50 years aftere the film arrived in cinemas on 11th March 1971, io9 take a look at George Lucas‘s THX 1138, the film that put him on the Hollywood map despite being a commercial miss and started the big screen journey to the GFFA and cinematic immortality.
Say the name George Lucas and people obviously think Star Wars. That tends to happen when you create one of the biggest film franchises of all time. But when Lucas himself thinks of his career, you have to suspect he thinks back to its origins. It all began with a dystopian sci-fi student film that became a feature that would launch a career that would change the world as we know it: THX 1138.
The film opened March 11, 1971—which means it turns 50 this week—and if you’re looking to rewatch it, it’s currently available to stream on HBO Max. Robert Duvall leads the cast as the titular character, a man who lives in a repressive society where sexuality and most forms of expression are frowned upon. It’s only when his roommate, LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie), secretly weans THX off his daily medication that they both begin to see things clearly, fall in love, get pregnant, and desperately try to escape this mysterious, terrifying, inhuman world.
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