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The History of THX 1138: How Hollywood Ruined George Lucas’s First Film

Celluloid Cinema

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By examining Lucas's origins as an experimental filmmaker and the behind-the-scenes history of his first feature-length film, THX 1138, we are able to observe the difficulties filmmakers in the 1960s faced when trying to maintain creative control within the Hollywood Studio system and how the fallout from this experience affected Lucas for the rest of his career.

Letterboxd Lists of Films used in the video:
https://letterboxd.com/rjt524/list/th...

Film Clips:
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) Dir. George Lucas
THX 1138 (1971) Dir. George Lucas
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Dir. David Lean
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Dir. Steven Spielberg
Canyon Cinema at BAMPHA (2017)
A Movie (1958) Dir. Bruce Conner
Look at Life (1965) Dir. George Lucas
Crime Without Passion (1934) Dir. Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur
1:42.08 (1966) Dir. George Lucas
Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967) Dir. George Lucas
Finian's Rainbow (1968) Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
You're a Big Boy Now (1966) Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
Paint Your Wagon (1969) Dir. Joshua Logan
Breathless (1960) Dir. Jean-Luc Goddard
Jules and Jim (1962) Dir. François Truffaut
The Rain People (1969) Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
Easy Rider (1969) Dir. Dennis Hopper
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) Dir. Richard Marquand
8½ (1963) Dir. Federico Fellini

Interview Clips:
Filmmaker (1968) George Lucas
Empire of Dreams (2004) Dir. Kevin Burns & Edith Baker
Oprah's Next Chapter (2012)
A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope (2004) Dir. Gary Leva
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (2003) Dir. Kenneth Bowser
The New Cinema (1968) Dir. Gary Young
Artifact From the Future: The Making of THX 1138 (2004) Dir. Gary Leva
Bald: The Making of THX 1138 (1971) Dir. George Lucas
Fog City Mavericks (2007) Dir. Gary Leva

Music:
Epidemic Sound

0:00 Intro
1:27 Chapter One: 1944-1964
3:27 Chapter Two: 1965-1967
6:31 Chapter Three: 1967
10:02 Chapter Four: 1968-1969
14:00 Chapter Five: 1969-1970
17:48 Chapter Six: 1970-1971
21:47 Conclusion

20 Comments

@CelluloidCinema Creator 5 years ago (edited) Pinned

Thank you all for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video! Please subscribe to be notified about future film history video essays. In the meantime, feel free to continue the discussion on THX 1138 and George Lucas below. Here are some jumping-off points to get started:

1. How different would the New Hollywood movement have been if Warner Bros. liked THX 1138 and didn't cancel their financing deal with American Zoetrope? Considering two of the films that were in this deal were The Conversation and Apocalypse Now and that Coppola only decided to make the Godfather in order to pay off the debt he incurred after Warner Bros. pulled their financing, at minimum his career would have been drastically impacted. Not to mention, since Star Wars is seen as the start of the blockbuster era that was responsible for ending the New Hollywood movement, there's an argument to be made Star Wars wouldn't have existed had Warner Bros. not reacted the way they did.

2. What are your opinions on directors releasing different cuts of their films? Not to tie this all back to Star Wars, but obviously, the largest criticism Lucas has received has been his decision to reddit the original Trilogy, but by understanding what happened to him with THX 1138, one can’t help but see his continuous changes to his films as a consequence of Warner Bros. taking his film away.

3. Even though Lucas’s creative vision was hijacked by Warner Bros. in 1971, the rest of the seventies are largely viewed as the time in American Cinema where filmmakers were given the most artistic freedom. As mentioned in the last question this quickly dissipated once the blockbuster was conceived and the studios realized they could make exuberant amounts of money regardless of the artistry, but do you think there is any chance of Hollywood returning to a period that is more like the seventies and friendly to filmmakers?

@jonzmoviebar7580 1 month ago

didn't expect to see both Clint Eastwood and Francis Copola to sing to his audience here

@mrskitty68 2 years ago

My Dad did the sound and had a cameo on this film. RIP Daddy ❤

@JaredWignall1138 5 years ago

Makes sense why George is so obsessed with making his films as perfect as can be later in his career. His first two films had scenes cut for no reason other than the fact the studio could do it. With Star Wars, he was disappointed with the final product as it was only half complete according to him, all the way back at the films initial release in 1977. When technology got to where he could add the things he wanted for Star Wars, he jumped at the opportunity to get what was in his head on the screen. I enjoy the special editions, but I do wish he released the theatrical cuts of the films on blu-ray with the special editions just to be able to watch whichever version one is in the mood for.

@kamdan2011 5 years ago

It should be worth mentioning that there was an Italian version of THX that re-edited the movie to be the title character recounting the events that drove him to the car chase. It also used the opening credits to explain the backstory of how and why the world is the way it is in the film.

@LIQUIDSNAKEz28 5 years ago

THX1138 is one of the most prophetic movies I've seen about where we are all gradually heading as a species.

@LFPAnimations 1 year ago

8:50 "studio films were being made based on what audiences liked in the past and were not capable of keeping up with the public's changing interests" Gee that sounds familiar. We are literally in a period just like that right now where the big studios only make safe bets on old IP.

@CalmaxFilm 5 years ago

Hi man, this is really really interesting. I'm a french student in cinema and I felt alone in the world because I'm fascinated by George Lucas's career BEFORE Star Wars. I think American Graffiti is an incredible film, and your video is really relevant. Congrats! I will be very happy to discuss George Lucas's style with you !

@Savadorason1 1 year ago

THX 1138, like the original 1966-69 Star Trek series, was far ahead of most heads decades ago. And they wouldn't be fully appreciated until decades later, leading upto now. Thankyou Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, & Francis Ford Coppola for giving all of these interesting, entertaining & cerebral movies & shows to us for generations now, & those to come.

@mrpicky1868 4 years ago (edited)

if all ArtHouse was this good and talented it would not have that bad of a name. also what George did not say out loud but the fact that the audience didnt get it broke his heart

@rafaelserna2343 5 years ago

Really interesting video dude, hope you make more video essays soon!

@synthetic240 3 years ago

THX1138 really is under-rated. Sure, it's difficult to name a stranger movie but just the last few decades have seen extremely influential "weird" movies like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", "The Truman Show", "Fight Club", "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once".

Whatever I think of Lucas today, he really deserves to be proud of this movie.

@chrisbanbury 5 years ago

Woah, check out George's field jacket at 11:19.

@kmrdknrd 5 years ago

This was a really great essay, thanks for making it! Subscribed and looking forward to more content from you:)

@MrVctory 4 years ago

Fantastic essay man, thank you for this.

@theemeraldcrown1 5 years ago

You deserve more than a 155 subscribers! Also, this is AWESOME for someone's first video! We will watch your career with great interest! :D

@MasterpieceArtSchool 4 years ago

Nice job with this video essay!

@NorthWestPvPlolrektnoob 2 years ago

It's crazy you only maybe one video then left. The quality of this video is right on par with any of the other Cinema channels, Idk why you wouldn't continue. :(

@stratolestele7611 1 year ago (edited)

I'll just say that as a long-time THX 1138 fan from as young as I can remember, I've been pulled to the film.

What I thought was an abomination, was the director's remake. The CGI additions were painfully obvious, and all of the added traffic and population in the recut version ruined the Stark end-of-mankind feel that I had when I saw the OG. Thankfully, I have the original version on VHS as that is the only version I will watch.

Edit - oh and the musical score was fantastic, all around fantastic!