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Fails the Bechdel test

THX 1138

1971. Directed by George Lucas, written by George Lucas and Walter Murch.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

0 / 3

Fails

  1. No 1. At least two women
    Fewer than two women characters.
  2. No 2. Who talk to each other
    Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
  3. No 3. About something besides a man
    Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 0 out of 3.

Poster for THX 1138

The film

Sometime in the future, conformity and homogeneity are the rule in a state-controlled society in which the populace follows the wants of the faceless statue without question. This is achieved through a mandatory drug regimen, which also suppresses human desire; human relationships and sexual intercourse are banned. The law of the state is policed by a force of robocops. The physical environment is totally within a manufactured enclosure; what's outside of it is completely unknown. THX 1138 is a loyal subject who goes about his business as a skilled factory worker building robocops. And even when he begins to have strange feelings, he does what is obligated by going to the state-run confessional, which further brainwashes through its reinforced mantra of happiness, loyalty, and understanding. THX 1138 is given a glimpse into the other side through his computer-matched and thus appointed female roommate, LUH 3417, and her surveillance colleague SEN 5241, LUH 3417's vision, which THX 1138 might want to continue despite its illegality. If THX 1138 is able to keep his activities from the authorities and the robocops, he will have to figure out what options are available to him.

Released
11 Mar 1971
Genres
Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated
GP
IMDb
6.6 / 10
Metascore
75 / 100
Awards
2 wins & 3 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Thx 129 lines, man
  2. Sen 74 lines, man
  3. Luh 51 lines, woman
  4. Srt 45 lines, man
  5. Nin 44 lines, man
  6. Voice 41 lines
  7. Pto 34 lines, man
  8. Elc 21 lines
  9. Twa 20 lines, man
  10. Cam 11 lines, man
Full cast, 44 people
  • Robert Duvall as THX
  • Donald Pleasence as SEN
  • Don Pedro Colley as SRT
  • Maggie McOmie as LUH
  • Ian Wolfe as PTO
  • Marshall Efron as TWA
  • Sid Haig as NCH
  • John Pearce as DWY
  • Irene Cagen as IMM
  • Gary Alan Marsh as CAM
  • John Seaton as OUE
  • Eugene I. Stillman as JOT
  • Jack Walsh as TRG
  • Mark Lawhead as Shell Dweller
  • Robert Feero as Chrome Robot
  • Johnny Weissmuller Jr. as Chrome Robot
  • Claudette Bessing as ELC
  • Susan Stroh as Control Officer
  • James Wheaton as OMM (voice)
  • Henry Jacobs as Mark 8 Student
  • Bill Love as Mark 8 Instructor
  • Doc Scortt as Monk
  • Gary Austin as Man in Yellow
  • Scott L. Menges as Child #1
  • Toby L. Stearns as Child #2
  • Paul K. Haje as Trial Prosecutor
  • Ralph Chesse as Trial Proctor
  • Dion M. Chesse as Trial Defender
  • Bruce Chesse as Trial Pontifex
  • Mello Alexandria as Hologram Dancer
  • Brandyn Barbara Artis as Hologram Dancer
  • Morris D. Erby as Hologram Newscaster
  • Willie C. Barnes as Hologram Comic
  • Richard Quinnell as Hologram Comic
  • Jean M. Durand as Hologram Listener
  • Scott Beach as Announcer (voice)
  • Neva Beach as Announcer (voice)
  • Terence McGovern as Announcer (voice)
  • Julie Payne as Announcer (voice)
  • James Cranna as Announcer (voice)
  • Ruth Silveira as Announcer (voice)
  • Bruce Mackey as Announcer (voice)
  • David Ogden Stiers as Announcer (voice)
  • Bart Patton as Announcer (voice)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 1 scene, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 29% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 3

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 146113
2 to 200
3 to 38304

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 11 are women's.

54 lines from women, 417 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

4 women and 21 men in the cast. 1 women and 12 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 8 of 661. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 394 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 7% of the words (400), men 93% (5,078). Women have 11% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit D: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Exhibit E: behind the camera

None of the 11 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 10% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
George Lucas (man)
Written by
George Lucas (man), Walter Murch (man)
Story by
George Lucas (man)
Produced by
Larry Sturhahn (gender not listed)
Shot by
Albert Kihn (gender not listed), David Myers (man)
Edited by
George Lucas (man)
Music by
Lalo Schifrin (man)
Costumes by
Donald Longhurst (gender not listed)
Cast by
Ronald Colby (gender not listed)

The crew, department by department

  • Production

    0 women, 3 men, 4 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 2 men, 3 not listed

  • Other crew

    0 women, 4 men, 1 not listed

  • Sound

    0 women, 2 men, 2 not listed

  • Art

    0 women, 2 men, 1 not listed

  • Writing

    0 women, 3 men

  • Directing

    1 women, 1 men

  • Editing

    1 women, 1 men

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit F: how old the stars were

Women: 28 on average. Men: 44 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Irene Cagen 26, Maggie McOmie 29

Men

Sid Haig 31, Don Pedro Colley 32, Marshall Efron 33, Robert Duvall 40, Donald Pleasence 51, Ian Wolfe 74

Exhibit G: the money

It made 3.1 times what it cost.

Budget
$777,000
Box office
$2.4 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 3 scenes and 661 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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