Where the figures in 'Star Wars' find themselves in fantastic worlds of which the audience isn't supposed to question the realism apart from the convincing power but merely needs to be entertained, the protagonist in 'THX-1138' finds himself in a dystopic world of which we ARE supposed to be sceptic, if not, take distance and condemn strongly, without knowing how it has come to this.
At the same time both subtle and impressive music, not much dialogue (an idea Lucas should have returned to when writing Ep1+2) and impeccable storytelling. The cinematography by Albert Kihn and David Myers is stunning and together with Lucas' own editing tells a much more coherent story than what Lucas presented to us the last decade. Recently he probably forgets watching his favourite Kurosawa-movies right before filming, because many beginners' mistakes are shine through in Episode 1 and 2 of his Star Wars enterprise. But in 'THX-1138' the visuals are almost poetic and make you forget the sometimes absent dialogue and may even outperform Robert Duvall (also MASH, Godfather, Apocalypse Now). I wonder why there is a thank-you-note to cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (Apocalypse Now, Being There, Right Stuff) in the end-credits.
The sterile cleanliness, totalitarian authority, cold uniformity and extreme conformism all have the goal to suppress human behaviour and promote the most efficient society. What these people need to do is watch more fantasy movies! =^) A world like the one in 'THX-1138' could never exist, because we're too afraid that it might actually really come to that. Or are 'we' only the moviegoing public i.e. 5% of world population? In that case it might become reality some day including '... cybernetics, genetics, lasers...' etc. But there is a way out of this dystopic world, you only have to approach life from a different perspective and there you have it. Nothing will hold you back. Some of the following cynical stories do not agree with that view: Brazil, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Metropolis, Gattaca and Soylent Green. Nevertheless I would like to recommend them.
Some references to this movie are worth mentioning: (1) cell block #1138 in Star Wars Ep4 (2) the license plate THX138 in American Graffiti (3) IMDb comment #1138 for Star Wars Ep2 ;-) Finally I recommend taking a look at the 'recommendations' and 'movie connections'-tabs here on IMDb. 8/10
At the same time both subtle and impressive music, not much dialogue (an idea Lucas should have returned to when writing Ep1+2) and impeccable storytelling. The cinematography by Albert Kihn and David Myers is stunning and together with Lucas' own editing tells a much more coherent story than what Lucas presented to us the last decade. Recently he probably forgets watching his favourite Kurosawa-movies right before filming, because many beginners' mistakes are shine through in Episode 1 and 2 of his Star Wars enterprise. But in 'THX-1138' the visuals are almost poetic and make you forget the sometimes absent dialogue and may even outperform Robert Duvall (also MASH, Godfather, Apocalypse Now). I wonder why there is a thank-you-note to cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (Apocalypse Now, Being There, Right Stuff) in the end-credits.
The sterile cleanliness, totalitarian authority, cold uniformity and extreme conformism all have the goal to suppress human behaviour and promote the most efficient society. What these people need to do is watch more fantasy movies! =^) A world like the one in 'THX-1138' could never exist, because we're too afraid that it might actually really come to that. Or are 'we' only the moviegoing public i.e. 5% of world population? In that case it might become reality some day including '... cybernetics, genetics, lasers...' etc. But there is a way out of this dystopic world, you only have to approach life from a different perspective and there you have it. Nothing will hold you back. Some of the following cynical stories do not agree with that view: Brazil, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Metropolis, Gattaca and Soylent Green. Nevertheless I would like to recommend them.
Some references to this movie are worth mentioning: (1) cell block #1138 in Star Wars Ep4 (2) the license plate THX138 in American Graffiti (3) IMDb comment #1138 for Star Wars Ep2 ;-) Finally I recommend taking a look at the 'recommendations' and 'movie connections'-tabs here on IMDb. 8/10