When Star Wars hit cinemas in the late 1970s and 80s, sound engineer Tomlinson Holman noticed a problem: the rich, detailed audio created during production wasn’t being heard properly in theatres. His solution was THX – a new sound standard that ensured films played exactly as filmmakers intended.
When Return of the Jedi (1983) premiered, only THX-certified cinemas could show it. Audiences were greeted by the now-iconic ‘Deep Note’ – a rising wave of tones swelling into a mighty D major chord. It shook the room and set the stage for the galaxy far, far away – as well as a new level of excellence in cinema sound.
Fun fact: THX was named after George Lucas’s first film, THX 1138 (1971).
Courtesy of THX Ltd. All rights reserved.
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In ACMI's collection
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
199102
Curatorial section
The Story of the Moving Image → Moving Pictures → MI-05. Sound and Colour → MI-05-C02