"Lucas himself self-financed much of the first 1977 Star Wars film (later given the subtitle) and used matte paintings, miniatures, and props reused from other movies to stay within a relatively tight $11 million budget. How did he do this? Partly, by using what he learned on his first movie, THX 1138."
"Although it's also sci-fi, THX 1138 is a very different type of movie from Star Wars. Far from a rollicking space opera, this dialogue-driven film takes a more cerebral and philosophical approach to the genre. 'The idea was that we would push the envelope in terms of what was understandable and say that this was a film from another culture that had somehow landed in 1970,' sound designer and co-screenwriter Walter Murch told Indiewire."
"The film takes place in a hyper-efficient future where human emotions are forbidden, and citizens are kept on a strict regimen of narcotics designed to make them as compliant as possible. It's all very 1984, although Lucas was just a little off in predicting that it would be the state, not corporations, numbing the public with slogans like 'buy, and be happy.'"
George Lucas's original 1977 Star Wars film emerged from relatively modest origins despite its eventual massive global success. Though distributed by 20th Century Fox, Lucas self-financed much of the production and employed cost-effective techniques including matte paintings, miniatures, and recycled props to maintain the tight $11 million budget. These resourceful methods were informed by Lucas's experience making THX 1138, his earlier science fiction film. THX 1138 presents a cerebral, philosophical approach to sci-fi, depicting a dystopian future where emotions are forbidden and citizens are chemically controlled through mandatory narcotics to ensure compliance and productivity. The protagonist, identified only by his badge number 1138, eventually awakens to the emptiness of this existence and experiences forbidden emotions.
#star-wars-origins #george-lucas-filmmaking #thx-1138 #science-fiction-cinema #low-budget-filmmaking-techniques
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