


THX-1138 Finally Coming to DVD 298
OMM0000 writes "George Lucas' first film, THX 1138 is finally coming to DVD. They've also launched a new site, as USA Today reports. As webmaster of a certain THX-1138 fan site (which will remain nameless to avoid slashdotting), this is excellent news. For all of you lamenting the Star Wars prequels, be sure to see where Lucas' roots in filmmaking are."
Yay... (Score:5, Funny)
As long as it's not (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:As long as it's not (Score:3, Interesting)
There's a TON of new CG.
I'm hoping he'll redeem himself by releasing the original student film with the Duval one.
Re:As long as it's not (Score:2)
No. God damn that's an annoying site. Where is the trailer?
Jar Jar Binks added (Score:2)
And remember drug evasion is a crime.
Re:As long as it's not (Score:3, Funny)
Re:As long as it's not (Score:5, Interesting)
what I thought from viewing the THX trilogy was that Lucas' sound design skill is extraordinary, and that he did actually created futuristic atmosphere successfully without relying heavily on visual/special effects. when there is no money, people find creative ways to achieve goals, and Lucas did so very well.
quite a few film schoolers/professionals I know refer to THX as Lucas' best film. IMO it is not an overstatement.
Re:As long as it's not (Score:3, Insightful)
And I'm only 1/2 kidding. I personally enjoy cheap films with a good story, then an expensive all CG and SFX animation 'wolf' in live action 'sheeps' clothing.
Bald headed girl: "I want to touch you" (Score:2)
Re:As long as it's not (Score:2)
Re:As long as it's not (Score:2)
Yes, but at least we are able to spell words like "schools" and "parallel".
Bah.....bah
Actually (Score:4, Insightful)
That's the problem with yesterday's generation. You are so frightened of technology and changing ideas that you attack new ideas with Luddite fervor, banging on the machinery of modern life with oak clubs.
THX1138 is totally about YOU, huddling in your cave, doing manual labor that WE have designed machines to do for us. You have refused to learn the lessons that the industrial revolution should have tought you, with redundant repetitivity. You have no concept of what the word "progress" means, and you have yet to realize that true education does not (and should not) take place in schools, but in the home, on the playground, and in the burning desire to better yourself and your progeny (not everyone has that last one, by the way).
The parallels between THX1138 and today are mildly interesting, but hardly prescient. It's easy to look 30 years into the future. Lao Tsu wrote more insightful warnings thousands of years ago. HG Wells did a better job of it over a hundred years ago.
You've convinced nobody.
Re:Actually (Score:2)
The amazing part is that if THX-1138 really is about the brainwashed masses. Then not only did Lucas have true insight into this phenomenon, but he also executed it expertly with his movies that followed.
All in all, I think THX-1138 is more a story playing on our deelply ingrained post-apocalyptic fears and our fear of control. It also speaks to ou
Re:As long as it's not (Score:3, Funny)
Re:As long as it's not (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:As long as it's not (Score:2)
Re:As long as it's not (Score:4, Funny)
A big lizard that lives in the everglades?
Re:As long as it's not (Score:3, Funny)
Boring ass film (Score:3, Informative)
Now I can FINALLY get a film to help me during my bouts of insomnia! Huzzah!
I took that bit as a personal challenge (Score:5, Informative)
Sorry...but the way it was worded, I took it as a personal challenge.
Maybe you shouldn't have posted this as OMM0000 if you really wanted to prevent a Slashdotting.
Re:I took that bit as a personal challenge (Score:2)
Re:I took that bit as a personal challenge (Score:2)
This on the main page now
Re:I took that bit as a personal challenge (Score:3, Informative)
Here is the script [thx-1138.org]
(just to be helpful)
Re:I took that bit as a personal challenge (Score:2)
Let the going-up-in-flames commence!!!
Re:I took that bit as a personal challenge (Score:2)
Since that was before you checked it, one can only assume that the site, or at least the counter, already melted.
