Hackers is a movie released in 1995 that follows the misfortunes of young hacker Dade Murphy (aka 'Crash Override'/'Zero Cool'). It was written by Rafael Moreu and directed by Iain Softley.

The movie failed to make a profit at the box-office, but has developed a cult following from its video release, and it is also known as the first major film to star future Academy Award-winner Angelina Jolie. Despite their lack of accuracy, metaphorical graphical sequences are used well as a substitute for what would normally be hours of boring text screens and typing.

Contents

1 Plot 2 Background 3 Ratings 4 Technical 5 External link

Plot

In his childhood, Dade is convicted as the youngest ever hacker for crashing 1507 systems in one day and causing a drop in the NYSE. As a result, he is banned from using a computer or touch-tone telephone until the day of his 18th birthday. On his 18th birthday Dade is forced to move to New York City where his mother gets a new job and he attends Stuyvesant High School and becomes quickly recognized for his hacking abilities.

Ramon Sanchez ('Phantom Phreak') a member of a dysfunctional group of hackers in Dade's new school who spots his skill during bouts of Dade's revenge with the beautiful Kate Libby ('Acid Burn') played by actress Angelina Jolie. Other members of the group include Emmanuel Goldstein ('Cereal Killer'), Paul Cook ('Lord Nikon') and Joey Pardella.

The younger Joey Pardella, the wannabe hacker of the group, hacks into an oil company supercomputer to prove to the rest of the group that he is a leet hacker. He downloads part of a garbage file that ends up being part of a worm written by the oil company's computer security expert Eugene 'The Plague' Belford. The partially downloaded file can prove that 'The Plague' is stealing money from the company via salami slicing. 'The Plague' enlists the clueless US Secret Service to recover the file by claiming it is the code to a computer virus that will capsize the companies oil tanker fleet.

The aggressive tactics of 'The Plague' and 'Hacker Enemy Number 1', Agent Richard Gill cause the hackers to seek revenge in the only way they know how, electronically.

A spectacular electronic battle against 'The Plague' and against time (before they are arrested) saves the day in typical hero style. All good entertainment.

Background

The movie stars Jonny Lee Miller as Murphy, Angelina Jolie as Libby, with Fisher Stevens as Belford. The protagonist character, Zero Cool (Miller), is based on Robert T. Morris. A Phantom Phreak may have gotten his name from an early hacker who wrote for Phrack Magazine.

This movie quotes the Hacker Manifesto (written by The Mentor) from Phrack magazine. The person reading the manifesto was holding a 2600 magazine, not a print out of Phrack. Also, the name of Emmanuel Goldstein (a.k.a. Cereal Killer) is borrowed from one of the editors of 2600. Emmanuel Goldstein (real name: Eric Corley) helped advise the movie makers when it came to the sub-hacker culture.

The racing game briefly featured in the movie was a video prototype created during development of wipEout.

Ratings

• Argentina:13
• Australia:M
• Canada:PG
• Germany:12
• Ireland:15
• Singapore:PG
• Spain:13
• UK:12
• USA:PG-13 (certificate #33561)

Technical

• Runtime: 107 min
• Country of origin: USA
• Languages: English / Italian / Japanese / Russian
• Color Format: Color (DeLuxe)
• Sound Mixes: DTS-Stereo / DTS

External link

• Hackers (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113243/) at the Internet Movie Database