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THX 1138

Play trailer Poster for THX 1138 PG 1971 1h 28m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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72% Tomatometer 127 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
In the future, mankind lives in vast underground cities and free will is outlawed by means of mandatory medication that controls human emotion. But when THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) and LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie) stop taking their meds, they wake up to the bleak reality of their own existence and fall in love with each other in the process. But love is also illegal in this Orwellian dystopia, and the act of making love has made both of them outlaws on the run from an army of robotic police.
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THX 1138

THX 1138

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Critics Consensus

Though narratively obtuse at times, THX 1138 endures as a visually and sonically haunting sci-fi experiment where subdued performances and George Lucas' restrained direction heighten its oppressively dystopian atmosphere.

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Critics Reviews

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Susan Stark Detroit Free Press Feb 20, 2026
The futuristic world envisioned by George Lucas in "THX 1138" stuns both the eye and the mind. Go to Full Review
Elston Brooks Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com Feb 20, 2026
It's a film fascinating in its concept, visually stunning in its execution. Go to Full Review
Martin Knelman Globe and Mail Feb 20, 2026
THX 1138 has so little spark that it's as if the movie had been conceived as an entertainment for the humorless, glum machine creatures on the screen. Go to Full Review
Frank Gagnard Times-Picayune Mar 30, 2026
It is sincere, competently acted, well photographed and edited. Go to Full Review
R.H. Gardner Baltimore Sun Feb 20, 2026
In the end, "THX 1138" fails, owing to its derivative nature and the fact -- unforgivable in this genre of fiction -- that it is rather dull. Go to Full Review
Anthony Bannon Buffalo News Feb 20, 2026
Its images of man manipulated, of man alone, of man in rebellion against machine are so overwhelmingly effective as to be its singular justification. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Claudio C @Claudio666 6 days ago THX 1138 (1971) Cult in the 70's, Tiresome in the Present Days (12,688 – 11 Jun 1998 / 31 Jul 2012 / 14 Sep 2026 – Claudio Carvalho) "THX 1138" was a cult-movie in Brazil in the earlier 70's; however, watching it again in 2012 and 2026, I found it a plagiarism of the Logan's Run novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson that was published in 1967 and become a cult-movie in 1976. "THX 11238" is also very similar to George Orwell's "1984"; Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World"; and Fritz Lang's "Metropolis". The narrative is tiresome in many moments, and the excessive white landscapes are tedious. But the cinematography is beautiful for the 70‘s. Anyway, this is a mandatory film for any cinema lover or student. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "THX 1138" See more Kyle C @kylekc Sep 5, 2025 George Lucas’s debut feature THX 1138 is often praised as a bold vision of a dystopian future, but for me, it fell flat. At less than 90 minutes, it somehow manages to feel much longer. The pacing is slow, the atmosphere is dry, and the near-total absence of music makes even the supposed moments of tension feel lifeless. The film doesn’t give much reason to care about its characters, and the worldbuilding feels half-baked. Take the hologram companion, for example. He just shows up and we never get a real explanation or backstory of who he is or why he matters. The sets occasionally stand out with a stark, sterile look, but more often they just look like regular parking garages, office buildings, or tunnels. While that could have been an intentional choice to blur the line between “our world” and the dystopia onscreen, the film doesn’t sell the idea convincingly. Instead, it feels like a cheaper imitation of 2001: A Space Odyssey mixed with 1984, but without the spark that makes either of those works powerful. That said, there are a few things I appreciated. The CGI, often derided, isn’t nearly as bad as its reputation, with only a handful of scenes standing out as distracting. I also liked the way the film portrays religion as a hollow government service, while economics are the real mechanism of control. The idea that THX isn’t a revolutionary hero but just an expendable cog escaping the system—only to be abandoned once it’s too costly to pursue him—is interesting, even if it dulls the impact of the ending. Ultimately, THX 1138 has some intriguing concepts but never brings them together into a compelling whole. Its narrative is murky, its characters are thin, and its style leans heavily on influences it can’t match. See more thiago s @Thiagostone Aug 24, 2025 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more kevenquinlan T @RT75276071 Jul 12, 2025 Ahh, Meh. Listen, I understand I'm watching this for the first time and it's 2025. I might've liked it in 71? There isn't much story to it other than to show a technologically advanced dystopia but it was so non-sensical and, you can't take the human element out of humans and expect it to function in any meaningful way- and this movie doesn't function in any meaningful way. The people would be so miserable by the level of surveillance and being forced to live like this= they'd all be depressed and most would kill themselves. Than what's the point of a dystopia if no one can tolerate it- and it's not tolerable. This is like 2001- if you didn't see it when it dropped you'd be hard pressed to get anything out of it now. I won't be keeping it, the cool thing is all the little cues from it they used to better effect in Star Wars. See more Brad S. R @RT07389644 Mar 11, 2025 Thoughtful, but sluggish to a fault–even when it's supposed to be exhilarating. See more Geoff R @RT47350921 Jan 5, 2025 Fantastic first effort but just not enough to sustain the movie. See more Read all reviews
THX 1138

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the future, mankind lives in vast underground cities and free will is outlawed by means of mandatory medication that controls human emotion. But when THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) and LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie) stop taking their meds, they wake up to the bleak reality of their own existence and fall in love with each other in the process. But love is also illegal in this Orwellian dystopia, and the act of making love has made both of them outlaws on the run from an army of robotic police.
Director
George Lucas
Producer
Larry Sturhahn
Screenwriter
George Lucas, Walter Murch
Distributor
Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Warner Brothers, Zoetrope Studios
Rating
PG (Some Sexuality|Some Nudity)
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 11, 1971, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2008
Runtime
1h 28m
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