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It’s hard enough to root for a hero whose motivations are unclear, let alone not even his own.

All that aside, I think I knew going in that I was not going to be watching a classic. Like I said, it’s mostly a chance to compare notes with Lucas’ later films - and there’s no shortage of Easter eggs here. One of the hallmarks of this film is the distinctive background radio chatter as government handlers go about their tasks, and it sounds exactly like the Imperial channels on board the Death Star. The word “wookiee” is coined in this film. Immense detail was put into little details like computer readouts, mechanical devices, sets, props, et-cetera. The story details were clearly second to the technical details, resulting in a narratively dissatisfying but visually unforgettable experience.

Sound familiar?

But there are other imaginative touches, making me wonder what we might have seen from Lucas had he the inclination to hone his writing skills as much as his raw filmmaking prowess. There IS an underlying narrative concerning media manipulation and freedom of choice, but it’s almost entirely lost in the surroundings. The workers are encouraged to pray when they are troubled, and by that I mean confessing themselves to a bizarre, automated Robot Jesus. The device mumbles the same half baked recording of platitudes regardless of what you say - as if the people behind it assumed the Parishioner would be too far drugged out to notice.

And the government here is a very dollar conscious one - to the point that critical operations are automatically shut down the moment they go over budget. Not only does this play a big part in the story, but it also makes you wonder whether the whole thing isn’t an impassioned young artist’s discrete middle finger to the notoriously frugal Hollywood establishment?

Who can say.

Finally, I should go ahead and do something I don’t often do, which is to recommend you watch the heavily enhanced director's cut and never bother to lay eyes on the original. Not only is this what George wants, but I can concur with him that it really is the better version. The story remains entirely intact, but the visual experience is improved tremendously. The atmosphere and technical design of THX 1138 is what I like the most. The story is almost irrelevant, although when we finally discover THX’s Big Plan to get back at the system, it’s actually kind of amusing (in a slightly tedious sort of way) to watch it unfold.

This isn’t a movie I can recommend to just anyone. Like I said - if you’re a film buff, or you have to write your own column...or if you have friends who like to READ columns about obscure movies they almost certainly will have no wish to see, then send them my way.

Maybe we can do each other a favor.

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