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9 Must Watch Movies for Programmers in 2020 🎬

OM on October 04, 2020

Movies inspire you to be a smarter and a better person, or in our case a better programmer. Today, when the world is hyper-connected, movies are th...
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huncyrus profile image
huncyrus • Edited

I would like to recommend also:

  • Sneakers - from Robert Redford
  • Halt and Catch fire
  • Pirates of Silicon Valley where they do not idolize Jobs and the rest
  • Wargames (a hidden gem I believe)
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sunpech profile image
Steven S.

Halt and Catch Fire x 100000000. The most underrated tv show about retro tech age of the 1980s going forward. Lee Pace and Mackenzie Davis, both amazing and also so very underrated in Hollywood.

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ajax27 profile image
Shaun Collins

Excellent series

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aaronclimbs profile image
Aaron Keisler

This was an incredible series.

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sqlrob profile image
Robert Myers

I absolutely love Sneakers, but its treatment of crypto drives me crazy.

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mmanousos profile image
Melissa Manousos

Sneakers is a favorite from when I was younger. (My mom had a crush on Robert Redford but the whole cast is incredible.)

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pzelnip profile image
Adam Parkin

Was just going to say Sneakers as well. Classic movie, super entertaining and was so ahead of it's time (all the discussion about whomever controls the flow of information controls society, etc).

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volkmarr profile image
Volkmar Rigo

Halt and Catch fire is awesome!

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darshkul24 profile image
Darsh

I also recommend one here is the name : Hacker

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aminmansuri profile image
hidden_dude • Edited

I'd say the best movies (in order of importance) are:

  1. General Magic (2018)

  2. Triumph of the Nerds (1996)

  3. High Score (2020)

  4. Sillicon Valley (2014)

  5. Hidden Figures (2016)

  6. Tron (1982)

The first two are really eye opening in terms of what happened and how startup succeed/fail.

And they aren't so fictionalized like "Pirates of Sillicon Valley" and others that took a lot of liberties with reality.

For fiction "Silicon Valley" is good because of all the jabs it takes at the expense of Silicon Valley culture.

Hidden Figures, while not directly related to modern CS, is pretty good too because of the illustration of the life of a "computer" back in the day when they were people!

The Imitation Game could have been good but it portrayed Turing as the ONLY genius and as an annoying person. I thought that was weak and unnecessary.

And Tron for it's profound innaccuracy... but high nostalgia factor for 1982. :)

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babadee08 profile image
'Damilare Durojaye

Also include

Download: The true story of the internet

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Download_The...
I'm sure it's available somewhere on youtube.

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aminmansuri profile image
hidden_dude • Edited

Hmm.. saw the first episode of "Download" but so far I find it to be a bit too over dramatized. While not factually incorrect they paint a more negative picture than necessary at times.

For example, they paint Bill Gates as being hard on his employees. But most people know that he actually gave stock options much more freely than others of the time. And was far nicer than people like Steve Jobs. The problem with a lot of these movies is they always want a villian and a good guy.. when the reality is that there was a strong competition between companies and yes.. sometimes they did bad things.. but they weren't entirely bad people either.

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Patrick Nelson

This one is great! Pretty cool to see my own company on there (eBay, episode 3 "Bubble") even though all the footage is like 12yrs old now, hah.

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aminmansuri profile image
hidden_dude

I haven't seen that one. I'll check it out.

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patricknelson profile image
Patrick Nelson

General Magic has been on my queue for a while.

Triumph of the Nerds was new to me; thanks for the recommendation!

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ombharatiya profile image
OM

General Magic is awesome, I have watched it. Also Silicon Valley.

I'll watch the rest, thanks for sharing this amazing list and your suggestions, mate! πŸ€—πŸ€—

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Yash_Jaiswal

High score all the way πŸ™ŒπŸ™Œ

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Daniel J. Summers

Office Space - it teaches valuable lessons on decimal point precision and the importance of paperwork!

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linuxwrangler

A classic. At my dot-com 1.0 job we always planned to have an Office Space watch party but, hey, it was dot-com 1.0 so the office didn't last that long.

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Daniel J. Summers

All kidding aside, it's good to watch so you can spot when that stuff starts happening in your office. Some of it is harmless, but it's a good shared reference to point out silly things without having to come right out and call them silly.

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endymion1818 profile image
Ben Read • Edited

See also:

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linuxwrangler profile image
linuxwrangler

I saw War Games when it came out. I know I shouldn't be bothered by lack of attention to detail in movies but, hey, attention to detail is how we types live.

