Westworld (1973)

Director: Michael Crighton

Starring: Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin

More Info: IMDB

Tagline: Westworld ...where robot men and women are programmed to serve you for ...Romance ...Violence ...Anything

Plot: Set during an unspecified future era on Earth, Westworld features Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) and John Blane (James Brolin) on their way to a new kind of amusement park, Delos, located way out in the middle of a desert. Delos is divided into three "virtual reality" areas, Roman World, Medieval World, and West World (or Westworld). These are not mere computer simulations, however. Guests are immersed in a complete recreation of the relevant eras--they wear the clothing, sleep in the accommodations, eat the food, and so on, relevant to the era. They also interact with robots that are nearly indistinguishable from humans, and can talk to, have sex with, and even kill some robots. It's an escapists dream, at least until something goes wrong.






My Rating: 8/10

Would I watch it again? Hell, yeah

The late 60s and early 70s were great for Sci-Fi. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes, A Clockwork Orange (well, it’s futuristic), THX 1138, and so on. They weren’t the retarded space pictures that came in the wake of STAR WARS (1977) but were intelligent, thought provoking films; more Rod Serling than Michael Bay. There’s something about the “good” films of this period that sets them far apart from the “good” films of today. I prefer those to the later ones. They just feel more real and tangible.



The performances are great, the story is great, the atmosphere is great, the setup is great, the execution is great, the finale is great – it’s just great. It’s well ahead of it’s time as we’re likely to have an amusement park like this in the next 40 years. We’re already at the cusp of civilian space flights. The Japanese are feverishly developing robots that look, feel and perform human tasks. Why not?

If the plot for WESTWORLD sounds familiar it kind of is. It’s written by the same guy who, years later, wrote Jurassic Park, Michael Crighton. I like both films but this one is much more grounded in reality and plausibility. And the implications of using robots for pleasure/fantasy role playing raise more than a few questions. How would our minds wrap around killing someone, albeit a robot, without consequence? Would your spouse consider it infidelity if you had sex with a lifelike robot? It’s one thing for this to happen in a video game but to actually simulate real life with real behaviors is another. I think it’s cool all the way around but then I’m a different breed of cat.

"(sniff) They're using REAL bullets!"

I’ve always enjoyed Richard Benjamin’s performances. He’s so goofy, aloof and effortless. But in this film it’s Yul Brynner that steals the show as the robot gunslinger that runs amok. He’s creepy. You BELIEVE he’s a robot. Brynner is a badass. Charles Bronson would still kick his ass but Brynner would certainly put up a great fight. WESTWORLD came at the end of his career with just three more movies to follow including the sequel, FUTUREWORLD (1976), his last picture as an actor. It’s too bad his declining health kept him from making more action pictures because he could have made some truly great badass pictures in the 70s, the greatest decade in film for daring, gritty and off-the-charts pictures. He would have made a GREAT Terminator but for his age. 37.68 times more menacing than Arnold.

"I'll be back!"

The story does take its time to develop and it’s especially fun during the first half hour as we travel with our “heroes” to the park and through their preparation for their stay in Westworld. The more you find out about the park, as they do, the more you want to be a part of it, too. It sounds really neat. Once things go wrong the suspense is kicked up a few notches you really feel like you’re on a ride.

For me, a western/sci-fi flick is appealing. Just like crossing the western genre with horror is. I like the meshing of multiple genres when it works. This one works. I was into it every step of the way. It’s remarkably serious for what it sounds like and, for that, I REALLY dig it. I haven’t seen this since the 80’s and now that I’ve seen it again I’m looking forward to watching once more by the end of the year. I’m also looking forward to seeing the sequel, FUTUREWORLD, for the first time. I’ve heard that it’s not as good but that doesn’t matter too terribly much. I’m sure it’ll be entertaining enough to hole my interest. I hope. Now if I could just get my hands on a copy…