I saw the Star Wars Trilogy re-releases in theaters and most of the changes that Lucas made were immediately apparent (and not just the awful Jabba the Hutt sequence). It was offputting to experience this with a film I had never seen before: THX 1138.

The movie is visually arresting and, judging by the untouched parts of the film, was in its original state. The changes made are detailed (with accompanying screenshots) on this page and there are quite a few that escaped my notice. The lizard in the wiring stands out as I had imagined Lucas gluing antennae and wings to it back in 1971 only to find out they were added with CGI over three decades later. There were a few that were jarring enough to take me out of the film and they are, for the most part, noted in the “Grievances” section at the bottom of that page.

Lisa had a visceral hatred for this film as she does most films that have ambiguous endings and unconventional storytelling. I argued with her as usual, pointing out that she was engaged for the entire film and was moved by some of the imagery, especially the scenes in front of the entertainment hologram. She refuted these claims and stands by her hatred of it. It was rough going getting her to see the movie in the first place. She dismissed it as a sci-fi movie and thus strictly for men, which infuriated me to no end as it’s an argument we always have and no matter how many times I point out that she, in fact, enjoys a great deal of sci-fi, will have again and again in the future.  To add insult to injury, when were discussing what would be our next movie, she picked 2001: A Space Odyssey.