hyped garbage

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

The USA proudly announces the completion of a supercomputer called Colossus, meant to supervise the defence system. While the champagne is still bubbling in the glasses, problems begin : soon after declaring that the Soviets have developed a similar computer, Colossus starts communicating with its counterpart. It soon becomes clear that both twins get on like a house on fire... Although the ending leaves something to be desired from a narrative viewpoint, "Colossus" is a genuinely taut, suspenseful science fiction movie. It is most notable for containing a crucial warning. Whether this warning will be heeded, is quite another question. I get the impression that it's a "vox clamantis in deserto", the voice of one who is crying out in the wilderness, what with thousands upon thousand of scientists just panting for the chance to become complicit in Mankind's dethronement...Whatever our ultimate fate may be, as humans we're already well provided with age-old failings and flaws. The movie is not only a cautionary tale, but also a black satire about some of these flaws. For instance, there is the sad tendency to expect someone or something alien - if necessary, the Dancing Fairies from Flowersong Wood - to solve our problems. Another flaw consists of the love that human beings feel for their oppressors. People who live under a tyranny start out by being relieved that they have lived to see another day, as opposed, say, to being thrown to starving hyena's. Then, gradually, they start loving their dictator, with a toxic mix of fear, adoration and paranoia. Give it a few generations, as in North-Korea, and you will end up with babies who start praising the Great Guide five seconds after drawing their first breath. In the movie, the Colossus / Guardian entity predicts that people will come to regard it as their rightful and kindly lord and protector. It may very well be right...

The film is based on the 1966 novel, Colossus: The Forbin Project, by British author Dennis Feltham Jones, and was released in 1970 with a screenplay by James Bridges (The Hitchcock Hour, The China Syndrome, White Hunter Black Heart, among others.)It starred Eric Braeden as Dr. Charles Forbin, Susan Clark as Dr. Cleo Markham and Gordon Pinsent as The President.REVIEWAlthough the film begins slowly, and isn't your typical all-action movie, that people expect today, it still a suspenseful and unnerving film, which builds in intensity until one of the greatest climaxes in cinema history. The casting of the unknown Eric Braeden, in his first leading actor role, adds much to the power of the story. The acting is solid and the dialogue is concise, so that there is nothing said that didn't need saying. Eric Braeden is convincing as Dr. Forbin and it his story that we follow and it is his character that has the most depth. His struggle to believe that his creation has become more than he imagined, and his even bigger battle to try to defeat it, are what really makes the film that much more believable. Susan Clark gives subtleness to the character of Dr. Cleo Markham. A woman who is as intelligent as any of her male colleagues, if not smarter, but who also has the emotional aptitude to help Dr. Forbin, as his World begins to collapse around him. Gordon Pinsent portrayal of The President is very well executed. At the beginning of the film he is the supremely confident and affable Commander-in-Chief, but, as the story unfolds, he becomes far less controlled as his power to control anything is gradually taken from him. It is the relationship between these three that keeps the suspense building, to one of the greatest climaxes in movie history.The 'voice' of Colossus is provided by Paul Frees, and it is this voice that although chilling, also has a certain intelligence and, possibly, emotion. There are many supporting characters, such as Dr. Kuprin, the creator of Guardian, played by Alex Rodine, who is ultimately betrayed by his own creation. C.I.A. Director Grauber is wonderfully played by William Schallert, who gives a performance that has now become synonymous with inept C.I.A. Directors.When the film was released in 1970, Universal found that they had a surprise hit on their hands, as everyone clamoured to see it.Many of the Artificial Intelligence / supercomputer films, that have been released in the last thirty years have borrowed, if not downright stolen, their ideas from what Colossus set out. Gene Roddenberry used the idea in the 1968 Star Trek episode, 'The Ultimate Computer', while James Cameron cites Colossus as his inspiration for Skynet, in his 1984 movie 'The Terminator'.

Much neglected seminal science fiction film that needs more love, or at least more acknowledgment from science fiction aficionados. Dr. Charles Forbin (Eric Braeden) has designed a super computer called Colossus, which is put in charge of the American nuclear arsenal to prevent human error in case of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union. However, the Soviets have constructed a similar computer system nicknamed Guardian with the same purpose, and when the two computers merge on their own accord, they manage to conquer the world so they can fulfill their programming to their fullest extent by ruling the human race for its own good. Forbin himself is put under permanent house arrest by his own creation, and a race against time begins to stop the reign of the Forbin Project. Can the American and Soviet governments co-operate to bring Colossus down and liberate humanity? Spoilers! It turns out they cannot, and in full accordance with the grim look on science and the future in the depressing Seventies cinema of science fiction, of which this film was one of the kickstarters, the computer wins the day and enslaves humanity as its benevolent but uncompromising protector. A sequel involving the uprising of mankind against its new artificial overlord was once planned, but soon scrapped. Since few people seem to remember this intelligent and worthwhile (though overly slow paced) film, it might need a remake, though I dread the result present day Hollywood would deliver. Perhaps the movie doesn't actually need one, since it's surprisingly similar in narrative to I, Robot (2004) at times (though without robots) and also served as a possible inspiration for the Terminator franchise. However, if you get the opportunity to watch this flick sometime, you should definitely check it out.

I have read some of the other reviews of this movie and fail to understand the big accolades given to this movie and all for the wrong reasons. The thought of machines taking over man makes for a very powerful and thought provoking story but hardly credible for many reasons. One has to see the movies A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) and the Bicentennial Man (1999) to appreciate the absurdity of machines having any human consciousness at all. Unlike the cult movie The Terminator (1984) the director cleverly removes the viewer from having to think about the origins of the machines. For a computer with programmable commands to transition to a conscious living being capable of making decisions by itself is just not possible. Feed all the raw power that is available in this world including the super chips of today and you will still not be able to give it a consciousness. I can tell you coming from a very technical background that the 'conscious' level cannot be programmed into a computer, it is one of the marvels of all living beings. It is an impossible goal like trying to synthesize life.I managed to have my say in an area where others just can't seem to see, so lets get back to reviewing this movie. The beginning of the movie has many flaws aside from the points I mentioned above. Here we have a super computer machine plugged into the US defense system without any testing trials of any kind? As the machine spirals out of control we find the unsurprised Dr. Forbin taking the whole incident like another walk in the park. Any scientist would be flabbergasted to know that their creation has a mind of its own and is doing things completely outside the boundaries of its intended function. The problem is that everyone around the colossus machine comes to treat it like another being far too quickly which seems unreal. This naturally takes the attention away from Dr. Forbin, whose head should have been on a platter by now for creating such a dastardly beast. Despite this, the film takes a better turn and becomes more believable when Colossus assumes his role as master of the world and appoints Dr. Forbin to do its bidding.The acting by Eric Braeden playing Dr. Forbin is pretty poor at the beginning as there is a complete lack of amazement and wonder as Colossus assumes the personality of an actual living conscious thing. However, his acting is much better when he is under house arrest and makes his colleague Susan Clark playing Dr. Cleo Markham as his mistress. The technical content of the movie from hereon has been well portrayed by the director and is quite realistic. The director has been able to convey a chilling and a horrifying account of events that ensues as Colossus works out a grand master plan to rule the world.Putting aside the poor acting of the characters in the first twenty minutes of the movie, the film does move ahead well portraying a sinister nature of a human invention that ultimately takes control of the world. The ending seemed a bit abrupt and I was expecting more but it does leave the viewer wondering about the terrible events that follows. It is also fitting to see how Dr. Forbin's greatest invention becomes his worst nightmare.