10 More Obscure Films You Must See
3. Westworld (dir. Michael Crichton, 1973) 
Novelists dont often make good film directors. They can be so attentive towards the verbal content that they end up neglecting the visual language and characteristics of cinema hence why Stephen Kings adaptation of The Shining is pretty poor, even if its closer to the novel than the Stanley Kubrick version. Despite this trend, Michael Crichtons debut effort Westworld does make a pretty decent fist of mixing up several genres and having something to say. Westworld is set in a futuristic theme park in which the rich and famous pay to relive life in ancient Rome, mediaeval Europe or the Wild West each world being recreated by highly life-like robots. The film follows two men played by Richard Benjamin and James Brolin (Josh Brolins dad) as they holiday in Westworld, drinking whisky and engaging in harmless gunfights with Yul Brynner. But soon they are put in great peril as the computers break down and the robots start attacking the guests Westworld could be a considered a trial run for Jurassic Park, for which Crichton wrote the novel and the screenplay. Its an unusual mixture of elements from westerns, science fiction, horror and suspense thrillers, which is most notable for its highly convincing effects, both organic (e.g. removing Yul Brynners face) and digital (it was the first film to utilise pixelated graphics). The films approach to robotic villains was a big influence on Blade Runner and The Terminator, and Brynner is clearly having a ball sending up his character from The Magnificent Seven. So if youre a fan of sci-fi and westerns, check it out: what could possibly go wrong? go wrong? go wrong? go wrong? Three Men on a Blog review The Movie Hour podcast: #26P.S. Im not the only fan of the film on this site. Check out Tim Richs two cents here.