My college roommate and I actually owned the Cermetek modem used in the film. Hey, 1200 bps was living in the fast lane when everyone else was stuck at 300 - and "only" $600 in mid-1980s dollars. Anyway, they had all the switches set wrong. I guess randomly flipping them up and down was more "cinematic".

And the scene where he hacks a payphone with a pull-tab he finds on the road?? Removable pull-tabs on cans had been replace a decade or so before movie came out because of litter issues and the fact that people kept dropping them in the can then accidentally swallowing them.

Unfortunately those and other sins dampened my enthusiasm for the movie.

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ombharatiya profile image
OM

Yes, that I missed to add. Amazing movies.

Must Watch

Thanks, mate for sharing! 🀘

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arieberesteanu profile image
Arie Beresteanu

Snowden

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omarkhatib profile image
Omar

hackermovie.club/ ,
This is a site for this purpose , if you like to see and more.

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lamambasan profile image
San Lamamba

Thank you a lot lol I have been looking up for a site like that but always finding myself to Reddit all the time

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justgeekgirl profile image
Jennifer

Oh, and I am surprised no one had mentioned the IT Crowd.

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volkmarr profile image
Volkmar Rigo

IT Crowd is extremely funny.

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andreiromulus profile image
andreiromulus

After 10 years ... I still come up with the line ... have you tried turning it off and on again...

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Wilsen HernΓ‘ndez

Mr. Robot is a must watch, and not just for programmers (although programmers will find it most interesting)

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B Jacquet

I don't think anyone mentioned

  • Ex Machina
  • eXistenZ
  • Ghost In The Shell (1995)
  • Mercury Rising

πŸ‘ŒπŸŽ¬

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Nicole A. Moore

Mr. Robot is a television show, not a movie, which you stated correctly at first.

The Hacktivists, The Internet’s Own Boy, Terms and Conditions May Apply, and Killswitch, are all documentaries about programming that I have repeatedly rewatched and I wholeheartedly hope others do, too.

Citizenfour is the only one I own that I haven’t watched yet.

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andrew snow

citizenfour is really great - the film 'snowden' is an eerie movie to watch having seen it, because the making of citizenfour is one of the things that is dramatized in it

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schnubb profile image
Schnubb • Edited

I'd like to add Hidden Figures!

Oh and of course: The Matrix

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David Dal Busco

"Pirates of Silicon Valley" is so cool.

It was "only" TV movie, kind of crazy that they weren't any theater movies so far, which was able to catch the spirit as this one did.

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ombharatiya profile image
OM

The way the makers of the movie depicted the evolution of PC in shaping the history looks quite relevant and interesting throughout. Also, good to see our heros Jobs and Gates.

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David Dal Busco

I liked their portrait, there weren't portrayed are perfect heroes as in typical Hollywood movies.

Looks like I gonna re-watch this movie pretty soon πŸ˜‰

Thank you for your list / share!

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iamrohitsawai profile image
Rohit Kiran Sawai

You forgot Snowden. Snowden is also one of the good movies.

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webdevinci profile image
webdevinci

Missed #1, Office Space. I subjectively don't think social network was anything great, and Jobs was garbage compared to Pirates of Silicon Valley.
@huncyrus nailed some good ones too: Sneakers, HCF, wargames

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kaoriaf profile image
kaoriaf

Blackhat (2015) is outstanding. Directed by Michael Mann, who makes few movies but every one a classic. Known for being meticulous about to detail, the coding sequences do not disappoint. It's also a hell of a thriller.

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harish1996

Since you included The Social Dilemma, it is only fitting that 'Zero Days' should be in the list. For ones who dont know what this is.. It is about how a computer virus designed by a entire country to destroy the nuclear program of iran, and its impacts.

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bbrizzi profile image
Benjamin Brizzi

List needs more Primer : imdb.com/title/tt0390384/

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alchermd profile image
John Alcher

Is my memory failing me or there wasn't any programming AT ALL in the movie Source Code? Both of Jake Gyllenhaal's character weren't remotely close to being programmers, aren't they? One is a solider and the other is a teacher.

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cben profile image
Beni Cherniavsky-Paskin

I enjoyed Dennou Coil a lot. A somewhat slow anime sci-fi mystery series about augmented reality. Less programming, more psycology though. The hacking they do portray is quite "3D flashy effects" which would normally annoy me, but in that universe it's pretty justified.

