Tron

Tron (stylized as TRON) is a 1982 American science fiction action-adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, and Barnard Hughes. The plot story follows Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer and video game developer who is transported to the software world of a mainframe where he interacts with humanoid programs in his attempt to escape.

Tron, along with The Last Starfighter, has the distinction of being one of the first motion pictures to use computer generated imagery (CGI).

The inspiration for Tron dates back to 1976, when Lisberger became interested in video games after seeing Pong. He and producer Donald Kushner created an animation studio to develop Tron with the intention of turning it into an animated feature. To promote the studio itself, Lisberger and his team created a 30-second animation featuring the main character's first appearance. Ultimately, Lisberger decided to include live action elements with computer and backlit animation for the actual feature film. Storyboards for the film had been rejected by several studios before Walt Disney Productions agreed to finance and distribute it. There, backlit animation was finally combined with computer animation and live action.

Tron was released on July 9, 1982. The film was a moderate success at the box office and received positive reviews from critics, who praised its innovative visuals and acting, but criticized its story. for being inconsistent. Tron received nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Sound at the 55th Academy Awards, but was not nominated in the Best Visual Effects category. Tron spawned multiple video games—including a link to arcade released shortly after the movie—and, because it became a cult movie, a multimedia franchise that includes comics. A sequel titled Tron: Legacy, directed by Joseph Kosinski, with Bridges and Boxleitner reprising their roles and Lisberger acting as producer, was released in 2010, followed by the animated series Tron: Uprising, a medicuela set between the two films.

Plot

Kevin Flynn is an arrogant and snooty young but prominent programmer, formerly employed by the mega-corporation ENCOM, who now runs an arcade arcade and attempts to hack into ENCOM's mainframe. However, ENCOM's Program Master Control or PCM (a mainframe of the company's artificial intelligence) halts his progress.

Inside ENCOM, programmer Alan Bradley and his girlfriend, engineer Lora Baines, discover that the PCM has closed their access to projects. When Alan confronts SVP Ed Dillinger, he claims the security measures are an effort to stop outside hacking attempts. However, when Dillinger privately interrogates the PCM via his computerized desktop, he realizes that the PCM has expanded into powerful virtual intelligence and become power-hungry, illegally hijacking personal, commercial and government programs to increase their own abilities. Dillinger rose to the top of ENCOM by stealing the video games Flynn had created and presenting them to the company as his own. The PCM blackmails Dillinger with information about his plagiarism of Flynn's games if he doesn't comply with his directives.

Lora deduces that Flynn is the hacker, and she and Alan go to his game room to warn him about this. When Alan and Lori meet with Flynn, he reveals that he has been trying to locate evidence proving Dillinger's plagiarism, which led to Dillinger's promotion in the company. Together, the three form a plan to break into ENCOM and unlock the "Tron" from Alan, a stand-alone security measure designed to protect the system and counteract the functions of the PCM. Once inside ENCOM, the three separate and Flynn comes into direct conflict with the PCM, communicating with his terminal. Before Flynn can get the information he needs to reveal Dillinger's acts, the PCM uses an experimental laser to digitize and upload Flynn to teleport him into cyberspace on the ENCOM mainframe, where the programs are living entities resembling the & #34;users" humans (programmers) who created them.

Flynn learns that the PCM and his second-in-command, Sark, rule and force the programs to renounce their belief in the users. The PCM forces the resisting programs to play in deadly games and begins putting Flynn in duels. Flynn meets up with other captured programs, Ram and Tron, between matches. Together, the three of them escape to the mainframe during a light cycle match (an arcade game that Flynn wrote the program and is skilled at), but Flynn and Ram are separated from Tron by a PCM chasing party. While trying to help Ram, who was injured in the chase, Flynn learns that he can manipulate parts of the mainframe by accessing his programmer's knowledge. Ram recognizes Flynn as a user and encourages him to find Tron and liberate the system before being 'derezzing' to him. (die). Using his new ability, Flynn partially rebuilds a Recognizer vehicle (a construct taken from another of Flynn's games) and then disguises himself as one of Sark's soldiers.

