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Sci-Fi Media Movies

THX-1138 Finally Coming to DVD 298

Posted by michael from the han-shoots-first dept.
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."
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THX-1138 Finally Coming to DVD More

THX-1138 Finally Coming to DVD

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  • Yay... (Score:5, Funny)

    by darth_MALL ( 657218 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @12:51PM (#9217044)
    In this version Greedo shoots first.

  • As long as it's not (Score:5, Insightful)

    by noewun ( 591275 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @12:52PM (#9217051) Journal
    THX 1138: The Special Expanded Director's Cut, with better special effects and a new ending I will be very happy.

    • Re:As long as it's not (Score:3, Interesting)

      by cetan ( 61150 )
      Did you see the trailer?

      There's a TON of new CG.

      I'm hoping he'll redeem himself by releasing the original student film with the Duval one.
    • I heard he's adding in a drug-evasion induced paranoid dream sequences with Jar Jar Binks and Jabba the Ashcroft that he could not afford to film at the time.

      And remember drug evasion is a crime.
    • I understand there have been some minor revisions. For example, in this version THX 1135 shoots first.

    • Re:As long as it's not (Score:5, Interesting)

      by mm0mm ( 687212 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @01:42PM (#9217910)
      as much as many people refer to this film as "the most boring film from Lucas," I find more substance and underlying themes in this film than his later films. Lucas made original THX at (I believe) school, and prior to that, he made a 16mm non-sync B&W film with a similar theme for his film assignment. this one is the origin of THX. I saw both preceding films. they both have very pessimistic, paranoid story lines.

      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.

      • So the way to make Star Wars better is to cut his budget?

        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 guy with rat-tail: "You're making me uncomfortable."
    • Be on the lookout of the CG dinosaurs in every scene too.

  • Boring ass film (Score:3, Informative)

    by penginkun ( 585807 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @12:52PM (#9217053)
    Saw it once ages ago, had to fight to stay awake.

    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)

    by GillBates0 ( 664202 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @12:52PM (#9217064) Homepage Journal
    Thanks to Google :here you go [thx-1138.org].

    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.

  • You're kidding, right (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 21, 2004 @12:53PM (#9217075)
    Finally? This is one of the most boring movies I've ever seen. I only watched the whole thing all the way through because it was made by the guy that created Star Wars. Probably the same reason people watched Episodes I and II.
    • Next time rent Porkys. You'll like it more.

      --Richard

  • Lucas' best work? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by zoobaby ( 583075 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @12:54PM (#9217097)
    While a bit slow moving, THX-1138 does actually explore something interesting. It is, with the exception of Empire, Lucas' best film. All films since have all slowly (Or not so slowly) deteriorated into the mess we now call the Star Wars prequels.

  • Film School (Score:4, Funny)

    by normal_guy ( 676813 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @12:56PM (#9217118)
    This was made before he realized that you can't make a living as a cult filmmaker.

  • Student short version included? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 21, 2004 @12:56PM (#9217128)
    I hope this has Lucas' student short of THX (which was then remade into a feature length). I really preferred it honestly, and I haven't been able to find it in any consumer-oriented format previously.

    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.

  • I Love THX1138 (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Trolling4Dollars ( 627073 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @12:57PM (#9217134) Journal
    It's one of those 70s dytopian scifi films with that really weird clinical view of the terrible future. However, I have a little story about actually watching it. I admit it. I'm one of those people that likes long and slow movies that require lots of concentration. I only know a few people like me. When I decided to rent this one, I was with my girlfriend and a couple of her friends (male and female). There were about eight of us and we popped the tape in on a Friday night at about 7:30PM. As I was watching it, I was engrossed in the film. I hadn't noticed until I heard some snoring that my girlfriend had fallen asleep! Going beyond that I looked around the room and realized I was the ONLY person awake. I have to say, that's when I realized that I have a very different perspective on moveis from most people. Since then, I'm less likely to ask people to watch something I'm interested in because it's likely going to bore them. So... it makes me feel good to know I'm not completely alone in my love for THX1138.

    • Re:I Love THX1138 (Score:4, Interesting)

      by kalidasa ( 577403 ) * on Friday May 21, 2004 @01:01PM (#9217216) Journal
      Just in case this *isn't* a troll - may I recommend Tarkovsky's *Solaris*? Long, deliberate, cerebral, literate, lingers over shots, character and dialogue driven (i.e., not much in the way of SFX to speak of).
      • I liked Stalker a lot more (also Tarkovsky). I didn't like the plot of Solaris very much, there just wasn't enough their.
      • Actually, Solaris is one of my favorites. I watched it back in high school (80s) and thought it was a masterpiece. I haven't bothered to see the new one as I fear it may be just an overview rather than recreating the original environment. The original Solaris was creepy and romantic in the most intense way.
        • The original Solaris is absolutely one of the best movies in the genre -as was the book in its. The remake is actually not *that* bad, considering it has GC and it was made in Hollywood. But given the choice..
        • I didn't actually find the new one all that bad.

          My wife hated it, but then again, she hated Blade Runner too.

    • Forget Solaris, have you seen "The Sacrifice" by Tarkovsky? Ugh. SOo slow. SOo boring. SOo trite. I absolutely detested it. I think it just might be up your alley.

    • 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)

    by gorsh ( 75930 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @12:59PM (#9217176)
    While it's a very interesting film from an experimental point of view, THX 1138 is not something that's likely to appeal to too many Star Wars fans, apart from the George Lucas connection. It's set in a dystopian future where everything is run by machines, and there is very little interpersonal dialogue or human interaction. Like I said, it's interesting from an experimental point of view to see how Lucas uses film to tell a story in a very non-conventional way, but it's clearly not aimed at mass audiences.

