Colossus: The Forbin Project

"This is the dawning of the Age of Colossus (where peace is compulsory... freedom is forbidden... and Man's greatest invention could be Man's greatest mistake)."

1970 1h 40m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 277

Science FictionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The U.S. has handed over control of its nuclear defense system to the Colossus supercomputer designed by scientist Dr. Charles Forbin. It soon becomes clear, that the now-sentient Colossus is far more intelligent than its creator realized—with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

“This is the dawning of the Age of Colossus (where peace is compulsory... freedom is forbidden... and Man's greatest invention could be Man's greatest mistake).”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Eric Braeden
Dr Charles Forbin
Susan Clark
Dr. Cleo Markham
Gordon Pinsent
The President
William Schallert
CIA Director Grauber
Georg Stanford Brown
Dr. John F. Fisher
Willard Sage
Dr. Blake
Alex Rodine
Dr. Kuprin
Martin E. Brooks
Dr. Jefferson J. Johnson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joseph Sargent
Writers: James Bridges
Languages: English, Italian, Russian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 15% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

56 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Italian, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joseph Sargent, shot by Gene Polito. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michel Colombier. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Folmar Blangsted shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Eric Braeden and Susan Clark and Gordon Pinsent carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joseph Sargent directs. Gene Polito behind the camera. Michel Colombier scores. Folmar Blangsted cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 15% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
356 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Italian, Russian.
5Directed by Joseph Sargent, shot by Gene Polito. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Michel Colombier. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Folmar Blangsted shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Eric Braeden and Susan Clark and Gordon Pinsent carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "This is the dawning of the Age of Colossus (where peace is compulsory... freedom is forbidden... and Man's greatest invention could be Man's greatest mistake).".
10IMDB entry: tt0064177 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 11 themes, including "artificial intelligence (a.i.)", "computer", "usa president", "based on novel or book".

The technical file

Cinematography: Gene Polito
Original score: Michel Colombier
Editing: Folmar Blangsted
Costume design: Edith Head
Makeup / hair: Bud Westmore
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Box office: $308,828
Return: 15% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)

Also by

Joseph Sargent

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Daz2017-02-07
This film is an overlooked classic. Very rarely seen on TV. It is both a science fiction tale and a Cold War drama. The United States creates a super computer to control its defence systems. This advanced machine has its own intelligence so that it can absorb the mass of data required to manage the nuclear arsenal. Dr Charles Forbin the creator of this computer called Colossus. Forbin is soon informed that there is another system created in the Soviet Union called Guardian and both computers start communicating with each other. The computers start dictating terms/ making demands of their human masters. Forbin is charged with stopping the machines before its too late. What is chilling is that the computers are far more smarter than the humans and things get very tricky. I can't say anymore, give this is go. This film is the forerunner for films like The Matrix and The Terminator. Great stuff.
TkA2026-07-31
★ 8/10
Great movie, still relevant today I just saw this movie for the first time, and it is an intelligent and well-done sci-fi thriller. It deals with AI sentience, and almost can be seen as the beginnings of Gort (from another excellent sci-fi film from 1951 called The Day The Earth Stood Still)\ \ If you're not sure about watching this, just watch it, you might be surprised and find a hidden, thought-provoking, gem!

Production companies