The first big screen commercial film of George Lucas 'THX 1138' is now back in a re-made production. I did not yet form a clear opinion about directors re-visiting their films decades after the original production. It's certainly their right to do it, but I cannot refrain from suspecting that this shows some sort of dilution of their creative force. In other words, I would rather prefer George Lucas doing something completely new, rather then re-doing old films of his.

However, 'THX 1138' is a visionary movie, almost a masterpiece. I liked it. It is one of the first Orwellian films in describing a world of the future controlled by an omni-present mind-control machine. These theme means a lot of me, and for many people who have spent part of their lives in a system that tried to create 'a new man' by using a system of control and repression that was targeting towards suppression of individual freedom and personality. What is however very strong in 'THX 1138' is the visual quality of the world created by Lucas. This is what cinema is for, this is what real art is about - creating a new world from existing materials, transporting the viewers in an alternate world of the future using the cinema art means. Although realized about 20 years before computer graphics in films, the vision is fresh and impressing.

An ageless Robert Duvall does here one of the best roles of his career. Donald Pleasance is a very good counter-part. I liked very much Maggie McOmie, how does it come that this film did not launch her in a star career? It actually looks like this is the only film she did, according to IMDb.

The extra features on the DVD are interesting and bring a lot of new information for fans of science fiction, of the 70s films and of Lucas. The film itself gets 9 out of 10 on my personal scale.

In a dystopian future, people are controlled in every aspect of their lives with the use of drugs and technology. THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) is paired with LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie). LUH replaces their drugs and they start to feel for each other. SEN 5241 (Donald Pleasence) takes LUH away from him. THX turns SEN in for his illegal shifting. THX is struggling at work and they place a mindblock on him. THX is sent to holding. LUH tells THX that she got pregnant. THX is joined by SEN while imprisoned. They escape with the help of SRT who turns out to be a hologram.

The version I saw was remastered by George Lucas. The obvious CGI does take away from the sense of 70s sci-fi. It's got interesting style and a compelling premise. The story is a little muddled and it needs to be more of a driven thriller. Duvall and Pleasence should stick together. When they split up, some of the tension is lost. The premise works but the story needs a little bit more work.

Sexual contact of any kind, against the law. Pills instead of food. All hair, shaves. All body coverings, white and loose, with the government telling you through passive/aggressive brainwashing what emotions are right for you. No anger at any time. Radiation disasters happen, and a calm voice tells you not to worry. This is a bleak view of a future where personalities are not welcome and everything you do is monitored. Pretty save stuff from an era that also have us "Fahrenheit 911", "Soylent Green" and "Logan's Run". Those are films I could appreciate, because they told a linear story, but the story here is hidden in incidents and assumptions that left me frustrated, confused and I must admit, bored. It's not horrible, but other than the fact that a fairly young Robert Duvall is desperately trying to escape this hell on earth universe didn't give me enough interest to find it intriguing. Yes, we're in a changing world now, politically, socially and economically, but we're far from "A Clockwork Orange" that this tries to emulate in more ways than one. Strictly for the science fiction obsessed. Others will not be impressed.