Editing THX 1138 (section)

==Production==
''THX 1138'' is the first film of a planned seven-picture slate commissioned by Warner Bros. from the 1969 incarnation of [[American Zoetrope]].<ref>Pollock 1983, p. 88.</ref><ref>Louise Sweeney, "The Movie Business is alive and well and living in San Francisco", ''Show'', April 1970.</ref> Lucas wrote the initial script draft based on his earlier short film, but Coppola and Lucas agreed that it was unsatisfactory. [[Walter Murch]] assisted Lucas in writing an improved final draft.<ref name=ArtifactFromTheFuture /><ref name="auto" /> For some of SEN's dialogue in the film, the script included excerpts from speeches by [[Richard Nixon]].<ref name="Lucas 2004">Lucas 2004.</ref>

The script required almost the entire cast to shave their heads, either completely bald or with [[buzz cut]]s. As a publicity stunt, several actors were filmed having their first haircuts and shaves at unusual venues, with the results used in a promotional featurette titled ''[[Bald: The Making of THX 1138]]''. Many of the extras were recruited from the nearby [[Synanon]], an addiction-recovery program that later became a violent cult.<ref>Pollock 1983, p. 92.</ref>

Filming began on September 22, 1969.<ref>Lawrence Sturhahn, "Genesis of THX-1138: Notes on a Production", ''Kansas Quarterly'', Spring 1972.</ref> The schedule was planned for 35–40 days, completing in November 1969. Lucas filmed ''THX 1138'' in [[Techniscope]].<ref name=ArtifactFromTheFuture /><ref>Pollock 1983, pp. 90, 280.</ref>

Most filming locations are in the [[San Francisco]] area,<ref name="Pollock 1983, p. 91">Pollock 1983, p. 91.</ref> including the unfinished tunnels of the [[Bay Area Rapid Transit]] subway system,<ref name=ArtifactFromTheFuture /><ref name="Pollock 1983, p. 91" /><ref name=Chron>Katie Dowd, [https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/article/bart-transbay-tube-construction-photos-george-luca-13671480.php#photo-12468805 "Before BART opened the Transbay Tube, they let George Lucas film a movie inside"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190310202127/https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/article/bart-transbay-tube-construction-photos-george-luca-13671480.php#photo-12468805 |date=March 10, 2019 }}, ''San Francisco Chronicle'', March 10, 2019.</ref> the [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]],<ref name=ArtifactFromTheFuture /> the [[Marin County Civic Center]] in [[San Rafael, California|San Rafael]] designed by [[Frank Lloyd Wright]],<ref name=Chron/> the [[Lawrence Hall of Science]] in [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]],<ref name=Chron/> the [[San Francisco International Airport]]<ref name=Chron/> and at a [[remote manipulator]] for a [[hot cell]]. Several scenes show one of the FAA 9020 [[IBM System/360]] used for air traffic control multi-computer installation (the only version with a "360 Mode" button on the console).<ref>E.g. Director's Cut at 1:11:52. 1:21:55, 1:25:35</ref> Studio sequences were shot at stages in Los Angeles, including a white stage {{convert|100|by|150|ft}} for the "white limbo" sequences.<ref name=ArtifactFromTheFuture /> Lucas used entirely natural light.<ref name=Chron/>

[[File:Lola-Chevrolet T70 MK3 - Flickr - andrewbasterfield.jpg|thumb|Modified [[Lola T70]]s were used in the film]]
The chase scene features two [[Lola T70]] Mk III race cars<ref>{{cite news |last=Breeze |first=Joe |date=5 January 2015 |title=The police drove Lola T70s in George Lucas's directorial debut |url=https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/police-drove-lola-t70s-george-lucass-directorial-debut |newspaper=Classic Driver |access-date=5 December 2015 |archive-date=December 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208163017/https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/police-drove-lola-t70s-george-lucass-directorial-debut |url-status=live }}</ref> chased by [[Yamaha Motor Company|Yamaha]] TA125/250cc two-stroke, race-replica motorcycles through two [[San Francisco Bay Area]] automotive tunnels: the [[Caldecott Tunnel]] between [[Oakland, California|Oakland]] and [[Orinda, California|Orinda]] and the underwater [[Posey and Webster Street Tubes|Posey Tube]] between Oakland and [[Alameda, California|Alameda]].<ref name=ArtifactFromTheFuture /> According to [[Caleb Deschanel]], cars drove at speeds of {{convert|140|mph}} while filming the chase.<ref name=ArtifactFromTheFuture /> Other cars appearing in the film include custom-built Ferrari [[Tom Meade#Thomassima series|Thomassima cars]], one of which is on display in the [[Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari|Ferrari museum]] in [[Modena|Modena, Italy]].<ref name="Thomassima.com">"Thomassima III is on display in the new Ferrari Museum in Modena".{{Cite web|url=http://thomassima.com/|title=Meade of Modena: An American Dreamer In the Land of Artful Science|access-date=1 January 2017|work=Thomassima.com|archive-date=December 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221170849/http://thomassima.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The chase features a motorcycle stunt in which stuntman Ronald "Duffy" Hambleton (credited as Duffy Hamilton) rode his police motorcycle full speed into a fallen scaffold, with a ramp built to his specification. He flew over the handlebars, was hit by the airborne motorcycle, landed in the street on his back, and slammed into the crashed car in which Duvall's character had escaped.<ref name=ArtifactFromTheFuture /> According to Lucas, Hambleton was uninjured but angry at the people who came to his aid, worried that they may have ruined the stunt by walking into frame.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

[[File:Toward the Transbay Tube.jpg|thumb|The under-construction [[Transbay Tube]] served as the tunnel through which THX escapes]]

THX's final climb out to the daylight was filmed (with the camera rotated 90°) in the incomplete (and decidedly horizontal) Bay Area Rapid Transit [[Transbay Tube]] before installation of the track supports, with the actors using exposed reinforcing bars on the floor of the tunnel as a ladder.<ref name=ArtifactFromTheFuture /> The end scene in which THX stands before the sunset was shot at [[Port Hueneme, California]] by a second unit of photographer Caleb Deschanel and [[Matthew Robbins (screenwriter)|Matthew Robbins]], who played THX in this long shot.<ref name=ArtifactFromTheFuture />

After completion of photography, Coppola scheduled one year for Lucas to complete postproduction.<ref name="Pollock 1983, p. 96">Pollock 1983, p. 96.</ref> Lucas edited the film on a German-made K-E-M [[flatbed editor]] in his Mill Valley house by day and [[Walter Murch]] edited sound at night, comparing notes as each session ended.<ref name=ArtifactFromTheFuture /><ref name="Pollock 1983, p. 96" /> Murch compiled and synchronized the sound montage, which includes elements such as the "overhead" voices, radio chatter and announcements. The bulk of the editing was finished by mid-1970.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

On completion of editing, Coppola took it to Warner Bros., the financiers. Studio executives disliked the film and insisted that Coppola provide the negative to an in-house editor, who cut about four minutes of the film prior to release.<ref name="Pollock 1983, p. 97">Pollock 1983, p. 97.</ref>