Search - THX 1138 [The George Lucas Director's Cut] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Brief Nudity, Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1971 DVD Release: 09/14/2004 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Director's Cut,Dual Layered,Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 28 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 1 Genres: Science Fiction, Sci-Fi Action, Paranoid Thriller

Based on his award-winning student short, George Lucas's debut 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 in Hollywood: Star Wars. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Robert Duvall - THX 1138
Donald Pleasence - SEN 5421
Don Pedro Colley - SRT
Maggie McOmie - LUH
Ian Wolfe - PTO

Years before creating Star Wars, George Lucas created a very different science fiction drama, which is given an attentive presentation on DVD in this release. This edition of THX 1138 has been given a letterboxed transfer to disc in the widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which has been enhanced for anamorphic play on 16 x 9 monitors. The audio has been remixed and mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1; in addition to the original English-language soundtrack, dubbed versions in French and Spanish are also included, as well as optional subtitles in English, French, and Spanish. Bonus materials include a commentary track from director Lucas and sound designer Walter Murch, and the film's original trailer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide