[extropy-chat] The Forbin Project

[Alan Eliasen]

John K Clark wrote:
> The Forbin Project has just come out on DVD, anybody who has not already
> seen it has 24 hours to do so before they must hang their head in shame.
> The
> movie is 35 years old now but it is still the most intelligent and accurate
> portrayal of Artificial Intelligence ever put on film. In my opinion
> this is
> one of the best movies ever made, without a doubt it is the most underrated
> movie ever made. Be warned however this film will scare you; there is no
> blood or gore and the special effects are primitive by modern standards,
> but
> if The Forbin Project does not scare your brain then you have not
> understood
> it.
> 
> This is one of the very rare occasions when the movie is better, much
> much better, than the book. When I read the book years ago I remember
> thinking the premise was great and with a few changes it could be really
> great, but as it is the book was just mediocre at best. With genius you
> wouldn’t expect B grade moviemakers to have they kept all the
> brilliant parts and eliminated all the stupid parts. All I can say is that
> if you don’t think this old movie is exceptional then there is
> something wrong with you.

   There's something wrong with me, then.  :)  Probably it's because I've read
the book about a dozen times since I was ten.  The book is far better than the
movie, which was a significant letdown.  The first time I saw the movie, I
couldn't believe how awkward and silly it became.  All of the social
commentary was lost.  Colossus became a '50s sci-fi caricature of a computer
with a buzzy, barely-understandable voice synthesizer.  A couple of decades
later, I went into the movie remembering how bad it was, expecting the worst
again, and enjoyed it a little more.

   Still, the subtle social implications were lost, replaced by posturing and
an interminable speech by Colossus.

   I even re-read "The Fall of Colossus" and "Colossus and the Crab" recently.
 These veer off into silly sci-fi territory of Martians helping to destroy
Colossus and visiting Earth, but these books also address very plausible
social aspects caused by Colossus; there are religious sects that worship
Colossus and become its secret police.  Colossus performs a variety of brutal
tests to understand human behavior.  Mankind falls into incompetence and
disarray, after having their Great Benefactor shut down.  These are the best
parts of the latter books.

   Overall, a very fun read, though.  For this kid, it was my first
introduction to Singularity-like ideas.  Glad to hear it's on DVD.  I probably
won't buy it, but I might rent it again sometime.

-- 
  Alan Eliasen                 | "You cannot reason a person out of a
  eliasen at mindspring.com       |  position he did not reason himself
  http://futureboy.homeip.net/ |  into in the first place."
                               |     --Jonathan Swift