Electric Dreams: Computers in the Movies of the 1980s and 1990s, Part 1

Inspired by the new documentary/video essay by Amanda Kramer, So Unreal, which is still on the festival circuit, this series will look at how the movies of the '80s and '90s depicted computers, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. I was struck by how many of these movies I had never seen before, and most of the rest I hadn't seen since they came out. It has been quite a ride. Most of these movies are super entertaining, but absolutely scientific nonsense. However, some startling predictions have also arisen in the most unlikely places.

Looker

USA, 1981, d. Michael Crichton, 1h33m, ***, On VOD

Michael Crichton's sleazy, undercooked thriller consists of three successive types of movies. First, a surprisingly effective import of Italian giallo style to a murder mystery. Second, an aging Albert Finney plays a plastic surgeon whose incredibly attractive clients are requesting tiny adjustments to their faces to live up to a computer algorithm, and for some reason they all want to sleep with him. Third, a chase sequence across Los Angeles with mind control zap guns straight out of Men in Black. These three pieces aren't that good, but two of them are very entertaining. The final action set-piece is darkly comical and unforgettable.

Looker is afraid of how TV commercials are hypnotizing us into hyper-consumerism, and wonders if hypnotic messages could force us to crave products or sway our vote in elections. Computer-generated algorithms could determine the peak attractiveness of human models and create standards that models can only achieve with surgery. Their bodies and voices can be scanned into computers in high resolution, giving ad agencies complete control of their performance. They can then make as many commercials as they want without further payment (sound familiar?), even if their actors should come to an early demise.

Tron

USA, 1982, d. Steven Lisberger, 1h36m, ***1/2, On Disney+ or VOD

What needs to be said about Tron? Disney's live action odyssey into cyberspace has dramatic issues, but for '80s kids it will forever be beloved for its iconic special effects and electronic score. A third entry in the franchise has finally started filming after years of false starts.

Tron anthropomorphized computer programs, and forever set the visual template for movies to depict electric impulses as cars on freeways through busy cities of information. It also predicted data as something to be controlled or destroyed at the whims of corporations. Government regulation isn't on the horizon yet, and corporate money is driving innovation. Only the ingenuity of citizen hackers will create a utopia of free information.

Brainstorm

USA, 1983, d. Douglas Trumbull, 1h46m, **1/2, On VOD

After the innovation of Tron, the long-delayed production of Brainstorm feels like a '70s throwback rather than the visionary film it was. Conceived and directed by the special effects coordinator for 2001: A Space Odyssey, it features the recording and playback of memories as a full-body virtual reality sensory experience. "Memories" in the film were filmed on 70mm in a much wider frame than the rest of the film, to give them more oomph in the theater. Unfortunately, this doesn't hold up on home video. But the original plans for the film were that these sequences would also be filmed at 60fps, a more fluid frame rate that has only recently become state-of-the-art after innovations by Peter Jackson (The Hobbit) and James Cameron (Avatar 2).

Brainstorm conceived of human memories as something that could be recorded by computers as data and retrieved, and warns of the dangers of interfacing with computers for a fully immersive form of virtual reality. The research science is quickly taken over by the military-industrial complex, and thought of in terms of weaponry. It can hurt, and it can kill, so it must be useful for torture or mind control. Brainstorm also predicted that any new computer technology will inevitably be used for sex; the ability to playback the sensation of orgasm non-stop in one's brain could create a new type of strung-out addict.

WarGames

USA, 1983, d. John Badham, 1h54m, ***1/2, On Max or VOD

Never underestimate the power of an American teenager, given access to a computer and the rudimentary early internet, to not stop at changing his grades at school. If the phone number for NORAD is in the Yellow Book, he or she will wind up triggering a global thermonuclear crisis.

Unlike most of the movies in this survey, WarGames isn't science fiction so much as techno-thriller, but its influence is major. It managed to find real drama in text prompts on green CRT computer screens and influenced how people understood hacking in the burgeoning internet age. Well, at least as much as Richard Pryor's villain in Superman III (also 1983)...

Electric Dreams

USA, 1984, d. Steve Barron, 1h35m, ****, On Tubi or VOD

A criminally underseen '80s sci-fi rom com which is more adult than its peers and rather well directed. Featuring aerobics girls dancing to a synth-driven Giorgio Moroder (Top Gun) score, and a desktop computer voiced by Bud Cort, this also might be the most '80s a movie has ever been. Lenny von Dohlen stars as a klutzy dork who almost immediately fries his first home Personal Computer, but rather than destroy it, it gains sentience, and they both fall in love with the hot cellist (Virginia Madsen!) who just moved in next door.

Electric Dreams probably seemed absurd in 1984 but is surprisingly relatable now, when computers have finally become voice-activated personal assistants which control our home security, lights and appliances. But - assuming you don't end up feuding with them over a shared love interest – ...well, they still won't actually make your life any more productive....

To be continued - in 2-3 weeks - with Short Circuit, Arcade, The Lawnmower Man (hoo boy...), and more!

Quick Bites:

• The Traitors (UK Season 2) lived up to its brilliant first season. The first season was stunning for the palpable psychological effects on some of its players for their lies and betrayal, where is this one had traitors who gleefully pulled off their strategies. The format of the show is not inherently perfect, but with good casting they've struck gold twice.
• Ru Paul's Drag Race (Season 16) is off to a strong start. Compared to last season, the level of talent, the potential for feuds, and the experimentation with the show's format all seem much higher this year.
• I have major concerns with the lineup of movies for this year. Cinemas are going to have to be really creative to keep people coming to the movies; some theaters will certainly close due to this year. The studios needlessly kept workers striking for half of last year, and there are massive holes in the calendar. IMAX will bring back Tenet for 1 week (which opened with a fizzle during the pandemic), and the Drafthouse has committed to an astonishing lineup of retrospective screenings for the entire year.

Bonus Recommendation:

The Cat

Hong Kong, 1992, d. Ngai Choi Lam, 1h29m, ***1/2, On Criterion Channel

When Hong Kong introduced their motion picture rating system in 1988, a repressed film industry exploded with films redolent with sex and violence. Category III - the strongest warning a film could receive before being deemed pornography - instantly became an "anything goes" environment, since satisfying rowdy hordes of 18–30-year-old men meant not being "boring" for even a moment.

Decent video transfers of Hong Kong films with legible English subtitles are often hard to track down, so it's cause for celebration when one pops up on the Criterion Channel. The Cat is a bizarro masterclass involving an alien that's come to earth in the guise of a cat (for some reason). It sounds like the plot from a live-action Disney movie, except that there's also a giant blob melting the faces off of tommy gun-wielding gangsters. Meanwhile a bestselling author keeps showing off his vodka collection by setting samples of it on fire (is this a thing...?), and The Cat faces off with Cujo. Absolutely unhinged, and an extravaganza of imaginative practical effects.