There’s such a long list of dystopian sci-fi films and books that it’s hard to determine exactly where THX1138 falls in the overall scheme of things. It borrows heavily from Brave New World and 1984, but it also is reminiscent of Metropolis, The Island, and The Matrix. Except that all of those things are good—okay, not The Island, but it at least had explosions and good chases.
For whatever reason, the subtitles turned themselves on about five minutes into the movie, and that was a good thing. I could understand all the soft-spoken parts (there are a lot) as well as the background vocals (there are a lot of disembodied announcer, too), which helped me to understand a lot more about what was going on in terms of both the plot and the future society in general.
Taken solely on its own merits, THX1138 would be a forgotten film. It’s preserved solely by another small film made by the same director a few years later. Ultimately, it’s only a footnote.