THX 1138 (Director's Cut)
It is impossible to dedicate a cycle to science fiction without including Steven Spielberg & Georges Lucas, these two pivotal figures of SF in cinema. Alongside their iconic films (E.T., Star Wars), it seems instructive to showcase all the films they made leading up to their historic collaboration, Raiders of the Lost Ark, which explicitly references Fritz Lang's The Indian Tomb.
In the distant future, humans live underground in a totally mechanized world. They're not even allowed to have children, and a laboratory is in charge of this "state" task. THX 1138 tries to escape this imprisoning world with his girlfriend.
George Lucas
George Lucas is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. A graduate of the film school at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, he co-founded the studio American Zoetrope with his friend Francis Ford Coppola, and then created his own production company, Lucasfilm. He began his directing career with the films THX 1138 (1971) and American Graffiti (1973), before achieving major success with the first two Star Wars trilogies. A huge box office success, the galactic saga made him one of the most recognized and wealthy filmmakers in American cinema. Lucas is also the creator and screenwriter of the Indiana Jones series, directed by his friend Steven Spielberg. He produced films like Labyrinth (1986) and Willow (1988), as well as television series. In 2012, he sold his production company to Walt Disney and announced his official retirement. Throughout his career, Lucas drew inspiration from serial films he watched as a child and various mythologies. He was also influenced by experimental cinema. He revolutionized the film industry with significant technological advancements, particularly in sound, editing, computer animation, and special effects. In 2024, he received an honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his lifetime achievements.
