Westworld
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| Westworld | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Michael Crichton |
| Produced by | Paul Lazarus III |
| Written by | Michael Crichton |
| Starring | Yul Brynner Richard Benjamin James Brolin |
| Music by | Fred Karlin |
| Cinematography | Gene Polito |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) | November 21, 1973 |
| Running time | 88 min. (theatrical) |
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | Futureworld Beyond Westworld |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Westworld is a 1973 science fiction film written and directed by Michael Crichton. It stars Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, and James Brolin. It was followed by a sequel, Futureworld, and a short-lived television series, Beyond Westworld.
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[edit] Plot summary
The film is set sometime in the near future, in a fictional high-tech amusement park called Delos. The park is divided into three zones: WesternWorld, MedievalWorld and RomanWorld. The entertainment in all three areas consists primarily of interaction by the guests with androids programmed to act in character (the Old West, medieval Europe, and pre-Christian Rome, respectively). The androids are indistinguishable from human beings, apart from minor flaws in their hands, and guests are encouraged to indulge in any fantasy, including killing the androids. The androids are programmed to respond positively to guest requests, specifically including requests for sex. Delos's guests pay $1,000 a day for the experience.
Peter Martin (Benjamin) and his friend John Blane (Brolin), who has visited previously, visit the WestWorld zone, where one of the main attractions is the Gunslinger (Yul Brynner), a robot programmed to start duels. Thanks to its programming, humans can always outdraw the Gunslinger and kill it. The guns used are electric six-shooters that can sense when they are pointed at a human being, in which case they will not fire.
Gradually, the technicians running Delos begin to notice problems with the androids. First, the robots in MedievalWorld begin suffering an inexplicable number of systemic failures. Then, a robot rattlesnake strikes Blane. Against her programming, a female servant android refuses a guest's request for sex. The failures increase until the robotic Black Knight kills a guest in a swordfight in MedievalWorld. The resort's supervisors, in an attempt to regain control, shut down power to the entire park. Unfortunately, this results in trapping them in the control rooms, while the robots run amok.
Martin and Blane, who have been passed out drunk after a barfight in WestWorld, wake up unaware that there has been a change for the worse. The two men are confronted by the Gunslinger, who challenges them to a duel. Blane treats the confrontation like a joke, until the robot shoots him. Martin runs for his life as the robot implacably follows him.
Martin flees to the other areas of the park, but finds only dead bodies and damaged robots. He manages to open an access panel to the underground control area, but finds that the resort's technicians have all suffocated since the ventilation shut down. The Gunslinger pursues Martin through the corridors, arriving at the robot repair facility where Martin lies in wait, pretending to be a disabled robot. Martin ambushes the Gunslinger by throwing a beaker of sulphuric acid, found amongst the repair materials, into the machine's face. Thinking he has disabled the Gunslinger, he leaves the service area and enters MedievalWorld.
However, Martin is followed by the Gunslinger, whose face has melted but who is still functional, though its visible spectrum optics were destroyed by the acid. The robot can still see Martin, but only via infrared backups, and is confused when he moves in front of several flaming torches, something it would not have been programmed to deal with in WestWorld. The Gunslinger begins to leave the room, but Martin accidentally makes a noise, allowing the Gunslinger to zero in on him again - when it lunges to strike (its electric pistol is exhausted), Martin seizes the opportunity to set fire to it with the overhead torch.
Thinking this has destroyed the robot, Martin leaves the burning Gunslinger and wanders out of the great hall, finding a female guest chained up in the dungeon. He releases her and gives her a drink of water, whereupon her face bursts into sparks, revealing she is a machine. Backing away in shock, he is confronted by the still moving burned hulk of the Gunslinger, which continues its attempt to attack him. However it falls off a high set of steps in the process and, finally succumbing to damage, shuts down.
[edit] Production details
The Gunslinger's appearance is based on Chris, Brynner's character from The Magnificent Seven. Both characters wear the same costume.
In the scene when Richard Benjamin's character splashes "The Gunslinger" (Yul Brynner) in the face with acid, Brynner's face was covered with an oil-based makeup mixed with ground Alka-Seltzer. A splash of water then produced the fizzing effect.
