Westworld (1973)

reviewed by
Monika Huebner


Westworld
A movie by Michael Crichton
With Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin and others

Clever marketing strategists created a very special theme park: At Westworld the stressed-out vacationer can relax in an unusual way and experience things he will never forget for the rest of his life. Who hasn't dreamt of being a sheriff in the Wild West, see the pleasures of ancient Rome or win the love of a medieval queen by defeating the Black Knight? Westworld gives you the opportunity to live your dreams at a time when time travel still belongs in the realm of science fiction. The tourists are cared for by hi-tech robots that look incredibly human. But as you know the best technology is only good as long as it works. If the circuits blow due to a technical defect the most human robot is just a machine...

Those somewhat familiar with the works of Michael Crichton can probably guess what this movie is about. My first thought was: the man's relation with theme parks is a bit strange. Even if Westworld isn't plagued by rambling dinosaurs like JURASSIC PARK some 20 years later, this early version of a story warning about the menace of exaggerated use of technology is everything but colorless. On the contrary: The fact that this story deals with human looking robots that can't be told from real people makes everything more ghastly. Imagine being chased by a gunslinger - played brilliantly by Yul Brynner - whose only aim is to kill you because his circuits were messed up by a major blackout in the conrol center. You can't kill him like a normal man and he acts with the precision of a machine, cold and unfeeling. The pleasure seekers in the ancient Rome and in the medieval castle are no better off. There, too, the robots were affected by the blackout and the Black Knight doesn't want to give up his victory. The vacation turns into a nightmare, brilliantly and eerily staged.

Many blame Crichton for being anti-technology, which I never quite understood. His books and movies rather make you think about the dangers of a naive faith in the infallibility of technology. And that is an impulse that can't hurt in these times. His vivid imagination and not exactly squeamish use of violence serve to entertain the viewer or reader, which all in all is the purpose of a thriller.

A gloomy vision of an artificial world that hopefully never will come true.

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