Chris
Key Insights
- Michael Crichton was a multifaceted creator known for both literature and film.
- Westworld serves as a precursor to modern sci-fi narratives, influencing films like The Terminator.
- The film’s unique casting choices subvert traditional hero dynamics.
- Arrow Video‘s 4K release includes valuable interviews and insights from the original cast.
When people think of Michael Crichton, they tend to think of him as the author behind high-concept novels like Jurassic Park and Congo, or as the creator of ER. What’s often forgotten is just how wildly accomplished Crichton actually was. Widely regarded as possessing a genius-level intellect, he completed medical school (earning his degree and doing his rotations, though never seeking a license) and spent a significant period working as a Hollywood writer-director, racking up more than a few major hits along the way.
Of all the films he directed, his first remains his most famous: Westworld. A clear precursor to Jurassic Park, the film is set in a futuristic amusement park for adults, where guests can live out their wildest fantasies across three elaborate zones—Westworld, Medieval World, and Roman World. Those fantasies, unsurprisingly, mostly involve violence and sex. The park is populated by lifelike humanoid robots, but things quickly go sideways when the machines begin malfunctioning—first refusing sex, and eventually attempting to kill the guests themselves.
While Westworld was later reimagined as a sprawling HBO series (one that infamously never received a proper finale), the original film—clocking in at a lean 88 minutes—still holds up as a crackerjack thriller with genuine thematic substance. The story follows two yuppies, played by Richard Benjamin and James Brolin, whose vacation turns into a nightmare when they repeatedly clash with a relentless Gunslinger, portrayed by Yul Brynner.
Revisiting Westworld via Arrow Video’s new 4K reissue, one thing that immediately stood out to me was just how influential the film clearly was on The Terminator. Brynner’s unstoppable Gunslinger isn’t far removed from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800. Brynner was perfectly cast, having previously played a heroic gunslinger in The Magnificent Seven, and here he’s styled to look almost identical—dressed head-to-toe in black, radiating cold menace.
Another fascinating aspect of Westworld is its approach to casting the hero and sidekick. Convention would suggest that the macho Brolin would be the lead, with the nebbish Benjamin as his sidekick. Instead, Crichton flips expectations, making Benjamin the film’s true protagonist. At the time, Benjamin was best known for playing yuppies—often New York Jewish intellectuals—so casting him as the lead in a sci-fi western was a bold move. Imagine someone like Seth Rogen headlining a Westworld remake and you get the idea. It works remarkably well. Even though modern audiences tend to sympathize more with robots (a perspective leaned into heavily by the HBO series), you still find yourself rooting hard for Benjamin to survive.
Arrow Video’s 4K release is a lavish and thoughtful package. One of its highlights is a pair of newly recorded interviews with the two surviving stars, Richard Benjamin and James Brolin. Benjamin’s interview is conducted by Larry Karaszewski, co-writer of Ed Wood, The People vs. O.J. Simpson, and Dolemite Is My Name, as well as a noted film historian. Benjamin shares a wealth of on-set stories, praising Brynner for his guidance on how to “lead” a western and recounting Crichton’s success in getting the film released without studio interference—no small feat given that studio head James Aubrey was notorious for re-editing films during his tenure. Benjamin also reflects on his own later career as a director, which included My Favorite Year and Racing with the Moon.
The set also includes the pilot episode for the short-lived TV spinoff Beyond Westworld, which ran for only five episodes. The only real omission is the sequel, Futureworld, a more overt B-movie that would have made for a fun bonus feature, though it was financed by a different studio and likely unavailable to Arrow for rights reasons.
If you only know Westworld through the HBO series and have an appreciation for older genre films, the original is absolutely worth your time. It still holds up remarkably well and remains a sharp, efficient, and highly entertaining blend of science fiction, action, and western tropes.
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