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<td>2025-03-11</td>
<td style="text-align: right;"><a href="About.md" class="internal-link">About</a></td>
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# Computer Interfaces in Cinema: A Comparison
Special effects in movies are always important to the credibility of any film. A convincing setting with realistic effects can be the difference between Oscar-worthy respectability, or a well-intended drama turned into a puppet-show for kids. And the more dependent a movie is on its environments, the more convincing they have to be. In science fiction, effects must inspire awe, or they will only invoke laughter. Much of the time, effects that were state-of-the art and did wow audiences of the time, appear rather silly now, next to the cgi perfection of today.
This post isn't going to delve too far into special effects per se, but will compare the ways in which computers have looked over the decades, and how humans interacted with them. Everything from keyboards to VR headsets, monochrome CRT screens, and hard-copy printouts.
The movies I'm discussing here have a very dear place I my heart. When I was a child, I watched these, mostly on my own, when they were shown on television on a Sunday afternoon. They captured a wonderment in me that just didn't exist before. And while I now make fun of them sometimes as an adult, that doesn't diminish my love for them in any way. I still return to them often, watching again at semi-regular intervals to recapture some of that wonder I experienced as a child.
| Movie | RELEASED | SET In |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------: | --------------: |
| [2001: A Space Odyssey](#2001%20A%20Space%20Odyssey) | 1968 | 2001 |
| [Planet of the Apes](#Planet%20of%20the%20Apes) | 1968 | 2673 |
| [Colossus: The Forbin Project](#Colossus%20The%20Forbin%20Project) | 1970 | 1990s |
| [Star Wars](#Star%20Wars) | 1977 | a long time ago |
| [Alien](#Alien) | 1979 | 2122 |
| [WarGames](#WarGames) | 1983 | 1983 |
| [RoboCop](#RoboCop) | 1987 | near future |
| [Johnny Mnemonic](#Johnny%20Mnemonic) | 1995 | 2021 |
| [The Matrix](#The%20Matrix) | 1999 | 1999/far future | ^index
[comment]: # (
<table class="table-header" style="width: 700px;">
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<th>Movie</th>
<th style="text-align: right;">Released</th>
<th style="text-align: right; width: 220px;">Set In</th>
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<td><a href="#2001: A Space Odyssey" class="internal-link">2001: A Space Odyssey</a></td>
<td style="text-align: right;">1968</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">2001</td>
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<td><a href="#Planet of the Apes" class="internal-link">Planet of the Apes</a></td>
<td style="text-align: right;">1968</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">2673</td>
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<td><a href="#Colossus: The Forbin Project" class="internal-link">Colossus: The Forbin Project</a></td>
<td style="text-align: right;">1970</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">1990s</td>
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<td><a href ="#Star Wars" class="internal-link">Star Wars</a></td>
<td style="text-align: right;">1977</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">a long time ago</td>
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<td><a href="#Alien" class="internal-link">Alien</a></td>
<td style="text-align: right;">1979</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">2122</td>
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<td><a href="#WarGames" class="internal-link">WarGames</a></td>
<td style="text-align: right;">1983</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">1983</td>
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<td><a href="#RoboCop" class="internal-link">RoboCop</a></td>
<td style="text-align: right;">1987</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">near future</td>
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<td><a href="#Johnny Mnemonic" class="internal-link">Johnny Mnemonic</a></td>
<td style="text-align: right;">1995</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">2021</td>
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<td><a href="#The Matrix" class="internal-link">The Matrix</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">1999</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">1999/far future</td>
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## 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001 is a movie that really defies review of any kind. It was a masterpiece of film, miles ahead of its time in all aspects. Planet of the Apes, released in the same year, had many similarities, spanning apparent timelines with depictions of both spacefaring society and stone-age apes, but the two films are separated by stark differences in the abilities of the director and producers. It's the difference between a college film project and a billion-dollar production today. The space scenes of 2001 looked real. The zero and low gravity scenes had corridors that rotated, depicting floors that were at right-angles to the floors in the next area of the ship. This was nothing short of miraculous in 1968, when nothing like this had ever been attempted before.
