitement, it makes up for in believable world-building. It’s fascinating to speculate what kind of artist Lucas might have been had he not devoted most of his career to reediting “Star Wars.”
Definitely don’t go into it expecting any joyrides on souped-up space freighters, witty repartee, or lightsaber battles of a kind that marked a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. This one cuts awfully close to the bone.
Roy and I will be doing our best Donald Pleasence impressions, on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Let your holograms do the driving in the comments section, as we livestream on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:00 EST!
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ROY’S TIE-DYE SCI-FI WEEKEND BONUS! This Sunday night, Roy’s special guest will be actor Carl Held. Held’s television credits include appearances on “Star Trek,” “The Outer Limits,” “The Invaders,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Space: 1999,” “Perry Mason,” “The F.B.I.,” “The Lotus Eaters,” “The Saint,” “The Big Valley,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Falcon Crest,” and many others. He’ll be talking about his career and taking your questions. Don’t miss this special appearance by Carl Held, this Sunday night at 7:00 EST!