# Colossus: The Forbin Project

35 Hacker News commenters recommended Colossus: The Forbin Project and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** A 1970 film about a computer that seizes control to save humanity, praised for its eerie, still-relevant concept and for beating the novel. Critics call it a slow bore.

## Why people recommend it

- Prescient and still relevant (7 comments): "Definitely see this. The 1970s hardware is archaic, but the concept is still relevant." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48166725)) "it totally holds up. Very enjoyable film and more relevant now than ever." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48171216)) "One of my favorite movies, and more relevant than ever today." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47008694))
- Better than the novel (4 comments): "Although I think the film is even better than the book by D. F. Jones" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48167821)) "I think the film is even better than the book by D. F. Jones" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48173576)) "I think the film is even better than the book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48167820))
- Favorite classic sci-fi film (3 comments): "the awesome movie "Colossus: The Forbin Project"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49684100)) "That's one of my favorite Sci-Fi movies." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47878393)) "this really neat 1970 movie" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49552668))
- Atmospheric sets and vocoder speech (3 comments): "I like that the exterior facility shots were filmed at Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48167117)) "This movie is a terrible bore, but the concept and set is awesome." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48166339)) "the vocoder speech at the end is just exquisite." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48217160))

## What people warn about

- Boring dialogue and few sets (2 comments): "This movie is a terrible bore, but the concept and set is awesome." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48166339)) "Give me something besides boring technical dialogue and three-at-most set pieces." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48173400))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Blade Runner](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blade-runner.md): 54 recommend
- [Jurassic Park (1993 film)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/jurassic-park.md): 32 recommend
- [The Fifth Element](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fifth-element.md): 24 recommend
- [Terminator 2: Judgment Day](https://hackerapproved.com/p/terminator-2-judgment-day.md): 21 recommend
- [2001: A Space Odyssey](https://hackerapproved.com/p/2001-a-space-odyssey.md): 20 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Colossus: The Forbin Project", https://hackerapproved.com/p/colossus-the-forbin-project/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).