Hackers (film)
Hackers | |
---|---|
Directed by | Iain Softley |
Written by | Rafael Moreu |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Andrzej Sekuła |
Edited by |
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Music by | MGM/UA Distribution Co. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 107 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $20 million[1] |
Box office | $7.5 million [2] |
Hackers is a 1995 American
The film received mixed reviews from critics, and underperformed at the box office upon release, but has gone on to achieve
Plot
On August 10, 1988, 11-year-old Dade "Zero Cool" Murphy's family is fined $45,000 for his crashing of 1,507 computer systems, causing a seven-point drop in the New York Stock Exchange. He is banned from owning or operating computers and touch-tone telephones until his 18th birthday.
Seven years later, on his 18th birthday, Dade hacks into a local television station and changes the broadcast to an episode of The Outer Limits. Another hacker (handle "Acid Burn") counters Dade's attack. Dade identifies himself as "Crash Override".
At school, Dade becomes part of a group of hackers: Ramon "The Phantom Phreak" Sanchez, Emmanuel "Cereal Killer" Goldstein, Paul "Lord Nikon" Cook (named for his
Joey, out to prove his skills, breaks into a "Gibson" supercomputer owned by the Ellingson Mineral Corporation. While downloading a garbage file as proof of his feat, his mother disconnects his computer, leaving him with a fragmented file. However, his intrusion has been noticed and brought to the attention of computer security officer Eugene "The Plague" Belford, a former hacker. Plague realizes the garbage file being downloaded is a worm he himself inserted to defraud Ellingson. Claiming the file is the code to the "Da Vinci" computer virus that will capsize the company's oil tanker fleet, and pretending the hackers are to blame, he enlists the US Secret Service to recover the file. In fact, Plague had inserted the "Da Vinci" virus as a red herring to cover for his worm.
Joey is arrested and his computer searched, but he had hidden the disk containing the file. Dade and Kate make a bet, with Dade choosing a date with Kate should he win, and Kate having Dade perform menial computing tasks if she prevails. The hacking duel is to harass Secret Service Agent Richard Gill who was involved in Joey's arrest. After various hacks including canceling Gill's credit cards, creating a personal ad in his name, fabricating a criminal record, and changing his payroll status to "deceased", the duel remains a tie.
Released on bail, Joey reveals the disk to Phreak who is arrested the next day and informs Kate the disk is hidden in a bathroom at school. Kate and Cereal Killer ask for Dade's help which he refuses as he has a record. He copies the disk so they have un-tampered evidence. Determining that Dade did not hack into Ellingson, Plague sends him a powerful laptop with a request that he join him. He later threatens to have Dade's mother incarcerated with a manufactured criminal record. At this, Dade agrees to deliver Kate's copy of the disk.
Kate, Lord Nikon, Cereal Killer, and Dade learn that the code is a worm designed to steal $25 million from Ellingson transactions, and that the Da Vinci virus is set to capsize the oil fleet the next day to provide cover and distract from the worm. Dade confesses that he gave Plague the disk and reveals his hacking history as "Zero Cool".
Dade and Kate seek out Razor and Blade, producers of Hack the Planet, a hacker-themed TV show. Lord Nikon and Cereal Killer learn that warrants for their arrest are to be executed at 9 a.m. the next day.
The next morning, Dade, Kate, Nikon and Cereal roller-blade from Washington Square Park, evading the Secret Service by hacking the traffic lights. Meeting up with Joey at Grand Central Terminal they use payphones and acoustic couplers to hack the Gibson. At first, their attempts are easily rebuffed by Plague, who calls Dade to taunt him. Razor and Blade have contacted hackers around the world, who lend their support and distract Plague long enough for Joey to download the file.
After crashing the Gibson, Dade and company are arrested. Dade cryptically informs Cereal Killer that he's tossed the disk in a trash can. As Dade and Kate are being interrogated, Razor and Blade jam television signals and broadcast live video of Cereal Killer revealing the plot and Plague's complicity. Plague is arrested while attempting to flee to Japan. Their names cleared, Dade and Kate begin a relationship.
