Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB
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| Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB | |
|---|---|
 1138 escaping the electronic labyrinth |
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| Directed by | George Lucas |
| Written by | George Lucas Matthew Robbins (uncredited, original comic) |
| Starring | Dan Natchsheim Mark O'Donnell |
| Music by | The Yardbirds, "Still I'm Sad" (opening credits) |
| Cinematography | F. E. Zip Zimmerman |
| Running time | 15 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Electronic Labyrinth: THX-1138 4EB was a short film directed by George Lucas in 1967 while he attended the University of Southern California. The movie exists in 16mm reference print, on videocassette with a run time of 15 minutes, and on the special edition DVD of THX 1138, George Lucas's feature-length version of the short.
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[edit] Plot
THX 1138 4EB is shown running through several passageways, it is soon discovered that he is escaping his community. The government uses computers and cameras to track him down and attempt to stop him however, they fail. THX 1138 4EB escapes through a door and runs off into the sunset. The government sends their condolences to 4EB's wife as her husband is now pronounced dead.
[edit] Production
The film utilized subterranean accessways and parking garages at Los Angeles International Airport to depict an underground city in a dystopian future.
Wayne Schotten, who attended the premiere of the short, gave this eyewitness account of the event that helped launch George Lucas's career:
The film departments of UCLA and Southern California University had an annual film competition for students from both schools at a time when they and New York University were about the only schools in the country offering a degree in cinema. In 1967, I attended the showing at UCLA's Royce Hall, and George Lucas's THX 1138 was a standout work among many very good ones. Not only was it the audience's favorite, but the judges awarded it best picture. Lucas was called to the podium to accept his award. He seemed nervous and shy at the microphone, but then startled as he was interrupted at the microphone, apparently a surprise to all on stage, by a lawyer from Warner Brothers who announced that Warners was offering whoever won the competition the opportunity to turn it into a feature. That was of course George. It seemed an eternity while he stood speechless, mouth open. Warners already had the young Francis Ford Coppola under contract, so they assigned him as producer to George. I then saw the resulting feature "THX 1138" in 1971 at a theater in Hollywood. It was not great commercial success, but the success of the George Lucas career is legendary.[citation needed]
The USC program guide that accompanied the premiere said the film was a "nightmare impression of a world in which a man is trying to escape a computerized world which constantly tracks his movements."
[edit] Comparison to feature film
The last act of THX 1138 roughly corresponds with the events in this film. In the final scene, people are warned not to exit the underground city through the door, which will supposedly lead to death. (In fact, the exit leads to freedom).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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