(Note that it may not be for kids, despite looking so. We watched it all family but later discovered it made our 5yo afraid to sleep alone :)

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Marie Haggberg

Fail Safe, 1964. Besides being a great thriller, this 56 year old film touches on the problematic aspects of technology we worry about today, including privacy concerns, its ability to distance us from others, and our ceding control to processes which can be impossible to understand as a whole. Highly recommended.

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MartΓ­n Vukovic

May I recommend Zero Days and Internet's own boy ?

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ombharatiya profile image
OM

Haven't watched Zero Days yet, how's it?

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mdev88 profile image
MartΓ­n Vukovic

I think it's super interesting, almost like a secret spies movie in documentary form XD

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ombharatiya profile image
OM

Will watch it, waiting for the next weekend. Thank you..

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justgeekgirl profile image
Jennifer

Might I also suggest:
Real Genius
Prime Risk

Prime Risk was a direct to video movie about accessing ATMs, which leads to uncovering a plot to destroy the national economy.

And Real Genius is, well, a funny movie.

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huperniketes profile image
Alfonso Guerra

The only mention of Real Genius.

Superprogrammer! πŸ‘‘

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svella profile image
Shon Vella

Disclosure (1994) with Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. It's the first movie that got computer technology and technology company politics and issues right, and very few movies since then have done it as well.

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legrandmawak

the serie : Halt & catch fire is a gem
also I would add Golden Eye since the Russian programmer is a fun bit to watch !

I almost forget to mention Jurassic Park, just for fun watching the teen girl managing a linux file system with a UI that exist no where (looks more like the Reboot, kid show)

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Jim Priest • Edited

Halt and Catch Fire. If you grew up in the 80s it's fantastic. If you grew up in the 80s and paid 4 figures for a beige box that is now slower than the CPU in your watch ... it's still fantastic. :)

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Mike Borozdin

The Travelling Salesman - youtube.com/watch?v=6ybd5rbQ5rU! Where else you can see people talking about P vs NP.

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cben profile image
Beni Cherniavsky-Paskin

I loved how the first minutes β€” literally the introduction of the protagonist as someone who's "proved non-existence of one-way functions in 2012" β€” establishes the movie as alternate history.
[Reality: Most people assume they exist but we're nowhere near proving or disproving that. OWFs remain a popular plot device in the speculative genre called Complexity Theory / Cryptography :-) cstheory.stackexchange.com/questio...]

For a low-budget, men-in-a-room movie, it has surprisingly good discussions of CS theory and possible consequences. The plot is... well there is not much plot :-) I was actually disappointed with a few scenes that go outside the room into vague territory (delusional or real? I wasn't sure). But overall I'm happy I watched it.

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spencerarcher

Goojara Techranc is a website with a simple and effortless interface which offers countless movies and TV series for its users to view, download, share and even upload for free. It is the perfect site to navigate in case users are troubled by sites with a faulty interface or streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon prime and Disney+ that offer subscriptions but only at a cost.

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deta19 profile image
mihai

whar aboout limitless?

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abea profile image
Alex Bea

The Founder is great, but I'd watch it as much as a cautionary tale. The main character was a predatory sociopath. Not exactly how I would want tech founders to build their businesses.

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zedentox profile image
Florian Lefèvre

Furthermore the main character is not the founder. A sad story...

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Luc

Here are a few more good ones:

  • Revolution OS
  • Swordfish
  • Enemy of the State
  • Antitrust
  • Matrix (duh) :)

I wish there were more tv series like Mr. Robot... Not so much the drama aspect of it, but the hacks are all spot on.

Thanks for this great list!!

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anulaibar profile image
Olle Hellgren

Swordfish LOL! Great movie! πŸ˜‚

youtube.com/watch?v=u1Ds9CeG-VY

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flemer profile image
flemer

Suggested Series [How to Sell Medicines Online (Fast)]
A series about a young programmer who creates a website to sell drugs

  • The series is based on a true story
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wobsoriano profile image
Robert

Episode 2 they use Vue lol

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morgboer profile image
Riaan Pietersen

Ah man! Cloak and Dagger - I've completely forgotten about that one! It's the one with the "web page" with a "secret link" on the homepage, right?! Dang, i need to try and get that and rewatch :D

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anulaibar profile image
Olle Hellgren

"Her" was pretty good - imdb.com/title/tt1798709/

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pcchynoweth profile image
Peter Chynoweth

Revolution OS

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Arpit

thanks man <3

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volkmarr profile image
Volkmar Rigo • Edited

23 - a german movie about a hacker, based on a true story. Careful: Its full of conspiracy theories.

