Film
What is
anyway, you might be asking? is the creation of Steven Lisberger, who directed and partly wrote the story to the film. It was his attempt to create a very different film, at first just to explore the idea of "painting characters with light", by using a backlit process. However, the idea behind the character of , always seemed to place him in an electronic world. So as time went on, the desire to incorporate computer graphics into the film, became more and more important to Lisberger.After pitching the idea of the film to many studios, it was the last one he really expected to be interested, that took on the project. That studio was Disney, of course. In an ironic twist, Disney realized they were behind other studios, in coming up with films that featured advanced new effects. The year was 1981, and the huge success of the Star Wars films was fresh on everyone's minds. When they saw Lisberger's project, and heard how he had already come up with a lot of the techniques needed to actually make the film, they became very interested. So the project was greenlit, for a late 1981 release, if I remember correctly.
As it turned out, the film proved much more difficult to complete, than anyone expected. Outside help had to be brought in. Animators from Taiwan were recruited to handle the laborious task of hand-painting masks over frames (actually "kodalith" cels), to get all the backlighting effects to work just right. The film was delayed until the Summer of 1982.
When
was finally completed, it became a watershed event in the history of film making. A feature that seamlessly combined many composited layers: featuring backlighting, hand drawn and painted backgrounds, live action, and of course the longest sequences of CGI ever used to that date. It is shameful to think that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, refused to give the film any Oscars, because they considered what was done on the film to be "cheating"! This film clearly deserves a belated honorary Oscar, and I hope the Academy comes to its senses one day, by awarding the film with a special achievement Oscar. Perhaps, when the 
sequel film is made?
If you want to know more about the film, I suggest you visit Tron-Sector. This is the premier
fan site on the internet.You should also purchase a copy of the 20th Anniversary DVD set. It comes with a second disc that includes more
information than you can handle! The best part is the new documentary, where all the cast and crew are interviewed about the film. A lot of new and fascinating facts are revealed. Do yourself a favor, and track down this set! It should still be widely available, since it was released in January 2002.
Synopsis of the
Film Story taken from the Official SiteVideo arcade owner FLYNN tries to hack into the computer system of his former employer, a company named ENCOM. He’s looking for evidence that ENCOM stole his video game programs.
But even a genius like Flynn will have trouble hacking ENCOM, because the entire system is under the watch of the Master Control Program (MCP), an insatiable information-hungry watchdog created by the villainous ENCOM executive named DILLINGER. The MCP senses the hack from outside and denies everyone access to the system.
This shutdown causes problems for LORA, an engineer working on digitization technology. Also stopped is ALAN BRADLEY, who is creating a security program he calls TRON that will monitor every aspect of ENCOM, even the MCP.
Lora and Alan suspect their old friend Flynn may be responsible for the shutdown, so they pay him a visit. He tells them his theory, and they agree to help him by letting him break into ENCOM after hours and hack into the system from inside.
The break-in goes according to plan - until the MCP finds Flynn all alone at a terminal. The MCP points the digitization laser at Flynn and before Flynn realizes what is happening, he is digitized into a billion electronic parts.
Flynn wakes up in another dimension. An electronic world where energy lives and breathes. Where programs take on the humanlike form of the Users who created them. This digital dimension operates under the tyrannical rule of the MCP and his murderous henchman SARK (the alter ego of Dillinger).
Flynn is immediately taken into custody and brought before Sark, who sentences the intruder to do battle on the game grid. Flynn’s video game expertise helps him to not only win, but survive. Because in this world, video game confrontations are fights to the death.
During his trials on the game grid, Flynn meets Alan’s alter ego program TRON. Tron is a clever, mighty and defiant warrior. Together, Flynn and Tron escape the game grid and set off to sabotage the MCP. They are chased by Sark and his army of RECOGNIZERS.
Tron’s heroic strength as an electronic warrior combined with Flynn’s human understanding of computer systems make them the perfect team to fight the MCP. Theirs is the ultimate battle that will decide the fate of the entire digital world and the balance of power in both worlds.