VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

gavin6942 While monitored and pursued, a man races to escape through a futuristic labyrinth.Lucas had had an idea for a long time "based on the concept that we live in the future and that you could make a futuristic film using existing stuff". Fellow USC students Matthew Robbins and Walter Murch had a similar idea which Robbins developed into a short treatment, but Robbins and Murch lost interest in the idea, whereas Lucas was keen to persist.Because of the USC's Navy connection, Lucas was able to access filming locations which would not otherwise have been available to him: the USC computer center, a parking lot at UCLA, the Los Angeles International Airport, and the Van Nuys Airport. Much of the filming was done at night, with some at weekends.This film's value is in the fact it is a root. By itself, it is a very good student film, but still just that: a short student film. But we know what came of this. It turned into a feature-length film, it caught the attention of Steven Spielberg, and soon we had "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones". Without this, we would have none of that, and Harrison Ford would be unemployed.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews This is found on the 2-Disc George Lucas Director's Cut release of THX 1138 that came out in 2004. His student film. You're probably more familiar with the remake that he made(and everyone who's watched any of his work may have seen the four numbers appear somewhere, and he used the prefix as the title of his sound-system). This and especially the theatrical version of '71 had an ambivalent effect on his career in the field; the studio had no idea how to sell the latter, and it led to the downfall of the original dream of what American Zoetrope was. It also proved that he could make something otherworldly and unique, and he might not have made Star Wars(or it could have been less than it was) if not. This is very experimental, and its visual side is compelling and interesting. The sound is creative(given the constraints), and editing is skillful. In 15 short minutes, this manages to convey many of the themes he would explore to a greater extent in the feature-length quite subtly and without anything feeling staged. The acting is satisfactory. There is a bit of disturbing content in this. I recommend it to any fan of cinema that takes chances. 7/10

Polaris_DiB "THX 1138" is still George Lucas' best feature-length film (and honestly, I don't see that position changing, like, ever). This earlier short film, his student work, is equally as interesting and a lot more so for fans of experimental cinema. The title is apt: Lucas crafts a labyrinth out of electronic imagery and sound effects (sound effects that are previews of the type of stuff he'd develop later for Star Wars), while a man runs through it, trying to escape. The camera itself is a part of the labyrinth, and the viewer is watching just as closely as the various people tracking his progress, trying to stop him. At times when it seems the man is more likely to fail, everything gets more static and distorted, but at times when he manages to pull through, the electronic fogginess clears and one has a better look at his face, features, and surroundings.For once it's nice to see an experimental feature that actually lead to a more commercially successful reworking and lent experience towards development of effects that eventually changed the nature of movies. In this way, Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB is a very important document in the history of film.--PolarisDiB

moviemanMA In the late 1960's, Hollywood was starting to go downhill. Movies were being made to please an older audience and not branch out towards a younger audience and just get more people. It was in California that the revolution would take place. This student film was one of the starting points in the right direction.A young man attending USC by the name of George Lucas made a little film that would change his life and others around him. He called it Elecrtic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB. It is only 15 minutes long but it gets across a message that was just right for the time. That rebel yell that the people were waiting to scream out. To rise up against authority. This film was the launch pad for Lucas and his career as a film maker.Electric Labyrinth is about one man's escape from the grip of oppression in a futuristic society. He and everyone else it seems is under surveillance and the only way to get out is to run. THX 1138 is the name or title of the man on the run. Although the movie is short, it seems like we connect to the person. We all feel like just running away sometimes. Although we don't know much about the man, we feel for him. All attempts at stopping his man seem futile. They can dish out anything, but little can stop the determination of someone.This is what would spawn a feature length production of the film starring Robert Duvall as THX 1138 and also would help Lucas on his way to directing bigger things like American Graffiti and what would make him a house hold name...Star Wars. In 15 minutes Lucas was able to shock the cinema world and help change the industry to what we see it as today. This little project would lead to advances in movie making, editing, and overall appeal of a movie. Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorcese, and many more were part of the revolution in cinema that would bring people back to the theaters.