From the box blurb: "The short that began it all – George Lucas’ student film Electronic Labyrinth THX1138 4EB. Shot in 1967, the film portrays a futuristic world in which a man races for freedom while being tracked by eleborate surveillance systems."

Just got this 15 minutes of greatness recently and I’ve been rolling it constantly. Think THX 1138 raw. It’s the best film short I’ve ever seen. See? Smut ain’t all about porn, baby. This is a brilliant glimpse into Lucas’ dawning cinematic vision later developed through THX 1138 and realized in Star Wars, a true renegade film maker. What I found most intriguing was the proto Death Star setting and feel, but more stark, cold, hollow, robotic computer controlled. The only warmth is with the hero who realizes nobody is watching the monitors, the threat is only implied, so he defies. It even has a psychedelic feel, so I suspect Lucas was eye dropping some of that powerful Socal orange sunshine. Seriously great and influential even if unseen by many.


http://cinema-tv.usc.edu/Archives/lucas/thx.html
http://www.lucasfan.com/store/