In the prehistoric days before Bill Gates changed the computer world with his Windows Operating Program, the Walt
Disney Company released Tron, a movie that offered a look inside the micro universe that dwelled within a computer.
Jeff Bridges played Flynn, a brilliant young programmer whose video game prototypes were stolen by the company that
he used to work for, which has used his games to become a multi-million dollar success, leaving him in the dust.
Flynn has been trying to hack into the company's mainframe in an effort to find evidence of the theft of his games,
but he keeps getting shut out by the Master Control Program, a sentient, and malevolent, computer program intent on
ruling the world (apparently, this was a few years before Skynet, the evil computer program from the Terminator
movies, made its grab for world domination; these sentient computers are a megalomaniac bunch).
When Flynn gets help from his friends Alan (Bruce Boxleitner) and Lora (Cindy Morgan), he is finally able to
successfully hack into the mainframe from a terminal within the company itself. In retaliation, the MCP shoots
Flynn with an experimental laser beam, which teleports him directly into the heart of the computer itself. From
this point on, Tron--named after the security program that is invented by Alan (and also played in the computer
world by Boxleitner)--takes place exclusively within the megabytes realm. Tron is one of the first films to make
extensive use of computer graphics, and while most of the effects look simple by today's standards, the computer
world of Tron is still surprisingly effective. Using a combination of live action scenes, shot on black and white
film, blended with computer-generated imagery designed by Syd Mead, the computer world of Tron is an eye-pleasing
concoction that is based on the video games of old. Flynn finds he has become a digitized gladiator who must now
fight for his life on the very video games that he has created. The best and most visually impressive of Tron's
computer world scenes remain the light cycle sequence. Flynn transforms into a light cycle (which is basically a stylishly-designed digital
motorcycle), which he uses to race
around a vast playing field. The catch is that each cycle leaves behind a wall of light that is impenetrable; thus
if another light cycle should run into a light wall, it will get smashed. Pretty soon, a maze is constructed of
these light walls, with extremely narrow passageways and all too tight corners that Flynn must race through,
knowing full well that the slightest mistake would cause his demise.
As a film, Tron is rather awkward, with snail-slow pacing and wooden acting from which even the normally superb
Bridges is a victim of--especially in the "real world" scenes. What makes Tron worth the price are its still
impressive graphics (the Solar Glider is a magnificent example of early CGI artwork at its best). The DVD set,
released by Disney, is also worth your time. The film looks and sounds glorious in its DVD transfer, and there is
a second disc that is loaded with several hours of behind the scenes extras, such as early video tests for the film, and interviews
with key creative personnel. While it may have its flaws, Tron still stands tall as a major part of the vanguard of
Computer Generated Imagery in motion pictures. --SF