Il mondo dei robot

Michael Crichton wrote and directed this precursor to "Jurassic Park" that, while showing some of it's age, is still effective and was undeniably influential. The story concerns a unique and expensive vacation resort called Delos in which customers can choose from one of three "worlds"--Roman World, Medieval World or Western World (as it is referred to in the film.) Here, customers can indulge their fantasies of conquest (violent or sexual) among a host of ultra-realistic robots who are programmed to promote the experience while not allowing the participants to become hurt. Benjamin stars as a newcomer to the place with his buddy Brolin along for his second visit. Brolin shows Benjamin the ropes at Western World (how to shoot villains, seduce dance hall girls, etc...) One of the bad guys they encounter is icy Brynner who they dispose of more than once. Eventually, things start to come unglued as the men note that things aren't working as properly as expected and promised. The controllers of the park are unable to prevent the robots from hurting or even killing the guests! The film begins with that once-cutting-edge, but now amusing, sense of high-tech awe as the guys enter the park. Benjamin is an acquired taste and borders on annoying for much of the film. More at ease is Brolin who doesn't have a great deal to do. The most striking performance is that of Brynner. He has almost nothing to say, but he doesn't need to talk. His steely stare and mechanical gait wind up being quite relentless and terrifying. The highlight of the film is his non-stop pursuit of Benjamin. ("The Terminator" owes a lot to this section of the film.) There are several other supporting roles, but, aside from Van Patten, the actors create little interest in their exploits. "Star Trek" fans will note the presence of Barrett as a robot madame. There were rumors of a remake with Arnold Schwarzegger, but Arnie's already done the indestructible robot thing and no one's going to outglare Brynner. His bid as Governor seems to have quashed these plans anyway.

"Boy, have we got a vacation for you...where nothing can go wrong!"

Well, as the old saying goes..."famous last words."

"Westworld" is supposed to be set in the future (as visualized back in 1973 when the film was made, apparently the computers of the future are really, really big, and the monitors are really, really small, lol), where pampered rich folk can go to a vacation resort named "Delos", where they choose one of three "worlds" to visit and interact in: Medieval World, Roman World, and Westworld. Our protagonists John Blaine and Peter Martin (played by James Brolin and Richard Benjamin, respectively) choose Westworld. John is a Westworld veteran, having visited many times. Peter is his friend and first-timer at the resort; uttering childlike statements such as "Do we get a real gun? Wow!" In the various "worlds", the guests interact with each other and with anatomically-correct, extremely realistic robots. They are able to *ahem* interact very closely with the female robots, and also shoot the mean robots for fun (the guns they are supplied with will not work on real people) as they wish. A real "cowboys and indians" scenario for the child in us all. Roman World is promoted as a big sex resort, and Medieval World is geared towards the romantic, it seems.

The film starts out with quite a lot of intentional comedy and satire, and frankly starts out very much like it could have been a 1970's TV "Movie of the Week", but once the robots start to go bad...what we have for the rest of the film is a truly creepy western/sci-fi film. It's a gunfight! Albeit a Sci-Fi one. The last half-hour of the film is essentially a silent movie, as Crichton said he wanted, save for the great soundtrack, which sounds something like a bow being drawn against piano strings, or a cello; anyway it has the same unsettling effect as the out-of-tune piano in another classic, "Wait Until Dark" (1967).

Movies with robots/androids...there have been many I have seen and loved. But for this review I will cite examples of what I consider to be scary robots in film, besides "Westworld": "The Stepford Wives" (1974), "Alien" (1979), "Blade Runner" (1982), "The Terminator" (1984), "Aliens", "The Companion" (1995).

But "Westworld" was the first scary robot film I ever saw. And even after the others that followed, nothing quite equals Yul Brynner in his role as the gunslinger robot gone bad in "Westworld." His performance is what really makes the movie. Brynner was a good actor, and even (aybe especially) playing a machine, his skill is used to great effect. His performance was anything but wooden (unlike the always wooden Ah-nold in "The Terminator", for instance).