Cast
- Jonny Lee Miller as Dade Murphy / "Zero Cool" / "Crash Override"
- Max Ligosh as young Dade
- Angelina Jolie as Kate Libby / "Acid Burn"
- Jesse Bradford as Joey Pardella
- Matthew Lillard as Emmanuel Goldstein / "Cereal Killer"
- Laurence Mason as Paul Cook / "Lord Nikon"
- Renoly Santiago as Ramόn Sánchez / "The Phantom Phreak"
- Fisher Stevens as Eugene Belford / "The Plague"
- Lorraine Bracco as Margo Wallace
- Alberta Watson as Lauren Murphy
- Darren Lee as Razor
- Peter Y. Kim as Blade
- Penn Jillette as Hal
- Wendell Pierce as U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Richard Gill
- Marc Anthony as U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Ray
- Michael Gaston as U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Bob
- Felicity Huffman as Prosecuting Attorney
Production
Screenplay
The screenplay, written by
The novelization of the movie written by David Bischoff, based upon Rafael Moreu's screenplay, came out on July 11, 1995, two months before the film's release. It was published in both mass-market (paperback) and hard cover formats as well as English and Spanish editions.[8] Renewed interest in the movie in the 2020s has caused the second hand market for the novels to skyrocket with online prices on Amazon[9]at close to $200 USD for the paperback edition and around $350 USD for the hardcover edition. Other used book sites such as AbeBooks show comparable pricing.[10]
Pre-production
The cast spent three weeks getting to know each other and learning how to type and rollerblade. They studied computers and met with actual computer hackers, including Tristan Louis, Kevin Mitnick, and Nicholas Jarecki. Jarecki served as a technical consultant and credits his experience on Hackers as inspiring his later career as the screenwriter and director.[11][12] Actor Jonny Lee Miller even attended a hackers’ convention.[13]
Casting
According to Fisher Stevens, Quentin Tarantino was considered for the role of The Plague.[14]
Production
The school scenes were filmed in
The interior scenes for the Cyberdelia nightclub were filmed at the disused Brentford Public Baths,[16] on the outskirts of London. Producer Ralph Winter noted, "We never knew why, but the pool was designated a historic landmark, so great care had to be taken not to damage anything and to return it to its original state."[17] The exterior set was filmed in downtown Manhattan.
The scenes for Ellingson Mineral Corporation were filmed on a soundstage, but the establishing shots of the company's headquarters used One Liberty Plaza and took inspiration from that building to create the hardware behind "The Kernel". In the final shot of the building, Softley digitally added a swimming pool on the rooftop of the building. Additionally, establishing shots of the World Trade Center and Empire State Building were used to occasionally give the viewer a visual reminder of the city the film was set in.
Post-production
Softley did not use CGI for any of the sequences in cyberspace. He said they used "more-conventional methods of motion control, animation, models, and rotoscoping to create a real, three-dimensional world, because... computer graphics alone can sometimes lend a more flat, sterile image."[6] Video game developer Psygnosis created the CGI for the Wipeout arcade game sequence.[18]
Shortly after the filming ended, Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie were married.[19] They separated after a year and divorced in 1999, and remain good friends.[20]
Marketing
MGM/UA set up a website for Hackers that soon afterwards was allegedly hacked by a group called the "Internet Liberation Front". A photograph of the film's stars Angelina Jolie and Jonny Lee Miller were doodled upon, and the words "this is going to be an entertaining fun promotional site for a movie," were replaced with "this is going to be a lame, cheesy promotional site for a movie!" The studio maintained the site during the theatrical run of the movie in its altered form.[6][21][22]
The movie poster shows Acid Burn and Crash Override with various words and ASCII symbols superimposed on their faces,[23] with the words:
- Lord Nikon, Acid Burn, and Crash Override
- God, Sex, Love, and Secret
- Phreak
The text references the main characters in the film, the most commonly used passwords, and the type of user who specializes in telecommunication hacking.
Soundtrack
Softley said that he wanted the film's music to be dreamlike and reflect the aspects of data and technology being shown on screen. He compiled tracks from various artists, while taking suggestions from assistant Gala Wright and music supervisor Bob Last.[24]
The music soundtrack combines electronica, pulsating tribal rhythms and techno/house music of early hardcore groups like Prodigy, Underworld and Orbital; it was released in 3 separate volumes over three years. The first volume was composed entirely of music featured in the film (with the exception of Carl Cox's "Phoebus Apollo"), while the second and third are a mix of music "inspired by the film" as well as music actually in the film. The most featured song in the movie is "Voodoo People" by The Prodigy.
Most of the music in the film, including much of the techno and electronic music, was composed and performed by UK film composer Simon Boswell.
