Review of THX 1138 (1971) by Digital B — 23 Jun 2010

Before Star Wars and American Graffiti there was THX 1138, and what a remarkably different film it is, expressing director George Lucas's initial flair for the science fiction genre (which depriciated into indulgence with the dissapointing second Star Wars sequel).

Lucas achieves in constructing a desolate, somewhat chilling and lonesome world, filled with a creepy use of sound, primitive setting and faceless law enforcers. It is easy to see the undeniable vision Lucas brings to the genre, and THX113 celebrates what sci fi was all about pre-1977 with the arrival of trend-setting Star Wars.

The film is an allagorical thinkpiece filled with an original visual scope and a broad narrative canvas which, although not exactly original, is undeniably watchable. What the storyline lacks in authenticity the inventiveness onscreen more than makes up for it, offering an imaginative and challenging alternative to the usually loud alternatives.

This is a great film, a film which is at times baffling, confusing and isolating, much like the feelings main character Robert Duvall is facing throughout. Its undeniably strange, but THX 1138 is interesting viewing nonetheless.