Note: The Director's Cut Special Edition DVD release with recently added effects and recut scenes was used to screen the film.
Before George Lucas became famous for Star Wars, he did a short student film. Based on this short film, THX 1138 was made in 1971 as Lucas' feature film debut and was produced by Francis Ford Coppola and his American Zoetrope studios. Having finally seen the film only recently, one is struck by how it is not dated. Of course, without having seen the original theatrical release, one wonders how much modernizing was done (as in Star Wars).
The sets are stark and devoid of color, which hammers home the blandness of a drug-regulated staid society. The film relies on quick cuts and the emotions of the actors to propel the story. The film's extensive and excellent use of background sounds emerses the audience in the setting while also occasionally driving the story and imparting information.
The inclusion of such content and the drug-regulation and the holographical full-body entertainment center are disturbing and can put off some viewers, but actually have become more and more relevant as time passed.