In 2020, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film, the soundtrack was released for the first time on vinyl, in a 2-disc set.[25] A new soundtrack album by Varèse Sarabande was also released.[26]
Hackers: Their Only Crime Was Curiosity: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
- "Original Bedroom Rockers" – Kruder & Dorfmeister
- "Cowgirl" – Underworld
- "Voodoo People" – The Prodigy
- "Open Up" – Leftfield (featuring John Lydon)
- "Phoebus Apollo" – Carl Cox
- "The Joker" – Josh Abrahams
- "Halcyon + On + On" – Orbital
- "Communicate" (Headquake Hazy Cloud Mix) – Plastico
- "One Love" – The Prodigy
- "Stereo MCs
- "Eyes, Lips, Body" (Mekon Vocal Mix) – Ramshackle
- "Good Grief" – Urban Dance Squad
- "Richest Junkie Still Alive" (Sank Remix) – Machines of Loving Grace
- "Heaven Knows" – Squeeze
Hackers2: Music from and Inspired by the Original Motion Picture "Hackers"
- "Firestarter" (Empirion mix) – The Prodigy
- "Toxygene" – The Orb
- "Little Wonder" (Danny Saber Dance Mix) – David Bowie
- "Fire" – Scooter
- "Narcotic Influence 2" – Empirion
- "Remember" – BT
- "Go" – Moby
- "Inspection" (Check One) – Leftfield
- "Cherry Pie" – Underworld
- "To Be Loved" (Disco Citizens R&D Edit) [Mix] – Luce Drayton
- "Speed Freak" (Moby Remix) – Orbital
- "Get Ready to Bounce" (Radio Attack) – Brooklyn Bounce
- "Offshore" (Disco Citizens Edit) – Chicane
- "Original" – Leftfield
Hackers3: Music from and Inspired by the Original Motion Picture "Hackers"
- "Why Can't It Stop" – Moby
- "Godspeed" (BT Edit Mix) – BT
- "Absurd" (Whitewash Mix) – Fluke
- "Quiet Then" – Cloak
- "I Am Fresh" – Monkey Mafia
- "Phuture 2000" (radio edit) – Carl Cox
- "An Fhomhair" – Orbital
- "Fashion" (Ian Pooley Mix) – Phunky Data
- "Psychopath" (Leftfield Mix) – John Lydon
- "Stop & Panic" – Cirrus
- "Strong in Love" – Chicane
- "Hack the Planet" – Brooklyn Bounce
- "Diskette" – Simon Boswell
- "Launch Divinci" – Simon Boswell
Hackers: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – 25th Anniversary Edition
Disk 1
- "Halcyon + On + On" – Orbital
- "Open Up" – Leftfield (featuring John Lydon)
- "Cowgirl" – Underworld
- "Voodoo People" – The Prodigy
- "Stereo MCs
- "One Love" – The Prodigy
- "Original Bedroom Rockers" – Kruder & Dorfmeister
- "Good Grief" – Urban Dance Squad
- "Heaven Knows" – Squeeze
Disk 2
- "Protection" – performed by Massive Attack
- "One Combination" – performed by Guy Pratt
- "Grand Central Station" – performed by Guy Pratt featuring David Gilmour
- "Hackers Suite" – Simon Boswell
- "Diskette" – Simon Boswell
- "City of Data" – Simon Boswell
- "Ellingson HQ" – Simon Boswell
- "Cereal's Speech" – Simon Boswell
- "Kernel" – Simon Boswell
- "Date Night" – Simon Boswell
Additional information
Songs featured in the film but not appearing on any soundtracks:
- "Real Wild Child" – written by Johnny O'Keefe, Johnny Greenan and 'Dave Owen (VIII)' (as Dave Owens)
Reception
Box office
The film was released September 15, 1995. It opened in 1,812 theaters and earned $3.2 million in its opening weekend, finishing in 4th place.[27] The film ended its run with a domestic box office gross of $7.5 million.[28]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 33% based on reviews from 46 critics. The website's consensus states "Hackers has a certain stylish appeal, but its slick visuals and appealing young cast can't compensate for a clichéd and disappointingly uninspired story."[29] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 46 out of 100 based on reviews from 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[30] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B on scale of A to F.[31]
Critics praised the film for its stylish visuals but criticized its unconvincing look at hackers and their subculture.
Peter Stack of the
The Los Angeles Times's David Kronke wrote, "imagination of Rafael Moreu, making his feature screenwriting debut, and director Iain Softley...piles on the attitude and stylized visuals, no one will notice just how empty and uninvolving the story really is."[38] In his review for The Washington Post, Hal Hinson wrote, "As its stars, Miller and Jolie seem just as one-dimensional—except that, in their case, the effect is intentional."[39] Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "D" rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "the movie buys in to the computer-kid-as-elite-rebel mystique currently being peddled by magazines like Wired."[40]
Home media
Hackers was released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1996 and to DVD by MGM Home Video on August 25, 1998, as a Region 1 widescreen DVD. The Region 2 DVD was released in 2001; it allowed selection between PAL and 16:9 Widescreen, with Dolby Digital.[41] On October 25, 2005, it was released in UMD format, playable on the Sony PSP.[42]
Possible sequel
In a September 2020 interview for Collider to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the film, Softley said that there were active discussions regarding a sequel.[47][48]
See also
References
- ^ "25 Years Ago, 'Hackers' Introduced Movie Audiences to the Internet". PCMAG. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
- ^ "Hackers". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
- ^ Scott Tobias (2012-04-12). "Hackers may have been of its time, but it was also ahead of it". The A.V. Club.
