This film screened 17th February 2010.

Disney’s 1982 hi-tech fantasy, a box-office disappointment on its initial run, has belatedly been recognised as one of the most influential effects movies of the post-Star Wars era. Made at a moment when what passed for computer gaming was the preserve of the amusement arcade, writer-director Steve Lisberger’s story about a games designer sucked into his own circuits by an evil corporate megalomaniac was conceptually years ahead of its time, while its extraordinary design work – those neon-glowing grids, the high-adrenaline motorcycle chases – still looks startlingly fresh today. Inspired casting as the authority-flaunting hero, Jeff Bridges’ maverick presence ensures that it’s not just a technical exercise and, occasional naiveties aside, the whole enterprise still buzzes with the excitement of broaching uncharted territory. The fact that Disney will this year release a big-budget sequel, Tron Legacy (with Bridges reprising his role), is its own tribute to the film’s pioneering achievement.