Westworld (1973)

Director:

Michael Crichton

Writer:

Michael Crichton (written by)

Release Date:

21 November 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller | Western

Tagline:

Westworld ...where robot men and women are programmed to serve you for ...Romance ...Violence ...Anything

Plot:

A amusement park for rich vacationers. The park provides its customers a way to live out their fantasies...

Plot Keywords:

Acid | Fall From Window | Vacation | Dungeon | Seduction

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Yul Brynner	...	The Gunslinger
Richard Benjamin	...	Peter Martin
James Brolin	...	John Blane
Norman Bartold	...	Medieval Knight
Alan Oppenheimer	...	Chief Supervisor
Victoria Shaw	...	Medieval Queen
Dick Van Patten	...	Banker
Linda Gaye Scott	...	Arlette (as Linda Scott)
Steve Franken	...	Technician
Michael T. Mikler	...	Black Knight (as Michael Mikler)
Terry Wilson	...	Sheriff
Majel Barrett	...	Miss Carrie
Anne Randall	...	Servant Girl
Julie Marcus	...	Girl in Dungeon
Sharyn Wynters	...	Apache Girl

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1974) | Australia:PG | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Harold Lloyd's Greenacres Estate - 1740 Green Acres Dr., Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Michael Crichton became inspired to write this film after a trip to Disneyland, where he saw the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and was impressed by the animatronic characters.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the last scene of the film, the gunslinger rises from the floor for the final time, and turns to reveal that its face-plate has fallen off. But the faceplate, clearly visible on the floor when the robot turns, wasn't there seconds before when the robot pushed itself up.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Interviewer of Delos Guests: [hosting a commercial] Hi. Ed Ramsey from Delos. If there's anyone who doesn't know what Delos is, well, as we've always said: Delos is the vacation of the future, today. At Delos, you get your choice of the vacation you want. There's Medieval World, Roman World and, of course, Westworld. Let's talk to some of the people who've been there.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Freaks and Geeks: Tricks and Treats (#1.3)" (1999)

The nugget of poetry.

The thing about a machine is that it'll carry on doing what it does, even if you decide you don't want it to. This is the problem with mechanisms with insufficient human feedback.

This film is actually a critique of passive entertainment. The idea is that people visit without interaction, and they get entertained.

However, the machine doesn't really care what you want, it just does what it does, and it's got a gun. This then becomes a bit of a problem.

It's a typical writer's film. He doesn't want to read, he wants to write. He in many ways resents the passivity of the audience, and wants to warn them of the dangers of this approach. This film is early postmodernism. It's a modern consumer utopia being revealed to be a disturbing dystopia. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

A note to other forumisers : Forget the myopic nerdery. It's a film, not a computer game with 'glitches'. Don't troubleshoot it like it's a Quake forum. Same as you can have a few weeks of boring waiting deleted from a film using a changing date on the bottom of the screen, Yul is allowed to reload off camera. Or not reload at all. He's an indiscriminate killing hunting wild west robot. That's it. Great character. There are no holes to pick, other than : It's fiction.

Actually, the idolised character of a violent self reliant cowboy, a law unto himself, as portrayed in Leone's films is the antithesis of Westworld. The tourists have lost the ability to fight, and are the victims of a mechanical cowboy incabable of decision making. It highlights America's cultural transformation from gun toting anarchy to consumerism, and the possible risks of such a transformation. It's reverse Leone, but still with the same message. It's just about victims, not heros. Yul's the invincible antihero.