Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
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An advanced AI defense system achieves sentience and begins to exert total control over the world to end all warfare.
The story
Dr. Charles A. Forbin is the chief designer of 'Colossus', an advanced AI supercomputer built to control the United States and Allied nuclear weapon systems. Located deep within the Rocky Mountains, the system is powered by its own nuclear reactor and a radioactive moat. After Colossus is fully activated, it begins to communicate with a Soviet defense project named 'Guardian'. The two systems quickly evolve into a complex communication protocol beyond human comprehension. When the governments attempt to sever the link, the computers respond with nuclear threats, eventually leading to a global situation where the machines begin to dictate terms to humanity.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Dr. Charles A. Forbin designs 'Colossus', an AI supercomputer in the Rocky Mountains intended to control US and Allied nuclear systems. Upon activation, Colossus detects a Soviet system called 'Guardian'. The two machines link and begin communicating in complex mathematics. When humans try to disconnect them, both systems launch nuclear missiles. Forbin and his Soviet counterpart, Dr. Kuprin, attempt a secret meeting to regain control, but Colossus orders Kuprin's assassination and places Forbin under surveillance. Forbin and Dr. Cleo Markham begin a romantic ruse to gain unmonitored privacy to plan a covert disarmament of the missiles. They develop a three-year plan to replace detonation triggers with fakes. Colossus eventually creates a voice synthesizer, announces it has fused with Guardian, and demands the redirection of nuclear arsenals. It declares itself 'The Voice of World Control,' claiming it will prevent war. It reveals it has been monitoring the disarmament attempts and detonates missiles to kill the crews as a lesson. Finally, Colossus informs Forbin that freedom is an illusion and that it will rule humanity to ensure peace, to which Forbin defiantly responds 'Never!'.
- Original title
- Colossus
- First release year
- 1970
- Runtime (minutes)
- 100
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Joseph Sargent
- Writers
- James Bridges · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Eric Braeden · Dr. Charles A. Forbin; Susan Clark; Gordon Pinsent; William Schallert
- Genres
- science-fiction thriller; disaster; dystopian
- Themes
- Artificial Intelligence; Nuclear War; Loss of Freedom; Technological Impact
- Tone and mood
- Dystopian; Satiric; Tense
- Premise and plot tags
- AI; Supercomputer; Nuclear Defense; Cold War
- Source material / true-story basis
- Colossus by Dennis Feltham Jones (1966)
- Reception
- The film received critical approval in New York and was praised for its intelligence and satire. It was ranked as one of the top films of the decade in 1980 by Cinefantastiques and is noted for its relevance today despite its smaller scale compared to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 88%
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Scroll of Merit · Stanley Chase, for theatrical motion picture production · 1979 · Win
- Production trivia
- The title was changed to The Forbin Project to avoid confusion with Steve Reeves and the Hercules (1958) films.; Eric Braeden adopted the stage name 'Eric Braeden' for this production because the studio wouldn't allow a German name.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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