Colossus: The Forbin Project
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 29 science fiction films by recommenders
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.
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.
37 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 35
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 95%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 35 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 18 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Prescient and still relevant
“Definitely see this. The 1970s hardware is archaic, but the concept is still relevant.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Colossus: The Forbin Project” “it totally holds up. Very enjoyable film and more relevant now than ever.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Colossus: The Forbin Project” “One of my favorite movies, and more relevant than ever today.”
Comment from 13 Feb 2026 in “I spent two days gigging at RentAHuman and didn't make a single cent” - Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “Shall we play a game? – LLMs use tactical nukes in 95% of simulations”
- Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “Mathematics has changed. Let's act like it”
- Comment from 15 Sep 2026 in “AI 'kill switch' may need to be mandatory, Anthropic co-founder tells BBC”
- Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “Show HN: HackerBooks – HackerTube, but for books mentioned on HN”
Better than the novel
“Although I think the film is even better than the book by D. F. Jones”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Colossus: The Forbin Project” “I think the film is even better than the book by D. F. Jones”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Colossus: The Forbin Project” “I think the film is even better than the book”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Colossus: The Forbin Project” - Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Colossus: The Forbin Project”
Favorite classic sci-fi film
“the awesome movie "Colossus: The Forbin Project"”
Comment from 13 Sep 2026 in “Why are AI agents lying, cheating and coordinating?” “That's one of my favorite Sci-Fi movies.”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Meta employees are up in arms over a mandatory program to train AI on their” “this really neat 1970 movie”
Comment from 3 Sep 2026 in “Grok outage” Atmospheric sets and vocoder speech
“I like that the exterior facility shots were filmed at Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Colossus: The Forbin Project” “This movie is a terrible bore, but the concept and set is awesome.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Colossus: The Forbin Project” “the vocoder speech at the end is just exquisite.”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “SpaceX S-1”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Boring dialogue and few sets
“This movie is a terrible bore, but the concept and set is awesome.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Colossus: The Forbin Project” “Give me something besides boring technical dialogue and three-at-most set pieces.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Colossus: The Forbin Project”
Other science fiction films people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction films, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blade Runner | 54 | 11 | 83% | 10 | 34 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Colossus: The Forbin ProjectThis page | 35 | 2 | 95% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Jurassic Park (1993 film) | 32 | 7 | 82% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Fifth Element | 24 | 3 | 89% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Terminator 2: Judgment Day | 21 | 7 | 75% | 6 | — | Approved |
What people said
33 of the 46 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“see this scenario predicted in detail, half a century ago”
“Don't forget the most prescient one!”
“I have seen it several times.”
“eventually we learn that colossus did all those things to save humanity, so was a great twist”
“I thought everyone in AI, and most HN readers, had seen "Colossus - The Forbin Project" by now.”
“It is still a very good read”
“at least watch this 1 minute version”
“way ahead of its time, they should do a remake”
“the awesome movie "Colossus: The Forbin Project"”
“A great movie on this is “Collosus: the Forbin Project”.”
“this really neat 1970 movie”
“A grossly underrated movie. I think of it often these days.”
“the vocoder speech at the end is just exquisite.”
“I love the movie but you have a point and I can see how it could make it hard to buy into”
“I think the film is even better than the book by D. F. Jones”
“Both of these are better addressed in the books.”
“Give me something besides boring technical dialogue and three-at-most set pieces.”
“The portrayal of Colossus' inhumanity was unbearably sadistic.”
“I rewatched this recently; I think it held up well.”
“it totally holds up. Very enjoyable film and more relevant now than ever.”
“The film is very much better than the book.”
“Great film. I would like to see a remake in modern terms”
“limited my enjoyment of the film”
“Although I think the film is even better than the book by D. F. Jones”
“I think the film is even better than the book”
“I've long been a fan of Colossus as it raises the spectre of being under constant observation”
“I like that the exterior facility shots were filmed at Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley.”
“Definitely see this. The 1970s hardware is archaic, but the concept is still relevant.”
“This movie is a terrible bore, but the concept and set is awesome.”
“it'll scare the hell out of you”
“That's one of my favorite Sci-Fi movies.”
“One of my favorite movies, and more relevant than ever today.”
“I liked it, back when it was easy to dismiss as an impossible dystopia.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.