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Robert Duvall in the title role

Yes, in an ironic reversal, the film that paved the way for Lucas to make Star Wars now gets a much-needed face-lift thanks to the enduring success of that series. The digital restoration looks vibrant on the big screen, which means it'll look at least as good on your television screen, and the THX sound (aha!) is terrific, especially when it envelops the audience with the ambience of the overcrowded city. Speaking of which, like the restored original Star Wars trilogy, we actually get to see glimpses of the city in the background—and is it at all surprising that it closely resembles the Empire's metropolitan home world of Coruscant? Rather than a bland series of underground tunnels that resemble the service halls of a shopping mall, the environment comes to life with multiple levels, elevators, walkways, and a series of lightning-fast trams. There are even a few new shots of futuristic life forms not seen in the original film.

Unlike the Star Wars restoration, in which the new effects shots merely enhanced the environment (and proved too distracting for some), the effects here are used to tell the story with considerably more clarity and effectiveness. An off-screen radiation explosion early in the original film now becomes a cinematic reality in the director's cut. We more clearly see THX's job as a robotic assembly line technician. The planet's overpopulation problem is shown with more terrifying and claustrophobic results. And Lucas' love of speedy vehicles comes to life with more fully realized rocket cars that actually rocket this time, resulting in a chase scene toward the film's end that becomes quite a bit more exciting.

The cops resemble a cross between CHiPs characters and C-3PO

Family-minded audiences should also be aware that Lucas has restored more than effects to the film, earning the movie an R rating for sexuality and nudity. The film's heady themes and cinematic style already make it too mature (i.e. "boring") for kids under 13—as shared already, I speak from experience. Many of today's PG-13 films are more explicit and gratuitous than this, which shows a few scenes of THX and LUH naked in each other's arms. Though a lot of skin is shown, it's less titillating than it is "Eden like," contrasting human intimacy with the world in which they live.

In another restored scene, a holographic nude dancer is presented as an example of soulless entertainment that's been reduced to its base pleasures. Coupled with similarly banal programs of comedy, violence, and sensationalistic news, Lucas offers a vision of where he believes today's television programming is headed—and judging by the evolution of entertainment over the last 30 years, he may not be far off.

The movie still suffers from a tedious and overlong sequence of insane political ramblings from SEN and others in the conditioning asylum. Also the ending still feels too abrupt, and while the final shot is a classic, I wonder if new digital effects might not have rendered it into something more stirring and spectacular. But ultimately, there's no question that George Lucas has succeeded here in restoring THX 1138 for a new generation. Enhancing the film's vision, message, drama, and humor with special effects and a clearer presentation, he's turned something that was relatively unwatchable (by today's cinematic standards) into something that can easily endure as a sci-fi classic for many years.

Talk About It

1. Love, faith, and sexuality are all part of our humanity. Are these things that should be taken from society? Can they be manipulated to our undoing? How do we find balance in using and abusing what we are?
   
   
2. Early on, THX is clearly unfulfilled by the materialism and religion of his society. How does this mirror our own world today? In regard to faith, what do the OMM confessionals tell us about how non-believers regard Christianity?
   
   

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