Tron enlists the help of Yori, a sympathetic program, and in an I/O tower receives the information from Alan needed to destroy the PCM. Flynn meets with them and the three board a hijacked solar sailer to reach the PCM core. However, Sark's command ship destroys the sailboat, capturing Flynn and Yori, and presumably killing Tron. Sark leaves the command ship and orders its resolution, but Flynn keeps it intact by again tampering with the mainframe, while Sark reaches the PCM core in a shuttle carrying the captured programs. As the PCM tries to absorb the captive programs, Tron, who turns out to have survived, confronts Sark and critically injures him, leading the PCM to give him full functions. Realizing that his ability to manipulate the mainframe could give Tron a chance, Flynn jumps into the PCM beam and distracts it.

Flynn reappears in the real world, rematerialized in his terminal. Tron's victory on the mainframe has released all blocks on computer access, and a nearby printer produces evidence that Dillinger had plagiarized Flynn's creations. The next morning, Dillinger walks into his office to find the PCM disabled and proof of its theft posted. Dillinger subsequently ends up getting fired, while Flynn is promoted to CEO of ENCOM and Alan and Lora happily welcome him as their new boss.

Comments

GLtron screenshot, a free software version.

The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions in 1982. Although the film was initially unsuccessful, it has earned cult status due to its use of its computer-generated graphics, being the prelude to a new subgenre. in science fiction, virtual reality. The film has inspired many video games. The game Tron itself earned more than the first release of the movie. Disneyland developed its own Super Speed Tunnel as one of its attractions.

He was a source of inspiration for Thomas Romain and Tania Palumbo in the series Code Lyoko.

Tron was one of the first films to make extensive use of any form of computer animation, in addition to its own visual style defined by concept artist Syd Mead (Blade Runner, Aliens ) and the well-known French cartoonist Jean Giraud (Moebius).

The "light bikes" it is similar to an old game known as the surround game. Players are in constant motion on a playing field creating a wall behind them as they move. If a player crashes into a wall, either by accident or because he has no more room to move, he loses and the player who reaches the end without crashing wins. Since the release of the film, countless versions of this game have been created.

Cast

• Jeff Bridges like Kevin Flynn / Clu, (dominated in Mexico by Arturo Mercado and in Spain by Javier Dotú).

• Bruce Boxleitner like Alan Bradley / Tron, (dominated in Mexico by Raúl Aldana and in Spain by Juan Antonio Castro).

• Cindy Morgan like Lora Baines / Yori (dominated by Selica Torcal in Spain, and Patricia Acevedo in Mexico).

• David Warner like Ed Dillinger / Sark, and the voice of the "Master Control Program" (dominated by Germán Robles in Mexico, and Jesus Nieto in Spain).

Production

The inspiration for Tron dates back to 1976, when Lisberger became intrigued by video games after playing Pong. He and producer Donald Kushner created an animation studio to develop the film with the intention of turning it into an animated feature. In fact, to promote the studio itself, Lisberger and his team created a 30-second animation featuring the main character's first appearance. Ultimately, Lisberger decided to include backlit live-action elements and computer animation for the actual feature film.

Several movie studios had rejected storyboards for the film, before Walt Disney Productions agreed to finance and distribute the film. There, backlit animation was finally combined with computer animation and live action.

Deborah Harry was originally one of the candidates to play the role of Lora/Yori, which Cindy Morgan ultimately got.

In 2018, the film Ralph Breaks the Internet, by Walt Disney Animation Studios, the title Tron appears in the film as an arcade video game.

Technical data

15 to 20 minutes of computer generated animation was used, in combination with the characters from the film. Although the film has been criticized for its stiff acting and script incoherence, it has been hailed as a milestone in digital animation.

To create it, the Disney company had to acquire a Super Foonly F-1 machine, the fastest PDP-10 ever made and the only one of its kind at the time.

The film contains less CGI than might generally be assumed. Many of the effects that appear to have been done on a computer were created using traditional optical effects. A technique known as "backlight animation," live scenes within the computer world were shot in black and white, printed on large-format, high-contrast film, then colorized using traditional techniques. of photography and rotoscopic techniques which give it a "technological" aspect. The process was immensely laborious and has not been repeated for any other film; with so many high contrast layers and large format negatives it required vast amounts of motion picture film and a larger load than any conventional film.

The original character design 'Program' it was inspired by the Lisberger Studios logo of a glowing bodybuilder releasing two records. Design and sound creation for the film was assigned to Frank Serafine, who was responsible for the sound design of Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. Tron It was in 1983 nominated for an Oscar for best sound. At one point in the film a small entity called "Bit" advises Flynn with just the words "yes" and "not"; this was created by Votrax a speech synthesizer.

