The History of THX 1138: How Hollywood Ruined George Lucas’s First Film

By examining Lucas's origins as an experimental filmmaker and the behind-the-scenes history of his first feature-length film, THX 1138, we are able to observe the difficulties filmmakers in the 1960s faced when trying to maintain creative control within the Hollywood Studio system and how the fallout from this experience affected Lucas for the rest of his career.

Letterboxd Lists of Films used in the video:
https://letterboxd.com/rjt524/list/th...

Film Clips:
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) Dir. George Lucas
THX 1138 (1971) Dir. George Lucas
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Dir. David Lean
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Dir. Steven Spielberg
Canyon Cinema at BAMPHA (2017)
A Movie (1958) Dir. Bruce Conner
Look at Life (1965) Dir. George Lucas
Crime Without Passion (1934) Dir. Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur
1:42.08 (1966) Dir. George Lucas
Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967) Dir. George Lucas
Finian's Rainbow (1968) Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
You're a Big Boy Now (1966) Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
Paint Your Wagon (1969) Dir. Joshua Logan
Breathless (1960) Dir. Jean-Luc Goddard
Jules and Jim (1962) Dir. François Truffaut
The Rain People (1969) Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
Easy Rider (1969) Dir. Dennis Hopper
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) Dir. Richard Marquand
8½ (1963) Dir. Federico Fellini


Interview Clips:
Filmmaker (1968) George Lucas
Empire of Dreams (2004) Dir. Kevin Burns & Edith Baker
Oprah's Next Chapter (2012)
A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope (2004) Dir. Gary Leva
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (2003) Dir. Kenneth Bowser
The New Cinema (1968) Dir. Gary Young
Artifact From the Future: The Making of THX 1138 (2004) Dir. Gary Leva
Bald: The Making of THX 1138 (1971) Dir. George Lucas
Fog City Mavericks (2007) Dir. Gary Leva



Music:
Epidemic Sound

0:00 Intro
1:27 Chapter One: 1944-1964
3:27 Chapter Two: 1965-1967
6:31 Chapter Three: 1967
10:02 Chapter Four: 1968-1969
14:00 Chapter Five: 1969-1970
17:48 Chapter Six: 1970-1971
21:47 Conclusion