SEASON 3, EPISODE 14 - THE ROBERT DUVALL DOUBLE FEATURE TRIBUTE: THX 1138 and THE OUTFIT

The Rad Revival House pays tribute to a true icon of the Cinema: the late, great Robert Duvall.

Returning to the RRH as Special Guest Lecturer is Newman of the excellent podcast Movies 4 Dayz. Together with host Professor Cesare Augusto, Newman lends a strong hand in analyzing two criminally underrated Robert Duvall pictures: the Sci-Fi dystopian classic THX 1138, and the rough an’ tumble Crime classic, THE OUTFIT.

In THX 1138, director George Lucas gives a startling debut in his film career with a glimpse at a rigid, technological future. Every human is a drone without an identity, only a coded name, serving a faceless but powerful entity that oversees every action. Every human is also force-fed mind-altering medication, making them slaves to said entity, without emotion or soul. That is, until the inquisitive drone THX 1138 (Duvall) becomes aware of a world of freedom, free from the restrictions of their entity, and with a promise of individuality. Together with fellow drones LUH (Maggie McOmie) and SEN (a magnificently nutty Donald Pleasance), THX makes his escape, with relentless robots in hot pursuit!

And in THE OUTFIT, Duvall is Earl Macklin, an ex-con and professional thief who finishes his stretch the joint, only to hear of his brother’s brutal assassination. A man of principle and violent tendencies, Macklin seeks revenge against the organized crime figures responsible for his brother’s murder. Joined by fellow crook Cody (a fabulously tough Joe Don Baker) and beautiful girlfriend Bette (Karen Black), Macklin wages war against the crime organization known as The Outfit, who won’t take these so-called “independents’” vendetta lying down!

Newman and Professor Cesare have a blast analyzing these two Duvall pictures, how our star provides deeply nuanced performances in both films that are stylishly and thematically different from each other. Both reviewers marvel at Duvall’s classic signature stoicness, how complex his approaches are at fleshing out both THX and Macklin, and how acting students can learn from to create great character portrayals out of not scenery-chewing wildness, but stone-cold silence. Much like the great Robert Duvall!