Hot on the heels of the rumor that George Lucas has digitally replaced the actor Sebastian Shaw [who played Darth Vader] with a young Anakin in one of the final shots of the Return of the Jedi DVD [via The Movie Blog], comes news of more Lucas-related travesty. Variety reports that this September Lucas will theatrically rerelease a--wait for it--digitally "revised" version of his debut feature, 1971's THX 1138. It is scheduled to premiere at the Guggenheim [no word on which location, but my vote's on the Venetian].
For you non-nerds out there puzzling over why that title sounds familiar, the cinetrix will explicate a little. You know that cacophonous ringing in your ears caused by the overloud soundtrack of every effects-driven summer blockbuster? The big whooshing noise that sounds as though all the air is being sucked out of the theater by a passing supersonic jet, followed by a clanging gonk, that you hear before the opening credits roll? That's Lucas' patented THX sound system. [Fun fact: Return of the Jedi was the first film exhibited on the THX sound system.] Because ILM wasn't doing enough harm to the cinema on its own.
But here's where I pick up the stalkers. In the original Star Wars movie, THX 1138 is the cell block from which Luke and Han, disguised as Stormtroopers, say they are moving Chewbacca. It comes right before they land in that enormous trash compressor.
Sigh. OK, I also own a copy of the Star Wars Holiday Special. There, I said it. Happy now?