You're kidding, right (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:You're kidding, right (Score:3, Funny)
--Richard
Re:Hi. I am an uneducated... (Score:2, Insightful)
Lucas' best work? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Lucas' best work? (Score:5, Informative)
Film School (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Film School (Score:5, Funny)
Star Warts < THX-1138 (Score:2)
SW is one of those kinds of films that I usually wait for them to put on broadcast TV as a sunday night movie.
Man was that ever cheesy. Ewoks? Jar Jar? Clones? If I wanted to watch a kids movie I'd have gone to Shrek. Actually I did go to Shrek and it at least made me laugh.
Anyways, bring on the THX-1138. It's
Re:Star Warts THX-1138 (Score:3, Funny)
I'm sure that there's some kind of cream you can get from your doctor for that.
Re:Star Warts THX-1138 (Score:2)
Student short version included? (Score:4, Interesting)
Considering how much dead space the feature length had, 15 minutes was a nice compression that still managed to capture the atmosphere of a dystopian future.
Re:Student short version included? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Student short version included? (Score:5, Interesting)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004Z4
I have it, but have to admit that I think I've only watched the THX-1138 short. But that's why I got it.
I Love THX1138 (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I Love THX1138 (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:I Love THX1138 (Score:2)
Re:I Love THX1138 (Score:2)
Re:I Love THX1138 (Score:2)
Re:I Love THX1138 (Score:2)
My wife hated it, but then again, she hated Blade Runner too.
Re:I Love THX1138 (Score:2)
Re:I Love THX1138 (Score:2)
Re:I Love THX1138 (Score:2)
I admit it. I'm one of those people that likes long and slow movies that require lots of concentration.
So let's have your list of movies we should see (or avoid as the case may be)
THX 1138 is no Star Wars (Score:4, Informative)
If you want to watch an early George Lucas film, most people will be better off with "American Graffiti", which got a pretty good DVD release a few years back, and is a very entertaining film.
Re:THX 1138 is no Star Wars (Score:4, Funny)
So it's kind of like the Star Wars prequel trilogy, excape that it takes place in the future rather than long ago?
Re:THX 1138 is no Star Wars (Score:2)
Re:THX 1138 is no Star Wars (Score:2)
That's kinda the point.
Yes, American Graffiti is just like THX 1138 only better. By all mean, rent American Graffiti.
--Richard
Wow... (Score:5, Informative)
For those of you who haven't seen it, it's a totalitarian society in which:
A drug violation means being under-medicated.
Most identity is removed, people don't have names, only prefix-suffix designations.
Sex is illegal
You confess your sins in booths to a recording of a Jesus-like picture of Ohm
It's weirer than can be described.
It's a definite must see for sci-fi fans.
Re:Wow... (Score:2)
Insightful? (Score:2)
Re:Insightful? (Score:2)
Nothing to get excited about (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Nothing to get excited about (Score:2)
Lucas had added several new scenes based on what he had envisioned at the time but could not achieve due to technical reasons
THX and LUH smoke death sticks after he knocks her up
A new character, JJB 666, has been inserted as THX's sidekick
And perhaps most riveting of all we learn that SEN was actually thrown in jail for surfing on lava
Will it be THX certified (Score:5, Funny)
Am I the only one.. (Score:2)
Re:Am I the only one.. (Score:2, Insightful)
Freedom?
Re:Am I the only one.. (Score:2)
Who cares? (Score:5, Funny)
Lucas' roots: Don't forget American Graffiti (Score:4, Interesting)
Sure THX1138 is good, but don't forget the Lucas masterpiece: AMERICAN GRAFFITI.
