THX 1138
In a sterile future ruled by drugs, surveillance, and robotic law, a compliant worker awakens to the forbidden possibility of being human.
Overview
In a future where individuality is suppressed, one man's awakening could change everything.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- austere
- paranoid
- eerie
- late night sci fi viewing
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded the film as a visually and sonically striking, affecting dystopian debut whose abstract style and technological tyranny outweigh its simple storyline.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
THX is processed through mandatory drugs, computer matching, confessional conditioning, and robotic policing rather than treated as an autonomous person.
The manufactured enclosure, office corridors, parking structures, and stark light-colored environments create an alienating future through mundane architecture.
Computer systems, state confessions, surveillance, and automated enforcement organize nearly every aspect of life.
Sexual intercourse and personal relationships are banned, while THX and LUH's attraction becomes an act of resistance.
Films like THX 1138, and why
1984
shared dystopian science fiction, institutional control, and stark production design
2001: A Space Odyssey
shared austere speculative world-building, technological alienation, and visually driven science fiction
Brazil
shared bureaucratic oppression, dehumanizing systems, and surreal dystopian atmosphere
Logan's Run
shared minimalist dystopian setting, state surveillance, and escape from authoritarian conformity
Movie Details
- Director
- George Lucas
- Release Date
- 1971-03-11
- Runtime
- 86 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (1118)
Cast
- Robert Duvall
- Donald Pleasence
- Don Pedro Colley
- Maggie McOmie
- Ian Wolfe
- Marshall Efron
- Sid Haig
- John Pearce
- Irene Cagen
- Gary Alan Marsh
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is THX 1138 about?
- In a sterile future ruled by drugs, surveillance, and robotic law, a compliant worker awakens to the forbidden possibility of being human.
- What is THX 1138 like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of THX 1138 as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is THX 1138 violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in THX 1138 as mild.
- What did critics think of THX 1138?
- Critics broadly regarded the film as a visually and sonically striking, affecting dystopian debut whose abstract style and technological tyranny outweigh its simple storyline.
- Which films are like THX 1138?
- Films with a similar feel include 1984, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Brazil, and Logan's Run.
- How long is THX 1138?
- THX 1138 runs 86 minutes.
- Where can I watch THX 1138?
- In United States, THX 1138 is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
