THX 1138

Retrospective 2017

In an underground city in the future, the inhabitants are forced to take medication, which keeps them under total control. When worker THX 1138 refuses to take his drugs and falls in love with his assigned roommate, they make plans for a life outside the facility before being forcibly separated. THX manages to escape the loosely controlled prison with two other inmates, but even on the run, the three men are never out of the (electronic) sight of the authorities ... “Buy – and be happy!” With his aesthetically progressive directing debut, George Lucas, who would go on to create the Star Wars franchise, radically challenged the American Way of Life. He clothed his vision of a technocratic Big Brother state geared entirely towards productivity in correspondingly “technological” imagery. The disturbing visuals were reinforced by the brilliant “theatre of noise” created by sound designer Walter Murch, who underlaid the entire film with a futuristic sound montage of announcements, radio chatter and industrial sounds. A brilliant contribution to the genre.

by George Lucas
with Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Don Pedro Colley, Maggie McOmie, Ian Wolfe, Marshall Efron, Sid Haig, John Pearce USA 1971 English 88’ Colour

With

Robert Duvall
Donald Pleasence
Don Pedro Colley
Maggie McOmie
Ian Wolfe
Marshall Efron
Sid Haig
John Pearce

Crew

Director	George Lucas
Screenplay	George Lucas, Walter Murch based on an idea by George Lucas
Cinematography	David Myers, Albert Kihn
Editing	George Lucas
Music	Lalo Schifrin
Sound	Walter Murch
Special Effects	Hal Barwood
Art Director	Michael Haller
Costumes	Donald Longhurst
Producers	Lawrence Sturhahn, Francis Ford Coppola

Produced by

American Zoetrope Productions

Additional information

Copy: Slovenska kinoteka, Ljubljana

George Lucas

Filmography

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2017