    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)

      by poot_rootbeer ( 188613 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @01:06PM (#9217309)
      It's set in a dystopian future where everything is run by machines, and there is very little interpersonal dialogue or human interaction.

      So it's kind of like the Star Wars prequel trilogy, excape that it takes place in the future rather than long ago?
    • You make it sound like a bad movie. I think it's a movie that's definately not for everyone. If you don't like slow, philosophical movies stay far far away from THX-1138. If you like movies where you might think a bit and aren't entirely straightforward, you'd probbably like this movie.
    • "...there is very little interpersonal dialogue or human interaction."

      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)

    by Vellmont ( 569020 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @01:00PM (#9217189) Homepage
    I really thought it might never happen. It's a somewhat obscure film, but I think it's a great one.
    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.

  • Nothing to get excited about (Score:5, Funny)

    by Bradee-oh! ( 459922 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @01:02PM (#9217222)
    Calm down everyone, it's his director's cut, not the original. Another classic ruined...
    • Yep its the Special Edition.

      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 .. a sport which had been outlawed along with the sex ...

  • Will it be THX certified (Score:5, Funny)

    by BigFire ( 13822 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @01:02PM (#9217223)
    That's the important question.
  • Am I the only one that wondered why Thex went to all that trouble just to starve to death on the surface?

  • Who cares? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rolo Tomasi ( 538414 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @01:03PM (#9217259) Homepage Journal
    There's still no DVD version in sight of one of the greatest movies ever made. Yep, I'm talking about Yellowbeard. Why? Why???? *shakes fist*

  • Lucas' roots: Don't forget American Graffiti (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 21, 2004 @01:03PM (#9217270)
    When you talk about George Lucas, don't forget "American Graffiti." Not only does it document his roots as a filmmaker, it documents his personal roots, as it is semi auto-biographical.

    Sure THX1138 is good, but don't forget the Lucas masterpiece: AMERICAN GRAFFITI.

  • You Might Like This (Score:2, Informative)

    by Spiffae ( 707428 )
    There's some hidden stuff on that page, I found a trailer in pretty decent resolution.

    Link-city [thx1138movie.com]

  • Some facts (Score:5, Informative)

    by MikeHunt69 ( 695265 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @01:08PM (#9217358) Journal
    # THX 1138 was based on a student film Lucas made while attending USC.
    # 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)

      by pomakis ( 323200 )
      And don't forget that George Lucas was one of the people behind the THX series of sound and video specifications. I'm not sure what THX is supposed to stand for in this context, but I'm pretty sure that THX 1138 was the origin of the acronym.

      • Re:Some facts (Score:3, Informative)

        by localman ( 111171 )
        A friend and I went to one of the first ever screenings of the back-to-back Star Wars trilogy that was used to open a new ten theater complex in Braintree Massachusetts in the early 90's. This was years before the terrible "Special Editions" and before the rehyping of the sequels. The crowd was actually quite cool, though a few were dressed up. It was truly great to see the original films in all their glory.

        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)

      by darth_MALL ( 657218 )
      That last one is true. You can also catch it as the safe combination, punched in by Matt Damon, in Oceans 11 (the new one).It pops up in movies almost as much as the Wilhelm scream. [starwars-rpg.net]
    • As someone else wrote in the thread about the "Klingon Language Institute":

      I'm a fan, but......OUTSIDE...NOW.....SUNSHINE!

      Steve
    • While on Tattooine, I believe in Mos Eisly, one Stormtrooper says something and refers to another stormtrooper with a serial identification. It's THX 1138.

      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

      • 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

    • # Almost the entire car-chase scene was shot in a manner which is VERY reminiscent of the Death-Star trench scene in Star Wars, right down to the cuts from the driver/pilot, to the beeping computer display, to the pursuing baddies (whose motorcycles SOUND like tie fighters), to the cutaways to the "drones in the control room watching the whole thing" - same timing, same camera angles, same sound effects.

    • Re:Some facts (Score:2, Troll)

      by Rupert ( 28001 )
      In the novelisation of Star Wars, the hangar bay chief on the Death Star says "THX 1138, why aren't you at your post?"

      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)

      by tiltowait ( 306189 )
      are detailed here [tk421.net]...

  • One of my top 10 faves (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Ralph Spoilsport ( 673134 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @01:08PM (#9217360) Journal
    This is one of my most fave films, and I will be collecting the DVD as soon as I can get the scratch together.

    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

    • 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.

      "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"

      !!!!!

  • Not again! (Score:5, Funny)

    by bunco ( 1432 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @01:09PM (#9217374)
    Not knowing what THX-1138 was, first glance of the article title resulted in the reply: "Sonofa! I have to upgrade my home theater for *another* audio format!?"
  • The Electric Labyrinth, his student film from USC, was basically a short (20 minutes, if I remember) version of THX. It was the first Lucas film to be released on DVD years ago, part of the SHORT collection - Short 10 - Chaos [amazon.com] - that is now defunct, I think. It's an interesting insight into that period of his career.

  • THX-1138's original concepts (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Animats ( 122034 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @01:59PM (#9218116) Homepage
    THX-1138 has some great original concepts.

    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 of the site is the Legal Terms of Servce [thx1138movie.com] with its light gray on white text :D

  • In the sequel.... (Score:3, Funny)

    by simetra ( 155655 ) on Friday May 21, 2004 @03:13PM (#9219044) Homepage Journal
    They add Muppets, and it all goes to hell.

    Sorry for the spoiler.
  • Okay, I am a fan of Space 1999 ( season 1 only ) which is also goofy and as old as dust.

    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

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