Few science fiction films have grown in stature as dramatically as Michael Crichton’s Westworld. Released in 1973, the picture was viewed initially as an intriguing genre experiment – a sci-fi western. Yet over the decades, it has come to be regarded as one of the most prophetic films of its era, anticipating debates about artificial intelligence, virtual escapism, and the ethics of technology long before such questions entered everyday conversation.
At the centre of the film is Richard Benjamin as Peter Martin, an ordinary man whose holiday in Delos, a high-tech amusement park, becomes a desperate fight for survival when the park’s lifelike androids begin to malfunction. While Yul Brynner’s black-clad Gunslinger provides the film’s iconic image, Benjamin’s grounded, increasingly fearful performance anchors the story and allows the audience to experience the terror alongside him. More than fifty years after its release, Westworld feels less like speculative fantasy and more like uneasy prediction. We spoke with Richard about working with novelist-turned-director Michael Crichton, acting opposite the formidable Yul Brynner, and why a film made in the early 1970s continues to resonate in the age of artificial intelligence…
STARBURST: How did Westworld first come to you?
Richard Benjamin: I had a wonderful, eccentric agent. Her name was Sue Mengers. She was outrageous in so many different ways. My wife, Paula Prentiss, and I were living in New York when I got a call from her saying there was this movie – she never read the scripts. She said, “I don’t know what it is. It’s a western, but it’s not a western. They’re interested in you”. And I said, “All right, let me read it”. She said, “You can read it if you want to, but I’ve already told them you’re going to do it”. That’s the way she worked. She said it was by Michael Crichton. I had known of him from the film The Andromeda Strain. So I said OK, read the script, and thought it was great. I thought, here I am, a kid from New York City who’s going to be in a western – and then it turns out it’s a science fiction western. There were two things I loved growing up: westerns and science fiction. So, of course, I said yes!
What was Michael Crichton like as a director, especially since this was his first feature film?
Michael knew exactly what he wanted to do – every shot, everything. There were no discussions about whether we should do this or that. We all wanted to do whatever he had planned. The whole shooting experience was a total pleasure. He was a lovely guy. Later, we became very good friends.
The dynamic between you and James Brolin on screen was excellent. What was he like to work with?
Jim was great. We didn’t know each other beforehand, but we just fell in with each other straight away. He was the one who kept saying, “You’re going to love being in this movie,” and that sort of thing. We really got along very well.
Yul Brynner’s Gunslinger is one of cinema’s classic villains. What was it like working with him?
In Westworld, Yul Brynner was basically wearing what he wore in The Magnificent Seven. It was the same outfit. He, too, turned out to be very down to earth. He was terrific. He loved making movies. There was one day when we were shooting, and he showed up on set. The assistant director went a little crazy and said, “Who called him?” The first assistant went to the second assistant and said, “Did you call him?” They said, “No, he’s not working today. Someone’s made a terrible mistake. Someone’s called him, and there is going to be hell to pay”. The assistant director went up to him and said, “Mr Brynner, did someone call you?” Yul replied, “Nobody called me. I just like to be here. Can you think of a better place to be than on a movie set?” He just hung out while we were shooting. He told me a lot of great things. He was very generous. Because I had to fire these guns – they had blanks in them, but they made a lot of noise – he gave me some advice. He said the big western stars blink on screen when the gun fires. He said, “I’m going to teach you how to fire these guns without blinking.” He took me onto the backlot at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with blank ammunition and the six-guns we were using, and he conditioned me so I didn’t blink when the guns fired. The other thing he said was, “Don’t let them shoot you getting up on the horse from the ground – climbing onto the horse and then settling into the saddle. It’s very awkward. Make them cut as you start to grab onto the horse, then get them to show you settling into the saddle. It will look very smooth.” He was giving me all this great advice in a very generous way.
How physically demanding were the scenes in the desert with Yul Brynner chasing you on horseback?
You’ve heard that joke about actors – when you’re asked, “Can you ride a horse?” and you say, “Oh sure,” and then have to run out and learn how to ride. Fortunately, I had ridden a horse as a kid, so it wasn’t a problem. There was a lot of physical work in the desert, but I was young, and I kept thinking, I’m in a western here! I was having the time of my life!
Did you have any idea Westworld would become a cult classic?
No, but we all thought that Michael was onto something about trusting machines – you’re going to get yourself into trouble if you totally trust them. And now, with AI and robotics, you can see what he meant. He was always ahead of everything. Look at it now. It’s really dangerous when AI gives you false information and the like. Michael was ahead of all of that. Back in the 1970s, we hadn’t really thought about it. There wasn’t the technology that could cause havoc in the way it can today. Westworld made us think about it.
Were you offered the chance to star in the sequel, Futureworld?
They talked to me about that, but it wasn’t going to be Michael Crichton. For me, everything was about Michael, so if he wasn’t going to be doing it, I wasn’t interested. For me, sequels are like you’ve been there and done that. I can understand why sequels are made, but to me, I don’t think you should go back again.
What did you think of the Westworld reboot with Anthony Hopkins?
It was very different. It delved into all kinds of areas and psychological places. I don’t compare it to the film. For me, it’s a very different animal.
If Delos really existed, what world would you choose?
I’d like to go back to Westworld!
What are your thoughts on the film’s release on 4K?
I’m so pleased that they’re doing this. A whole new generation of people can now see the film. It looks absolutely great in 4K. We’ve had the whole new TV series, but the original film just keeps coming back. It’s such a nice thing. I never realised that over 50 years later, people would still be talking to me about it. I think Westworld keeps having a new life because it’s so original.
WESTWORLD is available on 4K UHD Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
Alongside the new 4K restoration, Arrow Films has produced brand-new interviews with stars Richard Benjamin and James Brolin, screenwriter Larry Karaszewski, and producer Paul N. Lazarus III. The release also features a commentary track by film historian Daniel Kremer and a new featurette presented by film scholar Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. Other special features include On Location with Westworld, an archival 1973 behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, along with the 48-minute pilot episode of the 1980 television follow-up series, Beyond Westworld. The release also contains the original theatrical trailer, an image gallery, a reversible sleeve featuring both the original artwork and newly commissioned art by Arik Roper, and a collector’s booklet with new writing on the film by David Michael Brown, Priscilla Page, Paul Anthony Nelson, and Abbey Bender.
