After attempting to expose a diabolical plot at the futuristic theme park Futureworld, an ex-employee is dispatched after he tips off the reporter who exposed Westworld. The reporter and his ex-co-reporter investigate the situation.
The 1973 film “Westworld,” written and directed by Michael Crichton, was a massive commercial and critical hit. Its success eventually led to a reboot as a TV show that aired on HBO from 2016 to 2022, and Warner Bros. is currently developing a new feature film, with writer David Koepp hired to pen the script. But many people don’t know there was a sequel to the 1973 film called “Futureworld.” It starred Peter Fonda and Blythe Danner and revolved around the Delos corporation, the company that created and operated three distinct historical simulation worlds: Westworld, Medieval World, and Roman World. After a catastrophic system malfunction that caused its hosts, lifelike androids, to go rogue and murder the human guests, the parks were all shut down.
Now, two years after the Westworld tragedy, the Delos Corporation owners are preparing to reopen the park after spending $1.5 billion on safety improvements, but they are keeping Westworld closed. Delos holds a press junket to announce its planned reopening and invites newspaper reporter Chuck Browning (Peter Fonda), who previously broke the story about the deadly robot malfunction in Westworld, and TV reporter Tracy Ballard (Blythe Danner). Chuck is understandably surprised to receive the invitation, but Delos insists they have nothing to hide and that he and Ms. Ballard may explore any part of the park as long as they are with an employee. Before the junket, however, Chuck met with a Delos employee who claimed to have damaging information about the company. Before he could explain further, the informant was killed, but not before handing Chuck a large brown envelope.
Once there, everything seems legit. Chuck and Tracy are stunned, however, when they learn that all the employees in the control center are androids, with no humans amongst them. Dr. Duffy (Arthur Hill), the park director, also informs them that some of the robots are available for sexual encounters with guests. During their investigation, they meet Harry Croft (Stuart Margolin), a mechanic, technician, and one of the few human employees still working at the resort. He wants to reveal what is happening inside Delos, but he fears the company will kill him if it learns of his betrayal. He brings Chuck and Tracy to a classified area of the park that is off-limits to almost everyone, but they manage to sneak in. Once inside, though, they are shocked when they see perfect android duplicates of themselves.
They also see clones of influential world leaders, politicians, and high-profile guests who were invited to its reopening. Chuck pieces everything together and realizes they are creating clones to replace powerful world leaders and VIP guests with brainwashed duplicates who will obey the corporation’s commands. They decide to leave the resort, along with Harry, but security is already closing in. Their situation becomes even more dangerous when their own clones enter the park to hunt them down and kill them.
While “Westworld” was a straight-up sci-fi western-thriller, “Futureworld” is more of a sci-fi mystery. Although Chuck and Tracy were invited to the resort as guests, when they uncover the sinister robot-cloning conspiracy, their journalistic tendencies take over. While Yul Brynner’s Gunslinger character was killed off at the end of “Westworld,” he appears briefly in a dream sequence Tracy experiences, where he rescues her, and they share a brief encounter.
“Futureworld” was a box office flop, and many say it was because it traded the terrifying, fast-paced killer-robot thrills of the original “Westworld” for a slower corporate conspiracy plot, but I actually enjoyed the film for what it was. Peter Fonda and Blythe Danner work well together, and director Richard T. Heffron builds the suspense effectively. Before “Westworld” moved to HBO in 2016, there was a short-lived television series called “Beyond Westworld” that aired on CBS in 1980, but it was supposedly so bad that it was canceled after airing just three of its five produced episodes.
If the new “Westworld” film turns out to be a success, then I would really like to see “Futureworld” reimagined as a sequel. The idea might even allow for a trilogy—or an even longer series of films—spanning the different Delos parks. Such films could create their own continuity instead of sticking to the HBO series, giving the franchise a fresh beginning while allowing exploration of ideas the original sequels never had the chance to develop fully.
Below are the special features included with this release:
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original restored lossless mono audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by filmmaker and film historian Daniel Kremer
- Future Present, a brand new video interview with producer Paul N. Lazarus III
- NASA: Science Fact and Fiction, a 1976 behind-the-scenes short film chronicling filming at the Johnson Space Center, presented in high definition for the first time on home video
- Theatrical trailer
- TV and radio spots
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jeff Marshall
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by David Michael Brown, Barry Forshaw and James Rose
Available on Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD™ October 20th from ARROW VIDEO