When Brynner's robot gunslinger commands "Draw", with the slightest twist at the corner of his mouth, he is completely creepy and scary. Even the way he walks when hunting down Richard Benjamin's character has an element to it that I have never seen again.

What's also great about this film is the development of Benjamin's character of Peter Martin. He starts out as the inexperienced nerdy sidekick to Brolin's John Blaine, and ends up showing his true mettle as the going gets rough. The nerdy naive Martin quickly learns how to survive.

This was Sci-Fi writer/director Michael Crichton's first foray into big-screen film-making. Crichton has said he made the film in thirty days. I would expect that finding pre-made sets were easy at least; there was bound to be at least a western set sitting around the studio lots. And of course, back then there were fewer and less complicated special effects.

If you find a DVD of this to rent, and you've never seen the film before, I recommend that you do not watch the trailer first! It's a real spoiler.

Note: Look for Majel Barrett (of "Star Trek-Generations", and she is also Gene Roddenberrys' widow) as the whorehouse madam.

Brynner's part was a play on his role in the classic western film "The Magnificent Seven."

Michael Crichton is a versatile man whose career as a novelist would seem to be satisfying enough without trying his hand at the movies. After all, most of his books have been adapted for the screen. This was his first attempt at directing a big feature. He showed in "Westworld" an affinity for the film medium.

Mr. Chrichton employed computer technology that was in its infancy at the time. The result is a movie that is entertaining even after more than thirty years after it was released. Most of Mr. Crichton's books deal in science fiction.

The best thing in the film is Yul Brynner, without a doubt. His presence dominates everything. As the Gunslinger, he shows intelligence and tenacity in dealing with those that dared to cross him. Richard Benjamin is also effective as the young lawyer who is fascinated by the things he finds in Westworld. James Brolin's character seemed to be on auto pilot as he didn't register much emotion throughout the entire movie.

The film merits a look.

In a near future, the Delos Company offers the vacation of the future in the present days in the amusement parks Medievalworld, Romanworld and Westworld for U$ 1,000.00 per day. The vacationers can feel in the Middle Age or in the Roman Empire or in the Wild West and have joust, sex, duel against gunslinger and whatever he or she wants interacting with robots.

Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) and John Blane (James Brolin) travel in the hovercraft to Westworld and sooner Peter duels against a Gunslinger (Yul Brynner). However, when there is a malfunctioning of the machinery, the robots get out of control jeopardizing the guests.

"Westworld" is a very successful sci-fi of my generation and a sort of grandfather of other robots films, such as "The Stepford Wives", "Blade Runner" and mainly "The Terminator". There is a scene in this last franchise that is an updated rip-off of Yul Brynner's character chasing Peter.

The story has flaws, but is engaging and suspenseful, holding the attention until the very last scene. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Westworld - Onde Ninguém Tem Alma" ("Westworld - Where No One Has Soul")

Note: On 20 January 2018, I saw this film again.

Note: On 05 March 2021, I saw this film again.

Westworld was the blueprint for what was later Jurassic Park. Here, Michael Crichton first envisoned Disneyland, if the Hall of presidents ran amuck. It provided many of the inspirations for later sci-fi films, like Terminator. It was a great blend of action, horror, and comedy.

Richard Benjamin and James Brolin are the heroes of the film, but Yul Brynner is the star. He portrays a robot, based on his character from "The Magnificent Seven." Brynner is the relentless killing machine who fights until the end. With almost no dialogue, he conveys fear with little more than expression and body language.

The film explores old themes, the dark side of technology, but it was ahead of its time in depicting the dangers of computers and automated systems. The effects are dated, but the story holds up well. The sequel, Futureworld, tried to add political intrigue, with less success. Definitely one for the sci-fi fan or collector, or cult movie lover.