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View Full Version : Film Swap: Westworld (Michael Crichton, 1973)



Briare
11-29-2007, 11:24 AM
*could I get someone to correct that typo in the thread title?*

http://www.b-movies.gr/UserFiles/Image/westworld/westworld%204.jpg

Michael Chrichton penned story of an extraordinary theme park where everybody is having a grand time until something jams in the system and all hell breaks loose. Wait, this isn't Jurassic Park. No, no this is Westworld. Chichton's project from the early 1970's which would appear to be kind of a run through for that later book [and its subsequent film adaptation]. The theme park in Westworld isn't quite as grand to have dinosaurs running about in it- but the funny thing is, it possesses the exact same set of pros and cons as that later project may have.

Chrichton doesn't know how to build proper characters into his screenplays. Here, Richard Benjamin and James Brolin play two American businessmen on vacation. The former, a high strung businessman recently divorced from his wife is our main character, the other a tad more carefree and laid back forms a sort of sidekick. Thankfully there are no children present. Their adventurews are fun, set to a jaunty Western style theme. The violence isn't too gory, its just fun enough to be light. Then, aforementioned hell breaks loose and Benjamin finds himself at the hands of a relentless robotic gunslinger.

The first half of the film is a showcase of the effects and the "science" that goes on behind the scenes. Scientists rework the settings of their creations to make them stronger. The second half involves Benjamin running through the entire resort, eventually defeating the gunslinger using basic elements of life. The special effects themselves are impressive, the electronic gadgets look impressive enough and very little of the film's technology would look completely out of place in Jurassic Park, though another problem of Chrichton's script is his logically sound but factually off scientific work. He bends a few things to fit the needs of his project, much like he did with mosquito DNA in Jurassic Park.

The philosophy of the film isn't anything that hadn't been covered in 2001: A Space Odyssey, albeit its a little more fun here. There are a few genuinely creepy moments, but much like Chrichton's other work, the film succeeds at being more fun than suspenseful or scary.

Influentially, I think Westworld left a much deeper mark on the horror/sci-fi genre than given credit for. Everything from Child's Play to Predator seems to have a minor detail or scene borrowed. It looks good and technically it is sound- its premise is awesome, but much like Jurassic Park it gets far too caught up in how clever the plot is and forget to add a bit more color to those who have to live in its world. There's apparently a remake in the works, with Chrichton not writing this time, and I honestly don't have a problem with that at all.

Ezee E
11-29-2007, 04:22 PM
Cool. Glad you got some out of it. I really liked the movie for about the first 2/3 of the movie until they strayed away from Westworld and went into the other lands.

lovejuice
11-29-2007, 05:21 PM
this is a movie i always want to check out.

Rowland
11-30-2007, 07:33 PM
I had a lot of fun with this. It's like Jurassic Park mixed with The Terminator.

MadMan
12-01-2007, 03:06 AM
I enjoyed the hell out of this film, and yeah it really did influence a lot of later films. I love the spoof of this in an episode of The Simpsons, and I like how the film explores the idea of living out a fantasy in such a cool amusement park. Well until the robots go haywire and starting killing all the guests of course :lol:

That said, its been quite a while since I last saw it. A revisit to refresh my memory is in order.

Briare
12-01-2007, 04:36 AM
I enjoyed the film- don't get me wrong. I agree with E though, it lost some of its charm in the last third.

best sequences involves Brolin breaking Benjamin out of jail and shooting the sheriff. Makes the entire things look so fun.

Yxklyx
12-02-2007, 01:44 AM
I enjoyed the film- don't get me wrong. I agree with E though, it lost some of its charm in the last third.

best sequences involves Brolin breaking Benjamin out of jail and shooting the sheriff. Makes the entire things look so fun.

Funny you should mention Brolin as I just saw him in Gas Food Lodging - I didn't realise it was the same actor - how the years fly by! As someone else mentioned West World is definitely a cross between Jurassic Park and Terminator.