You Might Like This (Score:2, Informative)
Link-city [thx1138movie.com]
Some facts (Score:5, Informative)
# The original title was Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB
# The stars of the film were Robert Duvall as THX 1138 (yes it's a name!), Donald Pleasence as SEN 5241, and Maggie McOmie as LUH 3417
# THX 1138 was not only ahead of its time in sound effects, but also in the themes which it portrayes, such as the loss of individuals for the good of the group, the self-corruption of the human spirit, racism in science fiction, and yes, even channel-surfing
# The film was produced by American Zoetrope Studios, then co-owned by Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola
# The extras used in the film came from a drug rehabilitation center called Delancey Street Foundation. The only way to enter Delancey Street was to have your head shaved. (Thanks to donasso@pacbell.net)
# When George Lucas lived in the San Francisco Bay area, where the tunnel scenes in THX were filmed, one of his phone numbers was 849-1138, or as a mnemonic, THX-1138. (Thanks to nbeckett@gte.net)
# The "shell dwellers" in THX served as the basis for the Jawas in Star Wars.
# The sound made by the staves which the robots use to condition prisoners are remarkably similar to the lightsaber sound effect.
# Star Wars was, at one point, going to be a prequel to THX, with the character who would become Luke Skywalker conceived as a young THX.
# The licence plate number on Milner's deuce coupe in American Graffiti was THX 138.
# In Star Wars, Luke says "Prisoner transfer from cell block 1138."
# During the car chase scene, someone can be heard over the intercom saying "I think I ran over a Wookiee back there on the expressway." As any good Star Wars fan can tell you, Chewbacca is a Wookiee.
# In The Empire Strikes Back, General Rieekan says, "Send Rogues ten and eleven to station three-eight."
# Not from a Lucas movie, but in The Lawnmower Man, the experimental chimp is named Rosco 1138.
# This is unconfirmed (I'll confirm it as soon as I can get to the theatre again!) but a reliable source told me that the battle droid who loses it's head in The Phantom Menace has the number "1138" on its back.
shamelessly stolen from this site [geocities.com] (it's geocities, so go easy)
Re:Some facts (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Some facts (Score:3, Informative)
The theaters were all THX, which was still a big deal at the time, and they had a guy from Lucasf
Re:Some facts (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Some facts (Score:2)
I'm a fan, but......OUTSIDE...NOW.....SUNSHINE!
Steve
You forgot the most important one (Score:2)
I'm such a bad fan for not remembering the quote but it's used as a serial identifcation for a stormtrooper at some point.
I'm shocked the list missed this its the most obvious reference and really the only one I knew.
No not on the death star. Thats when an officer says "T8247 what is your position" during the scene when the Millenium Falcon is captur
Re:You forgot the most important one (Score:2)
No not on the death star. Thats when an officer says "T8247 what is your position" during the scene when the Millenium Falcon is captured and the gang sneak off to find a way to disable the tractor beam.
I think you're referring to the scene when the deck officer in the hangar calls on the comlink to Luke (dressed as stormtrooper) "Tk-421, why aren't you at your post? Tk-421, do you copy?"
And how sad is it that I can repeat that quote verbatim after how-many years? I think I'll go outside now.
-jh
Re:Some facts (Score:2)
Re:Some facts (Score:2, Troll)
It's sad that as a 10-year-old proto-geek I had read enough background material on Lucas, and seen the movie enough times, to realize (a) this is not the movie dialog, and (b) where the new number came from.
There is a web page [utexas.edu] devoted to the stormtrooper ambushed on the Millenium Falcon.
More occurrences (Score:3, Informative)
One of my top 10 faves (Score:5, Interesting)
Frankly, I thought the pacing was fine. I like films that are not typical slapdash hollywood speed flicks. I prefer films that are slower and more elegant. I am convinced that THX1138 is one of Lucas's best films.
People who whinge about the pacing are just typical speed junkies - everything has to match their hamster sized attention spans and monkey brained prurience - very similar to the sadistic crap THX watches on TV in the movie.
I see THX1138 as prophetic: a puritanical (NO SEX!!!) consumerist capitalist totalitarian technological nightmare - all the tendencies we see about us today, only amplified in the worst possible way. And the surface of the earth? A beautiful wasteland.
THX1138 is magnificent. My only complaint is the audio is kind of noisy, and the voices weren't mixed well, and it all sounds kind of "canned". Murch is normally a genius, but this was not his best effort. My guess is the budget didn't permit anything better.
RS
Re:One of my top 10 faves (Score:2)
"Excellent!"
"Thou art a subject of the divine, created in the image of man, by the masses, for the masses..."
