Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967)

Director: George Lucas

Writer: George Lucas

Composer: No score except for music from other films (none credited)

Starring: Dan Natchsheim, Joy Carmichael, David Munson, Marvin Bennett, Ralph Stell

More info: IMDb

Plot: While monitored and pursued, a man races to escape through a futuristic labyrinth.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Probably not.  It'll watch the feature film instead.

This is the 15 minute short film that George Lucas made in film school that is responsible for pretty much kick starting his career.  It won several awards and for it he won a scholarship from Warner Bros.  There he met Francis Ford Coppola which lead to their forming Zoetrope Studios.  Knowing this is a student film really helps, especially when you consider this was made in the late 70s.  Forget for a moment that it was made by future Mr. STAR WARS (1977).  It's visually interesting by filming TV monitors and the sound is really important and does a fantastic job of selling it.  The soundscape is outstanding.  Daniel Tueth is the only name attached to the sound department.  I'm sure since this was Lucas' baby that he had a hand in shaping what Tueth created.  We often give extra credit for things that came first.  Everyone has an opinion.  Is this a great film?  No.  It's interesting but it also is the one thing that you can point to that put Lucas on the path as a film director and for that I'm grateful.  And now I'm reminded of how freakin' long it's been since I saw the feature film version of this short that came out a few years later with the shortened title of THX 1138 (1971).