Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB
You're probably aware that George Lucas' THX 1138 from 1971 began some years earlier as a short film. 1967's ELECTRONIC LABYRINTH: THX 1138 4 EB features a dystopian future in which citizens are assigned numbers for their identity and constantly monitored. They are also provided mates. THX 1138 has decided he's had enough and makes a run for it. Lucas, a graduate teaching a class at USC, was able to utilize film stock and a laboratory funded by the U.S. Navy, whose students he taught. I was impressed with his utilization of tech to tell this simple tale of identity and freedom. There are a myriad of computer graphics and onscreen text. Sounds of radio transmissions. Color filters. The film is essentially a chase, and the protagonist is seen running through corridors that were actually part of LAX. Lucas was also able to shoot in the USC computer center. An "aha" moment when I learned this; as I watched the film I wondered how t...