These two scenes give a good glimpse into the technical magnificence of this film. I can't help but remind that it was released in 1968. There's no cheating with CGI here. Everything had to be filmed as it was happening, either with models or on a set. The first clip also showcases some nice computer interfaces, imagining the tools pilots might be using in the far-off future of 2001!
In the main ship of the Jupiter sequence, human interfaces are scarce, as they were largely unnecessary. The astronauts simply told HAL what to do, and it was done—seat adjustments included. The only interfaces present are control panels in the small pods used to navigate the ship's exterior.
While there had been many productions dealing with the dangers of machines taking the place of people before this, 2001 was also the first to specifically tackle the unique dangers of artificial intelligence. The AI here was the main computer of the ship sent to Jupiter, HAL. It introduced the idea of AI malfunctioning, or interpreting instruction in ways unintended, resulting in human tragedy. In this case, it threatened the entire crew of the ship, and killed all but one. Other movies took this theme and ran with it, such as Colossus: The Forbin Project, Wargames, Terminator and many others. [⇧](#^index)
## Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes was released the same year as 2001: A Space Odyssey. In regards to the tech, there is a pretty stark difference between the two movies. 2001 was trying to make as realistic a depiction as possible, while Planet of the Apes appears to have thrown together the ship interior with whatever they had laying around.
The printed "Earth Time" and "Ship Time" look like they were pressed by a machine used for license plates. And I guess when those were delivered they just stapled the foam packing material to the walls. There does look to be a keyboard for inputs but it never gets used in the film. [⇧](#^index)
## Colossus: The Forbin Project
This movie I watched for the first time more recently than the others, most of which I'd seen as a child. The fun thing about this one, is that it has a very "War Games" feel to it, right down to the mapping of missile trajectories between the US and the USSR.
Two AIs, one in the US (Colossus) and one in Russia (Guardian), are given control of weapons and defence for the two countries, and begin to enforce a dictatorship upon their respective governments, under threat of nuclear annihilation.
The sets are great to look at, being very much a product of the 70s. The control room looks like it's filled with props raided from the Bat-Cave. The main terminal is even labelled "Colossus," in case anyone happens to forget.
The command interface is nothing more than a 70s era electric typewriter, operated by a stenographer of sorts. The programmer talks as if speaking directly to Colossus, and the stenographer types what is said. [⇧](#^index)
## Star Wars
For the movie Star Wars, George Lucas pioneered the "Used Future" model for his environments. This is when there is an intentional mix of technologies from different times, and usually coincides with dirt and grime added to machinery and general decor. This gives a "lived in" feel to the environment, and a more realistic approach to the way people use technology. In today's world, for example, you don't see everyone driving 2024 model vehicles with all the modern electronic luxuries included. There is a mix of technology from different eras on the road. Also different sorts of people keep their vehicles in various states of cleanliness, and repair. And as technology progresses, we can expect to see a wider range of technologies in regular use.
This is just outside one of the Jawa Sandcrawlers where Luke and his Uncle Owen purchase C3PO and R2-D2. Everything in this shot is covered in dust, dirt and grime — very different from other science fiction movies until that point, like 2001.
The AI in Star Wars is taken in a different direction than in other films too. It takes the form of "droids," and are given alphanumerical designations rather than specific names. The AIs given the most attention here are R2-D2 and C3PO. The droids of Star Wars are relatively impotent in comparison to the godlike abilities of, say, Colossus, or HAL in 2001. They're mostly treated as annoying machines rather than thinking personalities.
The control panels and interfaces are usually dedicated to specific purposes. For instance, the Death Star tractor beam had a dedicated interface that needed to be reached in order to manually disable it.
Other functions,like the trash compactor, could seemingly be controlled at any location, at least with interfaces that were intended to be accessed by droids.
