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Comment by mypastself | Hacker News Reader

Not sure all of these are underrated, films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers are (rightfully) well-known and respected.

Big fan of THX 1138, I believe it would’ve been much better known and respected if it wasn’t overshadowed by Star Wars. I actually prefer THX 1138, but I haven’t seen it in a long time as I don’t think there’s a high-quality transfer - without the CGI retouchings - widely available.

And Zardoz is a punchline for good reason, but I still find it an interesting film. It’s got bizarre, creative worldbuilding, and I love that final shot.

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As much as I like THX-1138, it's a bit of a single note film and certainly doesn't have the depth of world building that Star Wars has.

I feel like it established some pretty common elements in sci-fi (eg, the violence channel) and was the first time I saw on film concepts from Huxley’s Brave New World.

It’s a low budget movie and I think it’s ok to be a single note film. But that note was really unique on 1971 and seems rote because it’s sort of baked into the “consumerist hedonist dystopia” that’s very common now.

Much of the world building of SW was done by the fans, Lucas really knew how to build a brand even back then.

Yes, but the world(s) looked "lived-in" with the beaten up droids etc.

Definitely agree, but I feel it's worth watching for the cinematography / set design alone.

Westworld is not underrated. It's a pretty bad movie as far as craft goes, but gets and deserves credit for being early in the genre. It had good ideas but they weren't developed well. Fortunately other movies, and the first season of the show, explored that much more effectively.

Rule 34 being what it is, there is an adult version of Westworld called Sexworld (1978) and it's not too shabby, they threw enough budget and production values at it to make it interesting. It explores the theme of what happens when you get to live out your fantasies in some surprising ways. The movie can be found online in the usual places.

Also, the list left off Futureworld (1976) which is much better than Westworld and featured some CGI that was ground-breaking for the time.

There is a so-called "35mm Grindhouse Edition" of 1138 discussed on originaltrilogy.com

https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/THX-1138-1st-Directors-Cut...

> Big fan of THX 1138, I believe it would’ve been much better known and respected if it wasn’t overshadowed by Star Wars.

Really? I think THX 1138 actually benefits from the halo effect of Star Wars; if it wasn't made by someone as (eventually) famous as George Lucas it would have remained an obscure flop, which would be a shame.

Zardoz is definitely worth watching once if you like strange films.

But I will not go to second level.

Zardoz is a great film for weeding out the posers from those who are truly into the weird. I've known more than one person to nope out as soon as Sean Connery shows up wearing the neon orange plastic banana hammock/bandolier and getting the long rambley speech about evil penises.

It's just as good a second time around. ahaha.

I watched it with my wife, who doesn't enjoy weird crap from the 70's. But she does enjoy making fun of films, and enjoys my Sean Connery impressions.

That movie made for amazing MST3K-style home viewing, because of Connery's reputation as a weirdo and womanizer and the fact that that movie was horny.

Will watch again with the wife I am sure before too long.

Also, the movie itself is horny. It's not like sean connery's character is horny. That is the best way to describe it I think.

Exactly what I was getting at. Just the horniness of the film itself makes it fertile ground for hilarious Sean Connery bits.

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