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 the future STAR WARS maven rounded up the funds for so much hardware.

I would say this would be a good pre-feature for the 1971 film, though it does serve as a spoiler for it...