History Film / THX1138

This 1971 {{dystopia}}n science fiction film was Creator/GeorgeLucas' feature directorial debut, and started his rapid ascent in Hollywood. You may be more familiar with this film from [[Creator/{{THX}} the sound system company]] Lucas named in its honor, or from the fact that the number 1138 shows up ''everywhere'' in ''Franchise/StarWars'' and [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends related]] [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse products]] in reference to it. It is also a remake of his 1967 USC student film project, "Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB".

[[YouAreNumberSix THX 1138]] (Creator/RobertDuvall) would be a happy worker drone, if the pills he takes would let him feel anything. He "lives" in a windowless industrial/commercial/dormitory along with other shaved-head people in a numb, chemically induced haze until the day his roommate, LUH (Maggie [=McOmie=]), sabotages his daily dose of pills in order to make him feel. They both fall madly in love, but their bliss is short-lived since the numbing pills gave THX a vaunted steady hand in his industrial job. The government requires people to take these drugs each day and people who stop are sought by police and punished for "drug avoidance."

* ADateWithRosiePalms: The Director's Cut adds some sort of pumping mechanism that is aimed at THX's crotch while he watches pornographic holograms. Love and sex are outlawed in this society, so this is apparently how citizens expel their sexual urges. Out of all the new elements in the film, it could well be the only one to contribute to the R rating of the Director's Cut.

* {{Dystopia}}: The film takes place in an antiseptic future that seems to have combined the most self-destructive tendencies of both socialism and capitalism. Religion is illegal except for worship of the Almighty State, and the residents are all [[BigBrotherIsWatching constantly monitored]] and work [[BigBrotherIsEmployingYou for the government]], in one capacity or another, and are expected to inform on their neighbors for crimes such as computer hacking or refusing to take their medication. At the same time, though, they are encouraged to work long hours, make money, and buy as much material property as they can. (We see THX himself buying a red ''thing'' at a store that sells nothing but different-colored ''things''. He takes it home and promptly throws it down the garbage disposal, which is what you're apparently supposed to do with them.)

* AmbiguousSituation: SRT says that he's a "hologram," but it's never clear what that means. Is he an artificial intelligence manifesting as a projected image that can manipulate objects? Is he just a performer for holograms like the ones THX watches? Does he ''think'' that he's a hologram?
** However, he's the only character who expressed real emotions through the entire movie. He didn't seem to feel any pain when his ear got tagged. And he apparently doesn't know how to drive or is unable to hold onto the steering wheel.

[[YouAreNumberSix THX 1138]] (Creator/RobertDuvall) would be a happy worker drone, if the pills he takes would let him feel anything. He "lives" in a windowless industrial/commercial/dormitory along with other shaved-head people in a chemically induced haze until the day his roommate, LUH (Maggie [=McOmie=]), sabotages his daily dose of pills in order to make him feel. They both fall madly in love, but their bliss is short-lived since the pills gave THX a vaunted steady hand in his industrial job, and without it they may be discovered.

Which, sadly, they are. Once arrested, THX is sent to a strange WhiteVoidRoom to receive "treatment" for his deviance. He recruits fellow inmates SRT (Don Pedro Colley) and SEN (Creator/DonaldPleasence) in an attempt to escape and rescue LUH. However, the escape won't be easy, and in their strange world, nothing is guaranteed.

* CoversAlwaysLie: On the cover, someone's ear (obviously not Robert Duvall's) is tagged with the name "THX 1138." In the film, workers wear name badges rather than ear tags to identify themselves. THX gets his ear tagged because he's [[PlayingPossum pretending to be a random corpse]] in a morgue to evade his pursuers, so his tag wouldn't have his name on it.

This 1971 {{dystopia}}n science fiction film was Creator/GeorgeLucas' feature directorial debut, and started his rapid ascent in Hollywood. You may be more familiar with this film from the sound system company Lucas named in its honor, or from the fact that the number 1138 shows up ''everywhere'' in ''Franchise/StarWars'' and [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends related]] [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse products]] in reference to it. It is also a remake of his 1967 USC student film project, "Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB".

* {{Novelisation}}: A novelization based on the film was written by Ben Bova and published in 1971. It follows the plot of the movie closely, with four notable additions:

* MoodWhiplash: The movie begins with a clip from ''BuckRogers'' as the announcer express the wonders of the future, in contrast to the dystopian future of ''THX 1138''.

** However, he's the only character who expressed real emotions through the entire movie. He didn't seem to feel any pain when his ear got tagged. And she apparently doesn't know how to drive or unable to hold onto the steering wheel.

* BittersweetEnding: THX [[spoiler:makes it out of the confines of his totalitarian society. However, his lover LUH is dead, so he's alone in a world he knows nothing about, and he has no idea how to survive. The presence of a bird flying by does reveal that survival is possible above ground, so perhaps there's hope]].

* SurprisinglyRealisticExample:

* RealityEnsues:
** [[spoiler:Whatever made the surface uninhabitable a long time ago that served as the setup for the underground city where almost the entirety of the film is set, its effects will have worn off by the time the film takes place, at least to the degree that humans and birds can survive above ground again, as one lone fugitive who escapes the city through a budgetary overexpenditure discovers.]]
** For that matter, [[spoiler:when the account for his pursuit goes over budget, his pursuers allow him the choice of either coming back willingly or continuing what is believed at the time to be his self-destruction. THX has no idea what awaits him at the surface, but he knows what awaits him if he gives up now, and besides, if death should await him at both ends, better for him to die a free man than quite possibly suffer LUH's fate. Guess which path he chooses.]]

** The robot policeman ''look'' intimidating, but they are seen to be malfunctioning get knocked over easily by THX when he makes his escape.

** When THX does break out, the State doesn't pursue him to the ends of the Earth. Rather, once his escape exceeds a certain budget limit, the police robots just give up and let him go.

LUH 3417's trial and death are depicted first-hand from her point of view, and from that of Control.