ost Star Wars admirers probably know that the first feature-length film directed by George Lucas was THX 1138, a dystopian science-fiction adventure starring Robert Duvall and Donald Pleasence. What fans may not realize is that, when it came to generating music for the movie, the neophyte director had help from a true Hollywood heavy hitter. Lalo Schifrin—who a few years earlier had penned the unforgettable Mission: Impossible TV theme—crafted an idiosyncratic soundtrack for Lucas' debut SF adventure, combining classical, jazz and avant-garde elements into what has accurately been described, by at least one critic, as "sick Muzak."
The latest installment in Film Score Monthly magazine's extraordinary Silver Age Classics CD series, THX 1138 offers 18 distinctive, and at times disconcerting, numbers. Dark, ominous overtones, often accented by a muted Latin chorus, pervade such pieces as "Main Title/What's Wrong?", "Loneliness Sequence" and "You Have Nowhere to Go." Additional works highlight both dismal and delightful moments, including "Room Tone/Primitive Dance," which smoothly moves from a depressing to delirious mood, and "Love Dream/The Awakening," just as other tracks, particularly the movie's quartet of source cues (aptly titled "Source #1" through "Source #4"), supply a consistently carefree air.
Schifrin also contributes "Be Happy Again (Jingle of the Future)," a weird, minute-long anthem with upbeat lyrics that, though excised from the film's final cut, is at once scary and saccharine. The 16-page booklet accompanying the disc contains contemporary comments from the composer, as well as an extensive outline of the picture's plot and copious production details.
Aimless sounds in a sea of white
THX 1138 is a captivating yet confusing tale, chock-full of stark images and deep philosophical ideas that inevitably leave viewers pensive and perplexed. The eclectic score performs a key role in engendering that bewildered state of mind, providing discordant notes and soothing themes that play upon the emotions and expectations of the audience. Although this schizophrenic approach clearly complements the cinematic story, as a stand-alone work the album fails to coalesce into a cohesive listening experience.
However, that shouldn't imply the collection is altogether without merit. "Torture Sequence/Prison Talk Sequence" is a tremendous piece, opening with a grating robotic beat that eventually devolves into an oddly comforting, chimelike ambiance. Utilizing out-of-the-ordinary instruments like a Thai gamelan, Chinese monkey drums and African thumb pianos, the tune inventively signals both peril and reprieve. "Source #4/Third Escape/Morgue Sequence/The Temple/Disruption/LUH's Death" is also brilliant, progressing from a jazzy, string-and-saxophone motif through manipulated brass and male choir arrangements before closing with a mournful—yet also strangely hopeful—flute-and-violin serenade.
Alas, the other compositions are essentially nondescript. "SEN/Monks/LUH Reprise" boasts an interesting climax but remains, for the most part, quite tedious, while the sporadic harp twangs of "First Escape," offset by raspy organ tones, are suitably described within the liner notes as "an aimless sonar in [a] sea of white." Schifrin's score for THX 1138 may have accented the movie seamlessly, but this CD demonstrates that, without the accompanying visual drama, the melodies lack enduring strength and substance.
