Tron was so ahead of its time when it came out in 1982. Concepts like "users" in the context of the film and programs were mainly foreign to me, and after a few viewings, I still didn't fully understand the movie. I didn't have my very own computer, an old Compaq with an Intel Celeron processor, until the late 1990s. Before then, I was just a casual computer user at school and work. It wasn't till maybe over 20 years after the film's release that I came to really understand and appreciate Tron.
The use of computer-generated imagery is ubiquitous in today's visual effects, but Tron was one of the first movies to pioneer its application in movies. Long before Pixar and Toy Story, a young twenty-something John Lasseter saw test footage for Tron and predicted CGI would play a significant role in the future of filmmaking.
From writer and director Steven Lisberger (Slipstream), Tron is one of the most incredibly imaginative and visionary films ever made. The idea that the villainous Master Control Program (MCP) started as a chess program is so brilliant, and it makes perfect sense because chess is a game of strategy. And there's even a religious element in the story and a scene that forecasts artificial intelligence.
It's almost surprising that Walt Disney would take a gamble on such an unusual film, but then again, multiple studios rejected George Lucas' Star Wars. Add an unforgettable cast that includes Jeff Bridges and David Warren, and Tron is one of the best films from Walt Disney Pictures. Some of its visual effects may not have aged well, but Tron will always be a groundbreaking film, and it helped pave the way for CGI visual effects. In my humble opinion, Tron belongs in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
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