THX-1138 Turns 50!

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I couldn't find an active, catch-all thread for George Lucas' debut film, but I figured this had to be mentioned today! THX-1138 turns 50 today!

I always find myself wishing that George Lucas had made more films in this vein during his career, post-Star Wars.

 

I actually watched this for the first time this year! Interesting movie. You could definitely see Lucas's fingerprints on it - the worldbuilding/anthropology, the anti-authoritarianism, the cars. It lacked the heart of Star Wars though. I'm glad Lucas turned to space opera after this.

This car is really cool though. I want one.

 

Lucas loved his cars. His life would have been totally different if it wasn’t for the crash

 

The film was released in March 1971 indeed, but it had been completed for at least a year by the time the studio decided to release it. The film was actually shot in the fall of 1969, the year Lucas married and created Amerian Zoetrope with Coppola and others.

A very interesting film, I've rewatched it a few times, even though it's terribly slow. But still, a fascinating piece of cinema (and the only full-lenght example of the kind of films Lucas wanted to make).

 

I hope we'll get a 4k release at some point! I won't get my hopes up though....

 

That would be a day one purchase from me, for sure.

 

I've never seen it actually

 

I've seen it but it was years ago.

 

Does Warner still own the rights to this?

 

I wonder if WB owns it, it'd be interesting if it landed on HBOMax or something. I doubt LFL owns it cuz we probably would have seen it somewhere by now. (and you'd figure his desire to own Star Wars is probably influenced on who owns THX-1138) I have the Special Edition DVD when Lucas tinkered with it a bit more but nobody seems to complain.

THX stuck in the white void where he gets poked by robo policemen still sticks in my head. Also the one officer just casually eating candy when she sends people to chase THX down.

In my head, Lucas ever since "retirement" has been basically making a THX sequel at his own glacial pace and it'll be out sometime in 2030.

 

@BigAl6ft6 it actually is currently on HBO Max, in the US at least.

 

Good to know, although I wonder if it's anywhere in Canada (the HBOMax deal with Crave is wobbly as to who and what)

 

Lucas did say he would make films for he and his friends.

American Graffiti and THX are both not owned by Lucasfilm. Wish they were as I would love to see them on Disney plus

 

The movie just had a new released steelbook here in germany which I of course added to my LFL Collection:





As you can see by the WB Logo its rights still with them.

I own the movie now as DvD, Bluray and Steelbook Bluray

 

Anytime my friends say they “don’t care” what movie we watch, I put this one on. As appreciative as I am of Star Wars and Indy, there is a universe where George just made films like this his whole career, and that would’ve been very cool.