Futureworld

Futureworld is a 1976 American science fiction thriller film directed by Richard T. Heffron and written by Mayo Simon and George Schenck. It is a sequel to the 1973 Michael Crichton film Westworld. The second installment in the Westworld film series, the film stars Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, Arthur Hill, Stuart Margolin, John Ryan, and Yul Brynner, who makes a cameo appearance in a dream sequence. Other than Brynner, none of the cast members from the original film appear, and original writer-director Crichton was not involved.

The film attempted to take the plot in a different direction from Westworld, but it was not generally well received by the critics. It was made by American International Pictures (its predecessor was made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which later bought AIP's successors Orion Pictures).

Afterward, there was a short-lived television series called Beyond Westworld.

Plot

Two years after the Westworld tragedy, the Delos corporation owners have reopened the park following $1.5 billion in safety improvements. For publicity purposes, newspaper reporter Chuck Browning and TV reporter Tracy Ballard are invited to review the park. Just before the junket is announced, Browning arranges to meet with a Delos employee who promises he has dirt on the corporation. During the meeting, the tipster is shot in the back and dies after giving Browning an envelope.

At the resort, guests choose from a range of theme parks: Spaworld ("where old age and pain have been eliminated"), Medievalworld, Ancient Romanworld, and Futureworld; Westworld is abandoned. Browning and Ballard choose Futureworld, which simulates an orbiting space station. Robots are available for sex as well as amusements like boxing. They are guided through the resort by Dr. Duffy, who shows them the marvels of Delos, demonstrating that all the problems have been fixed.

The reporters are stunned to find that the Control Center is staffed entirely by robots. That night, their dinners are drugged. While they sleep, medical tests are conducted so Delos can make clones of them. A visiting Russian General and a Japanese politician are also tested for cloning. Back in her room a few hours later, Ballard wakes in a fright, remembering the experience as a nightmare.

Ballard and Browning sneak out to explore the resort's underground areas. They end up triggering a cloning machine, which generates three samurai. Just as they are about to be captured by the samurai, a mechanic named Harry saves them. He takes them back to his quarters, where he cohabitates with a mechanic robot he has named Clark after Superman's alter-ego. The reporters interview Harry, but they are interrupted and returned to their rooms.

The following day, while Ballard is testing out a Delos dream recording device, Browning slips out to see Harry. Harry takes Browning to a locked door that he has never been able to enter, although robots routinely enter. Realizing the key is in the robot's eyes, Harry destroys a robot and steals its face. They return with Ballard and open the door. Inside, they find clones of themselves, as well as clones of the Russian and Japanese leaders. The clones are being programmed through subliminal messages; they are instructed to always work for the good of Delos and to destroy their originals. Browning explains that his tipster's envelope was filled with clippings about leaders from around the world, realizing that Delos must be cloning the rich and powerful.

The trio decides to flee the resort on the next plane. The reporters return to their apartment where Duffy is waiting for them; he explains that, by cloning world leaders, they can ensure that nothing harms Delos' interests, and that without "proper" guidance humans will eventually destroy the planet. Cloning the reporters would ensure favorable coverage, letting people forget about the Westworld tragedy. Browning attacks Duffy but is easily overpowered with unnatural strength. Ballard shoots the doctor twice, and Browning peels back Duffy's face to reveal that he is a robot. As Harry races to meet up with the reporters, he runs into Browning's clone, who kills him. Ballard and Browning are then chased by their own duplicates, all the while taunting them with details about their lives. Eventually, one of each pair is killed, though which one is left unclear. When they find each other, Browning seizes and kisses Ballard.

In the end, as they leave the resort with the other guests, Dr. Schneider meets them to make sure they are the clones. The reporters confirm that they will be writing positive reviews for Delos; but, just as they reach the exit, Ballard's badly injured clone stumbles towards him and Schneider realizes too late that he has been fooled. On the jetway, Browning tells Ballard that his editor is running the exposé on Delos, that the whole world will know what they are up to, and that kissing her was his idea to figure out whether or not she was a duplicate.

Cast

• Peter Fonda as Chuck Browning
• Blythe Danner as Tracy Ballard
• Arthur Hill as Dr. Duffy
• Yul Brynner as the Gunslinger
• John Ryan as Dr. Schneider
• Stuart Margolin as Harry
• James M. Connor as Clark the robot
• Allen Ludden as game show host
• Robert Cornthwaite as Mr. Reed
• Angela Greene as Mrs. Reed
• Darrell Larson as Eric
• Nancy Bell as Erica
• Bert Conroy as Mr. Karnovsky
• Dorothy Konrad as Mrs. Karnovsky
• Jim Antonio as Ron Thurlow

Production

The film was developed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the studio who had produced Westworld. However, MGM decided to make Logan's Run instead and put Futureworld into turnaround. It was picked up by AIP.^[2]

Futureworld was the first major feature film to use 3D computer-generated imagery (CGI).^[3] CGI was used for an animated hand and face. The animated hand was a digitized version of Edwin Catmull's left hand, taken from his 1972 experimental short subject A Computer Animated Hand.^[4] The film also used 2D digital compositing to materialize characters over a background. The film also utilized the Logan apartment set from Logan's Run and redressed it to be the Futureworld bar.

Filming

Much of the film was shot in the greater Houston area,^[5] including Intercontinental Airport, Jones Hall, and the Johnson Space Center. The film includes a chase scene through the space center's underground tunnel system.

Release

In 1979, Futureworld became the first modern American film to achieve general theatrical release in communist China.^[6]

Critical reception

Variety called it a "strong sequel."^[7] Richard Eder panned the film in The New York Times, quoting Ballard's line from the movie, "This is about as exciting as a visit to the water works."^[8] Coining his own variation on the phrase, Eder also claimed the film is "as much fun as running barefoot on Astroturf". He found the film entirely predictable and devoid of much dramatic tension. Writing that Danner and Fonda have "absolutely nothing to do" in the film, he concludes that "starring in Futureworld must be the actor's equivalent of going on welfare."

Alternate version

For its initial television broadcast, an alternate version of the scene where Browning extends his middle finger to Dr. Schneider was shot. Instead, he performs a bras d'honneur.

Home media

As of 2011, Futureworld was released on VHS, CED, and LaserDisc in the United States, and on DVD from MGM on December 2010, as well as released in a number of foreign territories in the DVDs format. On December 2, 2011, Futureworld was released in Germany on Blu-ray (German and English audio tracks). The digital release is in the widescreen format.

Shout! Factory released Futureworld on Blu-ray on March 26, 2013.^[9]

References

External links

• Futureworld at the Internet Movie Database
• Futureworld at the TCM Movie Database
• Futureworld at Rotten Tomatoes