IMDb 0 1971 HD

THX 1138

THX 1138

1971
Drama Science Fiction
86 min
6.443 / 10
0 IMDB

People in the future live in a totalitarian society. A technician named THX 1138 lives a mundane life between work and taking a controlled consumption of drugs that…

Personnel // Cast & Crew

Director George Lucas / Lillian O. MacNeill
Starring
Robert Duvall / Donald Pleasence / Don Pedro Colley / Maggie McOmie / Ian Wolfe / Marshall Efron / Sid Haig / John Pearce

How Viewers Describe This Film

Common themes and sentiments

bleak oppressive thought-provoking sterile intense atmospheric controlled awakening dystopian thought-provoking unsettling stark

Reviews

F
Fiona Sinclair
May 25, 2026
4.0 / 5
4.0

THX 1138 stands as a testament to the power of atmosphere and concept in science fiction. Robert Duvall's portrayal of a man rediscovering his humanity in a world designed to eradicate it is compelling and nuanced. The film…

A
Arthur Sterling
May 25, 2026
3.0 / 5
3.0

The early work of George Lucas, THX 1138, is an exercise in atmospheric dread and philosophical inquiry. Robert Duvall anchors the film with a performance that gradually reveals the stirrings of a soul awakening from a chemically induced…

P
Penelope Davies
May 25, 2026
4.5 / 5
4.5

A potent and prescient piece of dystopian cinema, THX 1138 offers a remarkably bleak yet compelling glimpse into a future governed by absolute control. Robert Duvall is superb as the protagonist whose mandated drug regimen is interrupted, allowing…

M
Marcus Bellweather
May 25, 2026
3.5 / 5
3.5

THX 1138 presents a chillingly sterile future where human emotion is suppressed by mandatory medication. Robert Duvall embodies the dawning awareness of THX 1138 with understated intensity, particularly as his relationship with Maggie McOmie's character blossoms. The film's…

E
Eleanor Vance
May 25, 2026
4.0 / 5
4.0

George Lucas's early foray into speculative fiction, THX 1138, remains a starkly realised vision of a future stripped of all but the most essential functions. Robert Duvall delivers a performance of quiet desperation as the titular technician, whose…

FAQs

The film meticulously details the multifaceted control exerted by the totalitarian regime. This extends from the physical environment, a sterile, underground world, to the psychological manipulation through mandatory drug use. Behaviour is constantly monitored, and deviation is swiftly punished. THX 1138 demonstrates how comprehensive control can strip away individuality and human experience, leaving only a hollow existence.