[edit] Filming process
The cinematographic process used in this film was anamorphic. This process was first developed in the 1940s, but did not become widely used until the 1960s. The anamorphic cinematographic process employs a lens which films a wider image than other technologies used in filmmaking. Therefore, the aspect ratio of the image imprinted onto the film is larger. When projected, this process provides the viewer with a wider, more natural view of the scene.
[edit] Computer graphics
Westworld was the first major feature film to use 2D computer generated images (CGI) during scenes showing the point of view of the robotic gunslinger. The first use of 3D CGI in a feature film was Westworld's sequel, Futureworld, in 1976.
Information International, Inc., or better known as Triple-I, created the digitized shots of The Gunslinger's point of view for the movie. According to Turner Classic Movies, some of the shots took eight hours to render completely, and many tests were made to get the right look.
[edit] Music
The music in last part of the movie (the pursuit) was created by Fred Karlin.
[edit] Sequel
A sequel to Westworld, Futureworld, was filmed in 1976, with only Brynner returning from the original cast to reprise his Gunslinger character. Four years later, in 1980, the CBS television network aired a short-lived television series, Beyond Westworld, expanding on the concepts and plot of the first film with new characters. Its poor ratings caused it to be canceled after only three of the five episodes aired.
A remake of Westworld is in development as of 2007[1], and a director is still not attached to the film. Quentin Tarantino was approached as director, but turned it down[2]. The film has been announced, but has not begun pre-production. The remake was originally speculated to be star vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger. Michael Crichton and Billy Ray are currently listed as writers on the early screenplay of the film.
[edit] Influence on popular culture
- In 1981, Theatre of Hate had a top 40 hit with "Do You Believe (In the Westworld)."
- In 1985, Colourbox recorded a song titled Just Give 'em Whiskey which sampled dialogue widely from the film.
- Stephen Malkmus's self-titled debut album featured the song "Jo Jo's Jacket," which was partially sung from the perspective of Yul Brynner. It included the lines “Perhaps you saw me in Westworld, I acted like a robotic cowboy”.
- The band Westworld takes their name from the film.
- The Canadian band Valley of the Giants's self-titled debut album is heavily influenced by the movie, with a track called "Westworld".
- In the Simpsons episode "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" (S5Ep20), Westworld is parodied in one sequence. Principal Skinner resembles The Gunslinger as he pursues the truant Bart across a river and up a mountain. Musical scoring similar to Westworld's is heard during the chase.
- The Simpsons episode "Itchy & Scratchy Land" (S6Ep04) makes extensive references to Westworld as the amusement park in the title descends into similar chaos. References include the "theme park of the future" slogan, the mispronounced line of dialogue "where nothing can possibly go wrong," an underground control area, and robots designed for entertainment purposes that turn into uncontrollable killers.
- In the Simpsons episode "Homer Simpson in: "Kidney Trouble"" (S10Ep08), Westworld is once again parodied. The opening sequence has the Simpson family go on a tour of a ghost town called "Bloodbath Gulch." The tour includes a stop at "Ye Old Animatronic Saloon" where they interact, sometimes violently, with robotic cowboys and other robotic western-themed characters.
- The music video for Muse's Knights of Cydonia features several references to Westworld.
- In the pilot episode of Welcome to Eltingville, "Bring Me the Head of Boba Fett", during the Trivia-Off a character asks "What was the name of the theme park from Westworld?", it is answered correctly.
- In 2003, the Cartoon Network television series Duck Dodgers aired an episode, "The Wrath of Canasta," in which the title character visits a robot-filled, Western-themed vacation planet where the robots are programmed to always lose gunfights with tourists.
- Director John Carpenter has stated that Yul Brynner's character was an inspiration for Michael Myers in Halloween.
- A Hsu & Chan comic featured a minor amusement park parody along with the appearance of a gunslinger.
- The PC game System Shock 2 features the Westworld movie poster at points during the game.
- Writer-Director Michael Crichton would later use the backdrop of an amusement park based on advanced technology gone wrong in Jurassic Park.
- In an episode of What's New, Scooby-Doo? titled "Go West, Young Scoob", the gang visits an Old West theme park named Cyber Gulch where all the inhabitants are robots. Some of the robots turn evil and cause havoc in the town.
[edit] References
- ^ Sci-Fi Wire: Billy Ray Talks Westworld Remake, June 2007
- ^ Hostel 2 DVD commentary track.
