THX 1138: The George Lucas Director’s Cut is now on Blu-ray after a few years of being out on DVD (2004). If you’re not familiar with the story let me help you through it.
A man named THX and a woman named LUH decide to go against the system and stop taking mind controlling drugs that force them to work and serve a greater purpose for a bigger, unknown entity. Once off the drugs they’re instantly on the run from the robot police and must find a way out. Unfortunately for them, the way out is not readily available, as no one has every made it ‘out’ of the underground secure place.
While the movie certainly is more complicated than that explanation, it is important to read and memorize that paragraph before you go into the movie; otherwise you could be severely confused.
THX 1138 is not a simple story, as it is more art than Star Wars. To be blunt what you get is a very artsy-fartsy movie that has less dialogue and more visual representations about what the hell is actually going on. This is a student film that has exploded on to the big screen in its very basic form. Most student films from up and coming directors tend to be more art than mainstream.
Of course, Lucas is anxious to display what he has learned in school, and that blatantly shows through as well. Lucas uses heavy darks and bright whites to imply the lack of uniqueness in this world that he has built; it’s very German expressionistic in this fashion as the drab world cast little hope on humanity’s sanity or survival. What’s even more to the point is how Lucas blatantly calls out capitalism and how it thrives and keeps the world of THX 1138 together. The mixture of religious icons (such as a still portrait of Jesus (called Uhm in the movie) that people can talk to, but only get a pre-recorded reply) that tell their worshipers to ‘buy, buy’ only reinforces Lucas’ idea. This type of idea sets up a perfect break and escape idea for the lead characters, which works well after you fully understand what is going on.
In the midst of all this preachiness lies a movie that while a bit too art driven for a mainstream audience has some redeeming value in its acting. First, we have the wonderful Robert Duvall playing the lead character THX. His performance as a drone in a large beehive works very well. He gets even better when he finally breaks away from his drug-induced shackles. His reactions, expressions and acting reinforce his characters desperate need to escape and be more than he truly is. If there is anything that will grab and hold your attention it is this man’s plight to be greater and not a part of this society built for him. Another equally impressive acting job lies with the late Donald Pleasence.
Pleasence’s role as SEN (great name, I’m sure that doesn’t mean what it sounds like) is a fun one. SEN can only be described as a politician. He meets up with THX at work and really talks to him when both end up in custody together. His attempt to get a group of prisoners together to break out ends up being a rally call that forms into a group of empty promises. When THX forces his hand to do what he (SEN) said he would do the boastful man becomes a spineless wimp. He plays a wonderful opposite of Duvall’s THX and magnifies THX’s purpose even greater.
As for the role of LUH, eh. Lucas’ greatest build-up for nearly three-fourths of the film is suddenly purposeless by the end of the film. It is a waste of a love story, so I won’t give you hope in LUH’s character as it was just wasted acting on the part of Maggie McOmie. She did well, but her character really is a waste.
At the end of the day I really do appreciate what George Lucas has done here, even with his ‘Director’s Cut’. He has made the film better by polishing it up and adding special effects, but it’s still very much a student film in all its glory. Too much art, not enough clear explanation. Say what you will, say that I may not understand it all, but I know a good story when I see it and this one is about halfway there.
With all of this said, THX 1138: The George Lucas Director’s Cut is a very interesting Blu-ray. Now, compared to the DVD versions that I saw in the last ten years I have to say that the Blu-ray version looks and sounds the best. The enhanced video mixed with the additional special effects really helps drive home the point of the film much better. For example, when THX and SEN are trapped in the white endless room (prison) it looks so much more desolate than it would on DVD or the original film. Since HD really does magnify the brilliance of whites/blacks THX 1138: The George Lucas Director’s Cut benefits from it greatly. The ending of the film and the great car/motorcycle chase is also enhanced visually thanks to Blu-ray. Seeing the dirty, empty road at the end of the film cleaned up reinforces the secluded area that THX resides in; it’s really quite sharp.
The audio is damn good as well, though you may want to adjust the volume from time to time with the various bells and whistles included in the soundtrack. Sometimes they’re really good and sometimes they’re downright annoying. Regardless, you get them mixed perfectly in DTS-HD (no THX?) for your pleasure.
Finally, you get some good special features with the release, with mostly things you’ve seen already. The commentary by George Lucas and Walter Murch is truly impressive to listen to. You’ll need more insight on the film and they provide it quite well. The featurette called Artifact from the Future is probably the best special feature in the bunch. It goes through the entire timeline of how the film was discovered and made. It has some great interviews and insight from cast/crew/actors. The other featurette called A Legacy of Filmmakers is pretty interesting, but not as much as the previously mentioned. Other things you also get is the original THX 1138 4EB (the original student film), a featurette called Master Sessions (Murch’s pioneering work) and a featrette called Bald.
Not bad stuff, but some of it you might have seen before.
