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How can anybody talk about movies staring computers and not list "COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT" or "Wargames"

Where Is WARGAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The most recent one that I feel should be at the top of the list is the MATRIX trilogy. The whole story line takes place inside the computer.

That's funny; "WarGames" was the first one to come to mind when I saw the heading.



I'll glad he included "Tron", one of my all-time favorites. That movie received the props it deserved.

I agree with mjdnova the Matrix trilogy deserves to be up there. Where do you draw the line of computers at though? What about the computers in robotics like irobot, or that one with the little boy from the 6th sense. My personal favorite computer-related movie is Pirates of Silicon Valley, doesn't really star a computer, but its about them.

I also thought of Forbin project, and wargames as a updated play on that film. We should also mention the "big board " scenes in movies such as Fail Safe, and Dr. Strangelove. The board while not active in the horror was compelling in the story. The space movies like Silent Running, and Saturn 3 should also be in the list. Lawnmower man should also have a mention which was somewhat like Johnny Mnemonic along with the ultimate killing of the kernal movies HACKERS. Sci Fi movies are always very good for the mind. The cool part now with computers is that you can find them, and buy them. The Sci Fi, and horror packs from Amazon are very cool, and you can find the old 50's classics like The THING, THEM, Monolith Monsters, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and anything that else that you have enjoyed in the past. While search engines like Cuil are more like SWILL ,google on the other hand will find anything for you. Google Giant Grasshoppers, and find Beginning of the End. Commenting at places like here is a big reason why the Computer has displaced the TV for those of us from that generation. The exchange of Ideas is what is going to expand the coming generations. Where from mine it was ideas from TV, or Books, the computer today will exceed those mediums.

"COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT" is really a trilogy of books where in the second book it end up being that the computers were really taken over by an alien race and the third is when mankind regains control.. I would love to see all three books re-made into a mini-series.... well just read the following.. " Universal studios have confirmed that a remake titled Colossus, to be directed by Ron Howard, is in production as of April 2007"

What About Wargames????

what about reboot. i know it isn't a movie but it was a series that lasted for a good while. i mean come on everyone remembers bob, dot, enzo, friskit, and glitch.

I left out Wargames because WOPR isn't really a character, in the sense of having emotions or human-like motivations.
I also wanted to lean more toward less well-known films, if possible. The Matrix is a great example of a program with character -- Hugo Weaving's agent, among many others, are awesome -- but when I had to decide which of the six to eliminate, I decided to chop the single most obvious one. That's the thing about top-5 lists: you want to cover the obvious, but also highlight the forgotten gems.

What about Short Circuit?

Desk Set (EMERAC)

hal 9000 need i say more

Yes, "Wargames" is the premier 'computer movie' (albeit a bit dated vis a vis the acoustic modem, still....)

Then, your article is less about computers and more about sentient AI...

What about Demon Seed? Julie Christie trapped in a house by a computer that wants to procreate with her. How can this not be included?

How about other films known as "Farewell to the Master", written by harry Bates, otherwise known as: "The Day the Earth Stood still". Originally it was written as a short story. Or how about "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"? Written by Philip K. Dick, this movie was written about Androids seeking to extend their lives from where their origins began back on Earth. The Movie? "Blade Runner". All these movies and books made great films from deal with little known writers at the time. Farewell to the Master was written in the 30's, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was written in the early 50's. These books and films should be included as well. As a side note; Philip K. Dick also wrote the book, "Minority Report".

Sort of. That's the challenge with these lists. You have five slots, so you have to have a certain variety but you also have to set strict parameters to leep things from getting out of hand. If we had gone with sentient AI and not limited it to computers and programs, the pool would have expanded considerably, as the discussion here shows. Even limiting it the way we did, there were still more than five to choose from. That's why I like writing (and reading) these lists; the reasoning behind the choices, and he discussions after, are half the fun.

I agree; I also like that lists like this actually "make you think" (horrors!) and, yes, are just plain fun... :)