How George Lucas’ Apocalypse Now Would Have Changed His Career (& Cinema)

Had George Lucas directed Apocalypse Now as planned, that could have changed both the course of his career AND mainstream cinema itself. Contrasting Lucas' first two movies with his work on the Star Wars franchise, they almost appear to come from two different filmmakers. THX 1138 is an austere, dystopian sci-fi movie based on Lucas' student short. While it was a box-office disappointment upon release in 1971, it's now considered a cult film. His coming-of-age comedy American Graffiti – starring Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss and Harrison Ford – was a big hit critically and commercially.