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THX 1138 (1971)
Starring Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Don Pedro Colley, and Maggie McOmie. Cinematography by Albert Kihn and David Myers. Edited by George Lucas. Produced by Lawrence Sturhahn. Written by George Lucas and Walter Murch. Directed by George Lucas.
Sometime in the future, reproduction is closely regulated by the government and any copulation is prohibited. Despite the rules, roommates THX 1138 and LUH 3417 fall in love and conceive a baby. They are sent to White Limbo, a prison with literally no boundaries; only fear restrains the prisoners from escaping. THX defies the system by just walking off. The police follow and THX is chased through a labyrinth of underground tunnels as he searches for his freedom.
Money was tight for George Lucas and his wife Marcia in 1967. He finally found work as a teaching assistant for a Navy sponsored filmmaking program at USC, of which he was an alumnus. While there he began to develop an idea for a futuristic film that he had been working on. On the advice of his former camera instructor, he decided to produce the short film using the Navy students as his cast and crew. With his one and a quarter page script, Lucas and the students hashed out his most impressive work to date, “THX 1138:4EB”. The film was a critical success, not just within the school itself, but throughout the film industry. A few months later, Lucas won a job as an administrative assistant on the set of Finian’s Rainbow, one of Francis Ford Coppola’s first directorial assignments. The two immediately found a connection and began planning future projects together. Lucas shared with his idea of fleshing out “THX 1138:4EB” into a feature length film and Coppola lent his encouragement. Coppola later presented the script to Warner Brothers as part of a package deal and they decided to option it. THX 1138 became American Zoetrope’s first film.
Lucas had full control of the production. He was able to write, direct, and edit the way that he saw fit and has said that it was the only project that he truly enjoyed doing. When Coppola flew down toLos Angeles to screen the film for Warner Brothers, they hated it so passionately that they cancelled the entire seven picture contract with Zoetrope. They also took THX 1138 away from Lucas, reedited it without his approval, and released it. The film did poorly in the box office. After his amazing success with Star Wars, Warner Brothers re-released the project with the edited footage restored, but the film still couldn’t find a mainstream audience. It lives on today a cult classic. THX 1138 will be remembered as both Lucas’ most personal film and the biggest commercial failure of his career.
Budget: $777,777
Total US Gross: $5,000
Genre: Science Fiction
Runtime: 95 Minutes
US Release Date: 3/11/71
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Awards: none
Tagline: Visit The Future Where Love Is The Ultimate Crime.
Quote: “If you feel you are not properly sedated, call 348-844 immediately. Failure to do so may result in prosecution for criminal drug evasion.”
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