Tron  

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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 as a computer programmer who is transported inside the software world of a mainframe computer where he interacts with programs in his attempt to escape. Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, and Barnard Hughes star in supporting roles.

The development of Tron began in 1976, when Lisberger became intrigued with the early video game Pong. He and producer Donald Kushner set up an animation studio to develop Tron with the intention of making it an animated film. Indeed, to promote the studio itself, Lisberger and his team created a 30-second animation featuring the first appearance of the title character. Eventually, Lisberger decided to include live-action elements with both backlit and computer animation for the actual feature-length film. Various film studios had rejected the storyboards for the film before Walt Disney Productions agreed to finance and distribute Tron. There, backlit animation was finally combined with the 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 the groundbreaking visuals and acting. However, the storyline was 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. Tron was not nominated in the category of visual effects because the academy saw it as cheating to use computers to generate environments and effects. Over time, Tron developed into a cult film and eventually spawned a franchise, which consists of multiple video games, comic books and an animated television series. A sequel titled Tron: Legacy directed by Joseph Kosinski was released on December 17, 2010, with Bridges and Boxleitner reprising their roles, and Lisberger acting as producer, followed by the animated series Tron: Uprising set between the two films.

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Plot

Kevin Flynn is a leading software engineer formerly employed by the computer corporation ENCOM, who now runs a video arcade and attempts to hack into ENCOM's mainframe system. However, ENCOM's Master Control Program (MCP) halts his progress. Within ENCOM, programmer Alan Bradley and his girlfriend, engineer Lora Baines, discover that the MCP has closed off their access to projects. When Alan confronts the senior executive vice president, Ed Dillinger, Dillinger claims that the security measures are an effort to stop outside hacking attempts. However, when Dillinger privately questions the MCP, he discovers the MCP has expanded into a powerful virtual intelligence and has become power-hungry, illegally appropriating personal, business, and government programs to increase its own capabilities. The MCP blackmails Dillinger with information about his plagiarizing Flynn's games if he does not comply with its directives.

Lora deduces that Flynn is the hacker, and she and Alan go to his arcade to warn him. Flynn reveals that he has been trying to locate evidence proving Dillinger's plagiarism, which launched Dillinger's rise in the company. Together, the three form a plan to break into ENCOM and unlock Alan's "Tron" program, a self-governing security measure designed to protect the system and counter the functions of the MCP. Once inside ENCOM, the three split up and Flynn comes into direct conflict with the MCP, communicating with his terminal. Before Flynn can get the information he needs to reveal Dillinger's acts, the MCP uses an experimental laser to digitize and download Flynn into the ENCOM mainframe cyberspace, where programs are living entities appearing in the likeness of the human "Users" (programmers) who created them.

Flynn learns that the MCP and its second-in-command, Sark, rule and coerce programs to renounce their belief in the Users. The MCP forces programs that resist to play in deadly games and begins pitting Flynn in duels. Flynn meets other captured programs, Ram and Tron, between matches. Partnered, the three escape into the mainframe during a light cycle match, but Flynn and Ram become separated from Tron by an MCP pursuit party. While attempting to help Ram, who was wounded in the pursuit, Flynn learns that he can manipulate portions of the mainframe by accessing his programmer knowledge. Ram recognizes Flynn as a User and encourages him to find Tron and free the system before "derezzing" (dying). Using his new ability, Flynn rebuilds a vehicle and disguises himself as one of Sark's soldiers.

Tron enlists help from Yori, a sympathetic program, and at an I/O tower, receives information in his identity disk from Alan necessary to destroy the MCP. Flynn rejoins them, and the three board a hijacked solar sailer to reach the MCP's core. However, Sark's command ship destroys the sailer, capturing Flynn and Yori, and presumably killing Tron. Sark leaves the command ship and orders its deresolution, but Flynn keeps it intact by again manipulating the mainframe, while Sark reaches the MCP's core on a shuttle carrying captured programs. While the MCP attempts to absorb captive programs, Tron, who turns out to have survived, confronts Sark and critically injures him, prompting the MCP to give him all its functions. Realizing that his ability to manipulate the mainframe might give Tron an opening, Flynn leaps into the beam of the MCP, distracting it. Seeing the break in the MCP's shield, Tron attacks through the gap and destroys the MCP and Sark, ending the MCP's control over the mainframe, and allowing the captured programs to communicate with users again.

Flynn reappears in the real world, rematerialized at his terminal. Tron's victory in the mainframe has released all lockouts on computer access, and a nearby printer produces the evidence that Dillinger had plagiarized Flynn's creations. The next morning, Dillinger enters his office and finds the MCP deactivated, and the proof of his theft publicized. Flynn is subsequently promoted to CEO of ENCOM, and is happily greeted by Alan and Lora as their new boss.

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Cast

Template:See also

  • Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a former programmer and game developer at ENCOM and video arcade proprietor who is beamed into the ENCOM mainframe via a digitizing laser by the Master Control Program.
  • Bruce Boxleitner as Alan Bradley, Flynn's work partner and fellow programmer at ENCOM.
    • Boxleitner also portrays Tron, a security program developed by Bradley to self-monitor communications between the MCP and the real world.
  • David Warner as Ed Dillinger, the Senior Executive Vice President of ENCOM and former co-worker of Flynn's, who used the MCP to steal Flynn's work and pass it off as his own, earning himself a series of undeserved promotions.
  • Cindy Morgan as Dr. Lora Baines, Bradley's co-worker and girlfriend, as well as assistant to Dr. Gibbs on the digitization experiment.
    • Morgan also portrays Yori, an input/output program developed by Dr. Baines and an ally of Tron.
  • Barnard Hughes as Dr. Walter Gibbs, a co-founder of ENCOM running the company's science division, who creates the SHV 20905 digitizing laser with Dr. Baines's assistance.
    • Hughes also portrays Dumont, a "guardian" program developed by Dr. Gibbs to protect input/output junctions in the mainframe.
    • Hughes also provides the uncredited voice of the Master Control Program's original incarnation.
  • Dan Shor as Roy Kleinberg, an ENCOM employee
    • Shor also portrays Ram, an actuarial program possibly developed by Kleinberg to sort out connections between ENCOM and an unnamed insurance company, who is a close ally of Tron and Flynn.
  • Peter Jurasik as Crom, a compound interest program matched against Flynn on the Game Grid.
  • Tony Stephano as Peter, Dillinger's assistant.
    • Stephano also portrays Sark's Lieutenant.
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See also



Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Tron" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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