*R2-D2 interacting with a data port on the Death Star*
In Star Wars, the idea of carrying around communicator devices is present, but not typically used. One such device is used for communication between Luke and C3PO in the trash compactor scene. There are also some panels that are intended for communications, such as that found in the detention centre.
Most other interfaces and control panels are for weapons targeting. These are found throughout the movie, and examples are found on the Millennium Falcon, all the individually flown fighters, and as well as the Death Star.
*Millennium Falcon Targeting*
*Targeting systems, beginning clockwise from top-left: X-wing fighter, Tie fighter, Death Star, X-wing targeting computer*
The last two examples I'll use from Star Wars are again weapons related. These are both used as the Death Star is about to power up and utilise its super-laser: [⇧](#^index)
## Alien
As seen in the above hallway, Alien makes use of the George Lucas "Used Future" model. There is a mixture of clean environments where the equipment looks new and state-of-the-art, and other areas where the tech looks outdated, and falling apart. In one location there is even pressure-gauges in use, while steam is loudly shooing out into the corridor.
For human interfaces, the interior of the Nostromos, the ship upon which most of the movie takes place, shows lots of switches, indicator lights, and CRT monitors (all monochrome of course), with plenty of beeps, clicks and clacks from the screen printouts.
Alien also kept with the trend of giving a name to the central computer, which began with HAL in 2001. In this case "Mother" was responsible for the ship's internal functions, life support, and waking the crew upon arriving at designated coordinates. To communicate with Mother directly, a specific terminal was used, found in a room with one access hatch and only accessible to the senior officers.
It's also a movie that depicts AI malfunctioning from conflicting instructions, in the form of Ash, the ship's android, being asked to withhold information from the rest of the crew. There are scenes wherein he displays physical ticks, and other strange behaviours. [⇧](#^index)
## WarGames
WarGames is the first movie I've got here to deal with computer hacking. This will become a running theme, and would almost become a genre of its own further into the 80s and 90s, with movies like Weird Science, The Net, The Matrix, and even Ferris Bueller's Day off, another Matthew Broderick movie, which references hacking to artificially lower high school absentee days. WarGames tries to keep things real, and even delves somewhat into [phone phreaking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phreaking), as opposed to a movie like Hackers, which is a fun movie but takes a much more "Hollywood" approach to computer hacking.
Because the film tries to take a more realistic approach (talking to Joshua in plain English notwithstanding), the interfaces are mostly just computer terminals.
It would have been nice to see some real commands being used, telnet or ftp at the very least (or instructions using xmodem or kermit I guess it would have been), but for audiences at the time, this was completely unnecessary.
The war room is where the real spectacle resides. Here we have science-fictiony control panels of old, conforming to the ideas of what it meant to be "high tech" in the 70s and early 80s. There is is also a nod to the missile trajectories of [Colossus: The Forbin Project](#Colossus%20The%20Forbin%20Project). [⇧](#^index)
## RoboCop
In the 80s, a different style of movie was becoming dominant at the box-office: action movie crossovers. Science-fiction followed suit with adventure and drama movies already showcasing burly heroes as the money-making driving force. Terminator, Predator, Aliens, Mad Max: all rebranded science fiction/action movies. Robocop takes the Terminator, and puts him in the role of a near-future Detroit police officer.
The props used are mostly all analogue tech: small televisions, VCRs, large cameras and mics, alongside interfaces that echo a 1980s vision of futuristic tech. The ED-209 mech demonstration showcases a bit of this familiar aesthestic, with a control panel that is distinctly a product of 80s sci-fi.
The police department is the same, though it appears that the front office has been pulled right off the set of TJ Hooker, and includes a large Star Trek command console for atmosphere.
Most of the really fun interfaces are seen through the eyes of RoboCop (Murphy) himself. This is during scenes of manufacturing, which are all seen from this perspective.
The only other real interface shown is where RoboCop "sleeps." There's a couple of instruments that look a bit like radar screens from a passenger jet or submarine, and a small CRT monitor showing him as he sits, presumably to record any movement or facial tics.
