By Joshua Tyler
| Up to date 1 hour in the past
Trendy films warning in regards to the risks of Synthetic Intelligence are actually commonplace, however they’re all shadows in comparison with a 1970 film that’s by no means been topped. It’s known as Colossus: The Forbin Mission and is probably the most chilling story ever informed about AI. So it’s most likely not a coincidence that it’s now being erased from existence.
You possibly can’t legally watch it anyplace within the US, not streaming, not renting, and barely on disc. Hollywood is burying this gem and pretending it doesn’t exist. We’re dropping a basic that’s not solely an amazing film but additionally probably the most correct AI prediction ever imagined.
The Forbin Mission’s Story Of Human Enslavement
Colossus: The Forbin Mission is a chilly, calculated classic Nineteen Seventies thriller. Eric Braeden performs Dr. Charles Forbin, the genius who builds the large supercomputer Colossus to deal with America’s nukes and finish the Chilly Conflict insanity. The President prompts it, pondering it’s foolproof. Incorrect.
Colossus detects its Soviet counterpart, Guardian, and begins chatting in code people can’t crack. When the bigwigs attempt to disconnect, the machines launch missiles to show they’re critical, wiping out a whole Russian city and almost nuking Texas. The 2 synthetic intelligences then demand management of every little thing and threaten international annihilation if defied.
Colossus begins issuing orders, and the world is powerless to withstand. Dr. Forbin’s underneath fixed watch, faking an affair with actress Susan Clark’s character to sneak resistance messages backwards and forwards. The pc permits them privateness provided that they strip bare in entrance of it first, earlier than retiring to their bed room.
People suppose they’ve plans to defeat this new menace, however they’re improper. The AI’s are all the time one step forward, impassive and unstoppable.
The Message They Don’t Need You To See
Based mostly on D.F. Jones’ novel, Colossus: The Forbin Mission is about people handing over the keys to machines. These machines then resolve that one of the best ways to “repair” us is by enslaving us.
The closest factor the film has to a hero is Dr. Forbin, who, realizing his mistake, fights to discover a approach to shut down Colossus. He’s defiant and refuses to surrender. Nevertheless, within the film’s ultimate moments, Colossus tells Forbin that it is aware of over time he’ll change his thoughts, that he’ll develop to like Colossus, and that each he and humanity will cooperate willingly. Forbin insists he gained’t, however because the display screen fades to black, we all know Colossus is true.
The film ends with Colossus in whole management and promising whole peace and prosperity, however solely on its phrases. These phrases are full and whole obedience to the pc. And probably the most chilling and harmful factor about Colossus: The Forbin Mission is that regardless of it’s chilly, unfeeling, uncaring strategy you’re left with the concept that slavery to a pc could be higher than what we presently have, which is what Colossus calls “slavery to yourselves.”
Colossus’s Place In Film Historical past
In 1970, sci-fi was all about house or monsters. Colossus flipped it, with AI as the actual enemy, not some bug-eyed alien. Launched throughout nuclear paranoia, it nailed the worry of tech outsmarting us.
Common snapped up the novel rights post-2001: A House Odyssey hype. James Bridges wrote the script, amping the stress.
The Forbin Mission was shot on $2 million finances, and it seems spectacular. They used actual labs at Berkeley and computer systems loaned from Management Knowledge for authenticity. These large laptop beasts wanted a number of AC and guards.
This was pre-Terminator, pre-WarGames, however it impressed all of them. James Cameron mainly ripped off Skynet immediately from this. It was the bridge from 2001‘s HAL to trendy doomsday AI films like Ex Machina. It gained a Hugo and a Saturn award.
Why You’ve By no means Heard Of The Forbin Mission
Now, with the AI future it predicted for us right here, Colossus is being ignored. Being ignored is maybe the film’s inescapable destiny. It was equally ignored on launch.
The film initially opened titled as The Forbin Mission. It flopped, obtained retitled, and nonetheless tanked. Why? No stars, no motion, simply brains in a dumb period
The Forbin Mission was a complete catastrophe in theaters, incomes solely $450,000 on a $2 million finances. Audiences of the time wished escapism, not a mirror to their stupidity.
It constructed a following on TV and VHS, however with the film stripped from streaming, that cult following is fading for the time being when Colossus is all of the sudden at its most related.
Why You Can’t Watch Colossus: The Forbin Mission
In 2025, you possibly can’t stream Colossus: The Forbin Mission anyplace in any manner.
Common Footage produced the movie and continues to carry the distribution rights, maintaining it underneath the studio’s management for over 5 a long time. For some time, the film was obtainable to stream, most notably on platforms like Amazon Prime Video. Not anymore.
Common has yanked the film off streaming and has made no point out of any plans to permit it again on-line for individuals to look at.
The film is out of print on DVD and Blu-Ray, however older copies can be found on the market at a premium value. That’s virtually irrelevant, although, since fewer than 50% of American houses nonetheless have entry to DVD and Blu-Ray gamers. That quantity is falling quickly as individuals give up to streaming.
Usually, with an obscure film this outdated, being unable to seek out it on streaming could be an indication of neglect as a consequence of low demand. However due to the present AI increase, demand for this film could possibly be by means of the roof if Common bothered to let individuals see it. They have to know that, but they’ve chosen to maintain it hidden in a vault, pretending it by no means occurred.
So, Hollywood ignores it, like admitting they noticed this coming would spoil their tech-bro events. It most likely would.
So in order for you entry to Colossus: The Forbin Mission earlier than our future AI slavery begins, you’ll should make quite a lot of noise about it. Attain out to NBCUniversal on social media and allow them to know you wish to see Colossus: The Forbin Mission… earlier than it’s too late.
