THX-1138 (Director's Cut DVD)
 djhufford  rates it:    Community rates it: (no ratings yet)
   290 of 588 readers found this review helpful.

This film is odd. There is not much dialog. You do not understand what is going on half the time. Yet it is still bloody interesting. From what I have been able to piece together, this apparently was originally a student film by George Lucas. This movie stars Oscar winner Robert Duvall. Why Duvall participated in a student film, we may never know. But his participation definately gives the film creditability.
This movie takes place in the distant future. Duvall lives in a massive domed city, where everyone is drugged into submission. Everyone works for the state. They are working on some sort of nuclear project that is never explained. It is apparently very dangerous; as they make it clear hundreds have died in the process. Somehow, Duvall realizes that there is more to life then living in the dome, staying drugged and working for the state. He wants to escape. Wouldn’t you? This decision lands him in jail. There he meets an erroneous hologram who tries to help him find the way out.
This movie rides the line of boredom pretty hard. However, it never crosses it. This movie is just creepy enough and interesting enough to keep you tuned in. Duvall is superb and he alone may be the reason I did not turn this off. For having very limited dialog, you really get emotionally attached to the character and really root for him to escape. If you look really closely, you can see some hints of Star Wars. It is apparent Lucas was somewhat inspired by this film when making the original Star Wars Trilogy. The musical score is brilliant. There is very little music, but it comes in at just the right times to add dramatic effect. Overall, this was a very well made film. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the sci-fi genre.

Added:  Thursday, June 09, 2005

Related Link:  IMDB listing
Language: eng[ Did you find this review helpful?  Yes  No ]
[ Back to reviews index ]

Want to comment on this review?
Register here for a free user account, and you'll be able to.