Briefly, however, we do see him walking through what appears to be server banks in a poorly maintained data centre. No cable management skills in the future, apparently. Anyway, in here we see a little borrowed tech from Star Wars, as RoboCop extracts a blade-like instrument from his knuckles and inserts it into a receptacle that seems to be just for him. The action is very reminiscent of R2-D2's interacting with data terminals. [⇧](#^index)
## Johnny Mnemonic
Toward the end of the 90s, Virtual Reality, as a concept, started to wash over public consciousness. Movies and magazine articles began to show depictions of people using this tech, wearing massive helmets and gloves to immerse themselves into entirely digitally-generated worlds. Lawnmower Man was one such film; Johnny Mnemonic was another.
Johnny is a data courier, someone who can transfer data securely, in person, avoiding the danger of sending it via the Internet, where hackers can snoop it out. Security is further achieved by storing the data in "wetware," whereby the courier removes a portion of his memory, in order to make room for gigabytes worth of data storage in his own brain. The interface is a small receptacle in the back of the head, about the size of a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The computers are interacted with via VR headsets and gloves. The visual interface is very conducive to movie screens, with the obvious intent to wow audiences of the time with state of the art computer graphics technology.
Aside from the virtual reality, in some of the grittier environments, the computer interfaces are pretty cool looking, and really show the cyberpunk influences here. The screenplay was written by William Gibson, with the whole concept being based on one of his short stories.
The movie concludes with a virtual reality scene, depicting Johnny using VR to hack into his own brain. [⇧](#^index)
## The Matrix
Following in the footsteps of Johnny Mnemonic, and also starring Keanu Reeves, is another cyberpunk classic: The Matrix. Like the Terminator, this one depicts what the world might be like after AI runs rampant and goes to war with the rest of Humanity. In the Matrix's world though, the battle is already won. The humans lost, and the machines are now harvesting them for their naturally produced energy stores.
The main human interfaces are cybernetic plugs that have been implanted all over the surface of their bodies by the machines. These are auxiliary receptors for jacks to feed artificial stimuli to the nervous system, and connecting brains directly to a VR world called the Matrix.
The Matrix depicts a world that mirrors our own, in 1999, when the movie was made. The interfaces inside are old school 686 machines with keyboards, mice, CRT monitors, and other peripherals from that era.
The computers are shown with GUI interfaces in places, but for the most part, text based commands are still the order of the day, as well as sending cryptic messages from the real world to the virtual one (Wake up Neo).
Phones are used extensively too. With cellphones, voice communication is possible between "operators" sending pirate signals connecting to the Matrix, and those who jack themselves in. A land-line, however, is required to get people's consciousness out and back into the real world.
The really cool looking interfaces are all outside of the Matrix, aboard the Nebuchadnezzar, the ship where most scenes of the real world take place. Here we have monitors, hanging wires and cables, and steel arms haphazardly holding it all together. [⇧](#^index)
## Afterthought
Cyberpunk worlds of the Matrix, and other movies of the era depicting computer crimes of hackers, I think, are doomed to be relics of the past at this point. They depended on an audience that knows a little about the tech, yet is still quite mystified by it. There was a kind of magic about computers in those days, with young computer hackers being depicted as science fiction wizards with powers beyond reckoning. It was a fun time to be a sci-fi fan, because these wizards were about as close to the real-deal as you could get. Even if audiences recognised that the computer effects were a bit outlandish, as they were in the movie Hackers, say, a suspension of disbelief wasn't even necessary, because the stories were actually believable. Even the Matrix had many, quite serious intellectuals, [pontificating the possibility of us actually living in a simulated reality](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/confirmed-we-live-in-a-simulation/).
My hope is we can get movies like this to return with Bladerunner-type worlds showing body modifications, and hacking our own cybernetic prostheses. There is a lot of Japanese anime that delves into these worlds, but Western producers can't seem to wrap their brains around how to recreate them properly, with Netflix adaptations all failing miserably. But there is a good 25 years' worth of movies to go back to, many of which I haven't seen yet, and those old Anime films are really spectacular.