Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Joseph Sargent

Writers:

James Bridges (writer)
D.F. Jones (novel)

Release Date:

10 July 1970 (West Germany)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

We built a super computer with a mind of its own and now we must fight it for the world!

Plot:

An artificially intelligent supercomputer is developed and activated, only to reveal that it has a sinister agenda of its own.

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Scientist | Super Computer | Threat | U.S. President

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Eric Braeden	...	Dr. Charles Forbin
Susan Clark	...	Dr. Cleo Markham
Gordon Pinsent	...	The President
William Schallert	...	CIA Director Grauber
Leonid Rostoff	...	Russian Chairman
Georg Stanford Brown	...	Dr. John F. Fisher
Willard Sage	...	Dr. Blake
Alex Rodine	...	Dr. Kuprin
Martin E. Brooks	...	Dr. Jefferson J. Johnson (as Martin Brooks)
Marion Ross	...	Angela Fields
Dolph Sweet	...	Missile Commander
Byron Morrow	...	Secretary of State
Lew Brown	...	Peterson
Sid McCoy	...	Secretary of Defense
Tom Basham	...	Thomas L. Harrison

Also Known As:

The Day the World Changed Hands
The Forbin Project

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | UK:12 (DVD rating) | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Lawrence Hall of Science - Centennial Drive, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The outside views of the "Colossus Control Center" are images of the Lawrence Hall of Science, just opened in 1968 when this film was being made. LHS is a science and computer museum still open to the public in the hills just above the University of California Berkeley campus and is a university managed facility.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Colossus is learning math, Harrison is standing across from Forbin. He is asked to get a printout. When he comes back to Forbin he stands next to him, yet there is a quick shot of him standing across from Forbin and then in the next shot he is standing next to Forbin.

Quotes:

Dr. Forbin: I think your mother was right. I think Frankenstein ought to be required-reading for all scientists.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Master Ninja II (#4.24)" (1992)

Thoughts about an under-rated movie

The Forbin Project is a well-done, thought provoking movie. It points out that man's technology could just backfire on him someday. There has to be a limit to how much high-tech "stuff" we can come up with, without eventually getting in over our heads. Also makes one wonder if, maybe, there is a better way of doing things that we just don't want to accept. Definitely not a movie for those who just want quick, loud action, but aimed more at thinking individuals. Sadly, it has kind of gone into obscurity, but an excellent movie nonetheless.