- ^ Jake Davis (2016-11-18). "Real Hackers Tell Us Why They Love the Movie 'Hackers'". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
- ^ a b Ungerleider, Neal (2015-11-12). "What It Was Like To Attend "Hacker High" When They Filmed "Hackers" At My High School". Fast Company. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
The author was a freshman at Stuyvesant in 1995. Then Angelina Jolie, Jonny Lee Miller, and the cult film's crew showed up.
- ^ a b c Hackers MGM DVD 8-page booklet featuring trivia, production notes and a revealing look at the making of the film.
- ^ a b c McClellan, Jim (January 8, 1995). "Cyberspace: The Hack Pack". The Observer.
- ^ "Worldcat Library Catalog". Online library catalog. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "Online book seller". Amazon USA.
- ^ "AbeBooks used books". AbeBooks.
- ^ McCallan, Steve (30 July 2002). "Breaking In: How 20 Film Directors Got Their Start". Variety.
- ^ "Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie - The Happy Couple". Empire. June 1996.
- ^ Penfold, Phil (May 3, 1996). "Good Work If You Can Hack It". The Herald.
- ^ HACKERS: Fisher Stevens A.K.A. The Plague Interview. YouTube.
- ^ "Stuyvesant High School Alumni Association, Inc. - SHS | Stuyvesant High School". SHSAA. 2006-05-06. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
- ^ "Hackers (1995) filming location - Cyberdelia nightclub interiors". www.british-film-locations.com. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ "Hackers (1995) history: production". ibiblio.org. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (22 March 2013). "WipEout: The rise and fall of Sony Studio Liverpool". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ Bandon, Alexandra (25 August 1996). "Following, Ambivalently, in Mom or Dad's Footsteps (Published 1996)". The New York Times.
- ^ Celia Walden (2 February 2017). "Jonny Lee Miller: 'I'm still friends with my ex-wife Angelina'". Stuff.co.nz.
Yeah – we're still friends
- ^ "Hacked website". Archived from the original on February 29, 2000. Retrieved 2017-03-22. - Original MGM/UA website after defacement by the Internet Liberation Front
- ^ "Original MGM/UA website". Archived from the original on December 1, 1998. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
- ^ "Hackers Poster IMP Awards Gallery". impawards.com. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
- ^ ""Hack The Planet!" An Oral History Of Hackers' Soundtrack & Score". Grammy. September 15, 2020.
- ^ "RSD '20 Special Release: Various Artists - Hackers (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". RecordStoreDay.com.
- ^ "'Hackers' 25th Anniversary Soundtrack Album Announced". Film Music Reporter. March 9, 2020.
- ^ ELAINE DUTKA (19 September 1995). "Weekend Box Office : 3 New Films Open Quietly". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Hackers (1995) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
- ^ "Hackers (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ "Hackers". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ "HACKERS (1995) B". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (September 15, 1995). "Hackers". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
- ^ Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert (September 15, 1995). Siskel & Ebert At The Movies: Hackers (Television Production). Chicago, IL: Buena Vista Television. Retrieved 2010-04-23.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Stack, Peter (September 15, 1995). "Hackers Computes Visually". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
- ^ Clark, Mike (September 15, 1995). "Hackers accesses thrills". USA Today. pp. 4D.
- ^ Goddard, Peter (September 16, 1995). "Great road movie for info highway". Toronto Star. pp. C8.
- The Chicago Reader. Archived from the originalon 2004-05-01.
- ^ Kronke, David (September 15, 1995). "Hackers: World of Hip Computer Nerds". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ Hinson, Hal (September 15, 1995). "Hackers". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (October 6, 1995). "Hackers". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- EAN 5050070000122.
- ^ Softley, Iain. "Hackers". Amazon. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
- ^ "Hackers [20th Anniversary Edition] - Blu-ray". Shout! Factory. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
- ^ "Hackers Blu-ray (20th Anniversary Edition)". Retrieved 2022-06-23.
- ^ "DVD Talk". www.dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
- ^ "Hackers 4K Blu-ray (Collector's Edition)".
- ^ "Hackers Director Iain Softley Looks Back on Angelina Jolie, the Soundtrack". Collider. 30 September 2020.
- ^ "Hackers 2 Being Actively Discussed by Original Director". Screen Rant. 29 September 2020.
External links
- Hackers at IMDb
- Hackers at Box Office Mojo