THX 1138 (1970)

In the 25th Century, emotion is a crime. In a world where society controls all behavior through drugs, holographic TV broadcasts sex and violence, and a robotic police force maintains the law, factory worker THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) and roommate LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie)decide to live. THX stops taking his drugs and falls in love with LUH. After unauthorized erotic behavior with THX, LUH becomes pregnant. THX is jailed for his behavior. Upon meeting SEN 5241 (Donald Pleasance), the two set out to escape. Meeting hologram SRT and finding LUH are just stops along the way to freedom.

Regardless of the history and following behind George Lucas' student project turned Francis Ford Coppola's produced feature THX 1138 is a fore-telling of what was to come from Lucas. His now iconic stylings that are raw and undefined; but the true aesthetic from the now-famed director shines clearly.

THX 1138 is not a mainstream film and I cannot recommend it to anyone save for those genuinely intrigued by what makes Lucas tick. It has shades of 2001: A Space Odyssey both in tedium and sterility. The film's strength is found in the visual aesthetic, not the story.

A young and bald Robert Duvall as THX is simply amazing. He depth of performance is remarkable in such a rigidly controlled universe. In contrast, Donald Pleasance's SEN is less assured. Where is Maggie McOmie now?

THX 1138 is an altogether different film experience; it's art house fare from a brilliant up and coming director. In 2008, though, it is an homage to the cinematic and technical brilliance of George Lucas.