And of the "deviants" you accurately characterize above:
"This is not a race issue"
!!!!!
Re:Yeah, real prophetic (Score:2)
Not again! (Score:5, Funny)
THX Prequel (The Electric Labyrinth) (Score:2)
THX-1138's original concepts (Score:5, Interesting)
It introduced the concept of modern phone tech support. Whenever someone has a problem, they open their medicine cabinet and look into a lens, and a concerned voice says "what's wrong?". Later, you see the call center, where someone listens to the complaints and pushes a button to send out the appropriate canned response.
The chase scene's ending (this is a spoiler) is unique. The chase ends because the people chasing the escaped guy have reached their budget limit and chasing him is no longer cost-effective. So they let him go.
Lucas went on to do some more commercially successful work later, but THX-1138 represents his most original thinking.
My favorite part: The TOS (Score:2)
My favorite part of the site is the Legal Terms of Servce [thx1138movie.com] with its light gray on white text
In the sequel.... (Score:3, Funny)
Sorry for the spoiler.
A site for a 30 year old movie? (Score:2)
However there is enough material there for several DVD box sets.
How can there be a web site for a single movie that has to be more then 30 years old?
How much of a single film is there to talk about?
Steve
Re:So what's your favorite retro sci-fi movie? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:So what's your favorite retro sci-fi movie? (Score:2)
And the score was by Peter Schickele (which may or may not mean anything to you... PDQ Bach is a different cult for the most part).
Re:So what's your favorite retro sci-fi movie? (Score:2)
And I enjoy Peter Schickele. Both PDQ Bach, and his "Schickele Mix" program which I used to listen to on NPR (not sure if it's still on, but I'm not usually up that early on a weekend any more).
A Boy and His Dog (Score:2, Insightful)
It stars a young Don Johnson
This from IMDB...
A post-apocalyptic tale based on a novella by Harlan Ellison. A boy communicates telepathically with his dog as they scavenge for food and sex..
Silent Running (Score:2)
Silent Running, IMDB. [imdb.com]
Neat movie, very thought provoking and thoroughly creepy.
Weaselmancer
Re:So what's your favorite retro sci-fi movie? (Score:2)
Re:So what's your favorite retro sci-fi movie? (Score:2)
Is it ever going to come out on DVD?
Destination Moon (Score:2)
Too bad there isn't a DVD version of the movie that used a high quality/remastered print.
myke
Re:Bad film (Score:4, Interesting)
So it's a bad film how?
Re:Bad film (Score:2)
Also a lot of music takes samples [sloth.org] from this movie. Nine Inch Nails' Mr. Self Destruct starts with the sound of the guy being beaten on a TV show, was one I noticed right away.
Re:Bad film (Score:2)
Second, THX-1138 is best film that George Lucas ever directed, with American Graffiti being almost as good. It is intelligent, literate, funny, with brilliant performances by the actors, wonderful, minimalist dialogue, and the single best example of what can be accomplished on limited budget that I have ever seen, Blair Witch not excepted.
Re:Funding for SW? (Score:2)
Re:yeah (Score:3, Interesting)
Well worth watching (Score:4, Interesting)
The other thing to note is the depth of the characters in THX 1138 versus the newest SW movies. Everybody in SW is so seemingly detached, from everything, so little emotion. In THX 1138, it's all about letting the emotion come out of that cold rigorously controlled world.
Re:Movie perhaps good, Web site definately sucks (Score:5, Informative)
Not only that, but if you spin up the flash plugin, all you get is a set of links that then cause more flash loads.
In summary, a very lame site. I aborted after clicking the first link and seeing the "Transferring data..." status line.
I've seen the movie(in theater no less). I liked it, but I'm not going to torture myself trying to find my way through a website about it.
Re:Why oh Why!!! (Score:2)
He has been living in his head for so long, he thinks the CC in "success" is a K sound.
That's all I enjoyed about the movie as well... (Score:2)
It's probably a central concept in the 15 minute short the film was based on, but I seem to remember that it only gained prominance in the last ten minutes or so of the movie.
myke