Reception

The film was a moderate success at the box office and received positive reviews from critics who praised the innovative visuals and acting. However, the story was also criticized at the time for being incoherent. Tron received nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Sound at the 55th Academy Awards and received the Academy Award for Technical Achievement fourteen years later. The film was not nominated in the Best Visual Effects category, but was awarded the 1983 Saturn Award for Best Costume Design (Eloise Jensson and Rosanna Norton). Over time, it became a cult film and eventually spawned a franchise, consisting of various video games, comic books, and an animated television series. A sequel titled Tron: Legacy, was directed by Joseph Kosinski and released on December 17, 2010, with Bridges and Boxleitner reprising their roles, and Lisberger returning in this installment as producer, followed by the animated series Tron: Uprising set between the two. films. Along with The Last Starfighter, the film has the distinction of being one of the first motion pictures to use extensive computer-generated imagery (CGI).

In video games

In the Spanish magazine MicroHobby (number 15, page 24) in February 1985 the source code was published in "Basic" for a game (it had 2 lines for its title) that emulated part of the idea of Tron, where the player controls a wake and must move avoiding crossing the other trail and his own.

Tron 2.0 is a sequel video game released on August 25, 2003. In this first-person game, the player takes the role of Alan Bradley's son who is sent into the world of computers to fight against a virus. Versions of this game have been released for Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance.

There is an alternative version called Armagetron that has a single player and online multiplayer mode available for GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows.

The world of Tron appears in the Disney and Square Enix video games Kingdom Hearts 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. While in Kingdom Hearts 2 his world is based on the original Tron, in Kingdom Hearts 3D it is based on Tron: Legacy .

The mechanics of the original Tron video game have also been seen recreated in other games such as Slither.io (Lowtech Studio 2016). In this online game, the player must compete against other users by controlling a snake that grows as the player earns points. As in Tron, the player must make other snakes collide in the body of his own and avoid colliding with others and with his own body.

Expressions popularized by Tron

• "Beware of hidden macros": At a time of the film, you can hear a synthesized female voice (probably from some Master Control-dependent program), which from outside the visual field warns the inhabitants of this virtual world that they have to have "care with the hidden macros". This expression has been popularized through the Internet as a form of farewell, equivalent to "take care", "be careful", "beware what surrounds you", etc.

In fact, there's a scene where the famous phrase "Watch out for hidden macros" and the characters begin to repeat it and say "we will have to be careful with the hidden macros". A macro is a sequence of predefined actions that is repeated each time the macro is triggered.

• "Print time" (End of line): In several moments of the film the Master Control Program says this phrase to say goodbye or when it ends up speaking; it is equivalent to “Fin of transmission”. In the sequel Tron: LegacyThe Castor bar is called “End of line”.

• At a time of the film, specifically at a scene where Alan’s office appears, the phrase “Gort klatuu barada nictu” appears on the wall, a sympathetic reference to the films Ultimatum to Earth of 1951 and The Army of Darkness 1992.

Sequel

Tron: Legacy is an American science fiction film that was released in theaters on December 17, 2010 in the United States, produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to the 1982 film Tron by director Steven Lisberger, who becomes a producer on the sequel.

Sam Flynn, a 27-year-old techie and son of Kevin Flynn, investigates his father's disappearance and ventures into a different digital world than the original created by his father, of fierce programs and games. arcade, and where his father has been trapped for 20 years. Along with Quorra (Olivia Wilde), Kevin's most loyal friend within TRON, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey through a visually stunning cyber universe that goes beyond the ultra-futuristic and dangerous.

For this film since July 2009 a very unusual marketing campaign has been mounted, at first the owners of different sites received an email and a coin from the local Flynns Arcade and a series of clues about the opening of a website called Flynnlives.com, until before the premiere, the clues about the characters of the film have been unraveled in different forums of fans of the film.

Cast

• Garrett Hedlund as Sam Flynn.
• Jeff Bridges like Kevin Flynn / Clu 2.0.
• Bruce Boxleitner like Alan Bradley/Tron.
• Olivia Wilde like Quorra.

Timeline of the Tron universe

• Tron (1982)
• Tron 2.0
• Tron: The Ghost in the Machine
• Tron: Betrayal (1983/1989)
• Tron: Uprising (1989/1990)
• Tron: Evolution (2010)
• Tron: Legacy (2010)