How 1973’s “American Graffiti” created a ripple effect still felt over 50 years later…

*****TWIN BARREL-CARB SPOILERS!***** After the arguably unjust box office failure of his arthouse-dystopian sci-fi film “THX-1138” (1971), George Lucas was challenged by his mentor and American Zoetrope producing partner Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather” trilogy, “Apocalypse Now”) to do something challenging to his own avant-garde sensibilities, which, for young George Lucas, meant creating a warm,…

George Lucas’ original sci-fi epic, “THX-1138” (1971)…

******SPOILERS AHEAD!****** Past Prologue. In 1967, a 23 year-old USC graduate named George Lucas wrote and directed an ambitious futuristic short film called “Electronic Labyrinth THX-1138 4EB,” which chronicled the escape of a dissident (Dan Nachtsheim) from a futuristic dystopia. The film runs just 15 minutes, but it acquired a lot of notice for its…