Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Before Star Wars, before Lucasfilm — there was a 24-year-old George Lucas fresh out of USC film school, working on set with Francis Ford Coppola and dreaming up a feature film called THX 1138.
This episode from 1969 looks at the evolution of graduate film schools by featuring George Lucas. Lucas talks about his belief in the personal film over the studio machine, and developing a feature film out of his student short THX 1138 4EB, winner of the very first National Student Film Award in 1968. He describes making a behind-the-scenes film of the Coppola feature film, The Rain People.
Lucas first studied painting and sees his generation of filmmakers reclaiming the camera as an artist's tool, and making films on their own terms.
This 1969 episode "Film Generation," narrated by Alan Alda, is from NET Festival, a 1960s American television anthology series that focused on cultural, performing arts, and documentary specials. It showcased high-quality performances in jazz, drama, and opera, often featuring renowned artists and unique cultural portraits.
Subscribe to a THIRTEEN newsletter to stay informed: thirteen.org/email-preferences/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=tp_bhm&utm_id=2026_tp_bhm
Thumbnail image by Nicolas Genin, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Link to license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Link to asset: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Lucas_cropped_2009.jpg
#MayTheFourth #StarWars #StarWarsDay #GeorgeLucas #THX1138 #FrancisFordCoppola #FilmHistory #Archives #THIRTEEN #Film #Disney #THIRTEENWNET #AlanAlda #Hollywood
Please SUBSCRIBE if you enjoyed: youtube.com/@ThirteenWNET?sub_confirmation=1
For full episodes, check out thirteen.org
Facebook: facebook.com/thirteenwnet
Instagram: instagram.com/thirteenwnet
TikTok: tiktok.com/@thirteenwnet
-----------------
THIRTEEN is one of America’s most respected and innovative public media providers. Part of The WNET Group, THIRTEEN is a unique cultural and educational institution that harnesses the power of television and electronic media to inform, enlighten, entertain and inspire. The flagship public television station of the New York City tri-state area and the most-watched public television channel in the nation, THIRTEEN reaches millions of people with programming that celebrates arts and culture, offers insightful commentary on the news of the day, explores the worlds of science and nature, and invites people of all ages to have fun while learning.
Before Star Wars, before Lucasfilm — there was a 24-year-old George Lucas fresh out of USC film school, working on set with Francis Ford Coppola and dreaming up a feature film called THX 1138.
This episode from 1969 looks at the evolution of graduate film schools by featuring George Lucas. Lucas talks about his belief in the personal film over the studio machine, and developing a feature film out of his student short THX 1138 4EB, winner of the very first National Student Film Award in 1968. He describes making a behind-the-scenes film of the Coppola feature film, The Rain People.
Lucas first studied painting and sees his generation of filmmakers reclaiming the camera as an artist's tool, and making films on their own terms.
This 1969 episode "Film Generation," narrated by Alan Alda, is from NET Festival, a 1960s American television anthology series that focused on cultural, performing arts, and documentary specials. It showcased high-quality performances in jazz, drama, and opera, often featuring renowned artists and unique cultural portraits.
Subscribe to a THIRTEEN newsletter to stay informed: thirteen.org/email-preferences/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=tp_bhm&utm_id=2026_tp_bhm
Thumbnail image by Nicolas Genin, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Link to license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Link to asset: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Lucas_cropped_2009.jpg
#MayTheFourth #StarWars #StarWarsDay #GeorgeLucas #THX1138 #FrancisFordCoppola #FilmHistory #Archives #THIRTEEN #Film #Disney #THIRTEENWNET #AlanAlda #Hollywood
Please SUBSCRIBE if you enjoyed: youtube.com/@ThirteenWNET?sub_confirmation=1
For full episodes, check out thirteen.org
Facebook: facebook.com/thirteenwnet
Instagram: instagram.com/thirteenwnet
TikTok: tiktok.com/@thirteenwnet
-----------------
THIRTEEN is one of America’s most respected and innovative public media providers. Part of The WNET Group, THIRTEEN is a unique cultural and educational institution that harnesses the power of television and electronic media to inform, enlighten, entertain and inspire. The flagship public television station of the New York City tri-state area and the most-watched public television channel in the nation, THIRTEEN reaches millions of people with programming that celebrates arts and culture, offers insightful commentary on the news of the day, explores the worlds of science and nature, and invites people of all ages to have fun while learning.
