Quick Review: THX 1138 (no spoilers)

[jeriendhal]

Y'know, looking at this movie from George Lucas' POV, it actually is a reasonably funny comedy, in a Brazil sort of way. That said, it's probably one of the most realistic views of how a soviet style totalitarian system operates, in that things are not so much run as with one man's iron fist, but by a series of opaque bureaucracies who grind down individuals not out of evil intent but from sheer indifference, and even that they don't do very well.

The version I saw was the new "Special Edition" that was released in 2003, which like the upgraded Star Wars films included CGI add-ins that probably cost ten times more more than the film's original $750,000 budget. Most of which didn't detract from the film, except for some craptacular Gollum CG overlaying the original Shell Dwellers towards the end.

PS Don't watch it for the plot, which is simple enough. Watch it as a sort of snapshot of a foreign society falling apart, where things (sorta) make sense for the people there, but not to outsiders.

Comments

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

I hate when movies get changed later, personally. It seems like it mostly is not done to actually improve the picture, but instead is the worst sort of in your face CGI "look at me, I'm new!" crap. Subtle changes are often interesting, but it seems rare that someone doing such things can exercise enough restraint.

But then I'm a curmudgeon.