SummaryLUH 3417, a disenchanted surveillance worker, consciously stops taking her mandatory drugs — medication that suppresses emotions — and gives placebos to her roommate, THX 1138. Now free to feel, the two fall in love, but find themselves on the run for breaking laws of conformity.
Directed By:George Lucas
Written By:George Lucas, Walter Murch
THX 1138
Metascore
Generally Favorable
75
User score
Generally Favorable
6.6
My Score
Drag or tap to give a rating
Hover and click to give a rating
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
88% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
Enough about the CGI tweaking, is this film really Lucas's unloved masterpiece? The film that got lost in the shadow of "American Graffitti" and "Star Wars" while, actually, being a better film?
80
Testament to the emergence of a visually masterful filmmaker, capable of ingenious, low-tech special effects.
User score
Generally Favorable
52% Positive
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
45% Mixed
29 Ratings
29 Ratings
3% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Jan 23, 2011
10
I loved this movie and it's new additions. I think it's great that Lucas can now touch up his films in the way that he invisioned them originally... with the latest special effects. It's not over the top, the new additions are quick and blend in nicely adding to the sense of this future world THX lives in. Sure the originals are good but now they're better... ask any young lad experiencing them for the first time. What I enjoy most of this film and others like it is the lack of dialoge. The real world doesn't explain everything to it's viewers, that you have to figure out for yourselves and it's not that difficult... well at least not for most. Instead it leaves our attention to stunning and beautiful cinematography, incredible audio and the very bright but dark vision of a big brother world.
Jul 19, 2015
9
I watched THX 1138 in the 70s, when I was a teenager, and I deeply loved it. It has been one of my favorite Sci-Fi movies ever, a love at first sight that had a big part in molding me into the huge fan of dystopian scenarios I am today. A love that lasted for 40 years, until I happened to watch the Director's Cut version: what a disappointment! I frankly don't understand why George Lucas wanted to change something so perfect. Especially the ending scene, when THX faces the shell dwellers: have the monkeys escaped from Planet of the Apes? Some leftover of Aliens that couldn't be employed anywhere else? Ridiculous. A restoration shouldn't make a movie look worse. My rate only refers to the 1971 version.
75
A nice gift for science fiction fans.
75
The movie's strength is not in its story but in its unsettling and weirdly effective visual and sound style. (Review of Original Release)
70
The surprising thing about George Lucas's first feature (1971), a dystopian SF parable now digitally enhanced and expanded by five minutes, is how arty it seems compared to his later movies.
67
It's not a question of Lucas' right to revamp his own work -- the movie simply was much better without these absurd additions.
50
Reportedly, Lucas has been tinkering with this "director's cut" for nearly two years, so its sound and visual elements -- which were fairly impressive to begin with -- have been markedly enhanced, while new digital backgrounds give the film a more epic scale. Still, it's an extraordinarily unengaging and tedious affair.
Feb 18, 2026
8
Before there was "Star Wars," there was "THX 1138," George Lucas’ confounding sci-fi thriller about a man (Duvall) and a woman (Maggie McOmie) rebelling against a tyrannical government. This cold, dystopian society is a far cry from that exciting galaxy far, far away, and 1971 audiences stayed away in droves. Time has rendered a different verdict, however, and the film has found a second life with fans of futuristic thrillers. Lucas and company create a surprisingly convincing world on a shoestring budget, while Duvall provides an emotional resonance lacking in the script.
Jul 15, 2013
8
One of the best dystopian movies out there. Great performances from Duvall, also a realistic and "beautifully"(or horrifyingly) realised world. One of the forgotten gems of science-fiction dystopian fiction!!! I can understand the low reviews, because this movie requires "brains" to enjoy. George Lucas best work in my opinion. Very recommended!!!
May 27, 2012
8
I didn't know George Lucas had it in him. All his films to follow are so commercial, whereas this is cold and atmospheric. In the future humans are controlled by medications, and unbeknown to THX his female roommate is slowly removing the pills. He starts feeling emotions like love and lust that he never felt before and he and his roommate start having sex which is not permitted. I was amazed at how cool the sets were for a film made on low budget in 1970. I really enjoyed this film.
Apr 21, 2021
5
A great film from a brilliant young film maker named George Lucas ruined decades later by a much lesser film maker named George Lucas. CGI monkeys? Really? Why?
Let's just hope he's never able to buy the rights to anyone else's movies. I'd hate to see CGI monkeys in Casablanca but have no doubt that George would think its a good idea since they are just as out of place in this move as they would be in that one.
First he gives you fun childhood memories and then he destroys them.
Like putting a modern engine in a classic car it ruins what was once a piece of art and history. But hey, you got monkeys!
Aug 16, 2019
1
Intended to be 1984 but did not explain the core issues in this world and merely pop out meaningless numbers. No better than most college students' homework film.
Production Company:
- American Zoetrope
- Warner Bros.
Release Date:Mar 11, 1971
Duration:1 h 26 m
Rating:R
Tagline:Visit the future where love is the ultimate crime.
Awards
Guinness World Record Award
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
WorldFest Houston
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 1 Nomination