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darkwiiplayer profile image
π’ŽWii πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈ

What about GitS?

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marlom profile image
Marlom Girardi • Edited

Devs (a series, not a movie) is also a good one.

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lady_ana_developer profile image
Ana

Interesting. I am going to try to see all of it

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bleestein profile image
Brian

Mythic Quest, via Apple+!

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king11 profile image
Lakshya Singh

Silicon Valley

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angelcervera profile image
Ángel Cervera Claudio

Office Space (1999): imdb.com/title/tt0151804/

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lukasz profile image
Lukasz • Edited

Person of Interest was a fun watch
DEVS was also alright
Ex Machina was good

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lukasz profile image
Lukasz

Person of Interest was a fun watch
DEVS was alright
Ex Machina was good

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keltroth profile image
Django Janny

You should also take a look at Devs :)

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markuseliasson profile image
Markus Eliasson

Takedown (from 2000) about Kevin Mitnick was fairly good if my memory serves me right
imdb.com/title/tt0159784/

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anulaibar profile image
Olle Hellgren

I'm surprised no-one mentioned The Net - a classic!

youtube.com/watch?v=6ya9GVSPiXs

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bruc3mackenzi3 profile image
Bruce MacKenzie

Great list but how could you leave out Triumph of the Nerds? It chronicles the story of the personal computer and rise of the consumer tech industry better than any other work!

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SoftwareDevPro

Officespace, classic must see

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dabjazz profile image
Yash_Jaiswal

Also include the Indie developer!

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ajax27 profile image
Shaun Collins

Halt and Catch Fire, not a movie but a great show

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Thomas Bnt β˜•

Mr Robot ❀️❀️❀️

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madza profile image
Madza

Thanks for the list! πŸ‘ I would also add IMDb links to these or atleast trailer, so its easier to get an overview of each πŸ˜‰

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bigmeel profile image
Jameel Tomlinson

Hey just a heads up, Mr. Robot is a TV series. Might get persons mixed up thinking its a single movie and get frustrated when ep 1 ends on the cliffhanger it does.

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ombharatiya profile image
OM

Sure, I'll add a message over there. Thanks for the suggestions, |

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Prateek Aher

My opinion is that the movie Source Code has very little to do with code.
And Mr. Robot is one of the few tv-shows which show real-world hacking correctly.

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mmanousos profile image
Melissa Manousos

I'd add to the list the documentary CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap

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TΓ³th KrisztiΓ‘n Gyula • Edited

I would recommend these. Not because these are inspiring but good tech action/drama:

  • Upgrade
  • Who Am I – Kein System ist sicher
  • Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
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jchlu profile image
Johnny C-L

I know it’s dumb, but so am I - β€œChuck” is still the life story most of us wish we had.

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Pete Stewart

DEVS (a miniseries) on FX is one of the best shows I’ve watched in the last year.

Not exactly realistic, but incredibly creative and artistic writing IMO.

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robotson profile image
lance robotson

There is a documentary about Claude Shannon I believed called The Bit Player that is pretty interesting

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John Selbie

The other Steve Jobs movie (the one directed by Danny Boyle and starring Michael Fassbender) was an excellent film. Not a biography - it's a character study.

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justgeekgirl profile image
Jennifer

Another suggestion is Unit 42 on Netflix. It is about a police unit that deals with cyber crimes.

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JosΓ© CΓ³rdova • Edited

Antitrust (2001) represents what a company would do to have the best technology at all costs.
Snowden (2016) shows the value of information in the right or wrong hands.

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Kevin Hoyt

Depending on how far you want to go back... The Net (1995). Sandra Bullock plays a hacker.

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stacktracy profile image
πŸ‘©β€πŸ’»Tracy A King

Hackers!!

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hellokyyt profile image
Kyle Harrison

Man, all of these are like my favorite movies and tv shows lmao

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Eric Macy

Don't forget Swordfish. Hugh Jackman is a hacker.

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davidolrik profile image
David Jack Wange Olrik
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r.giampietro

Documentary Triumph of the Nerds.

As others have said - Halt and Catch Fire, best series about tech by far.

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Arc Angelo Ibalio

Hmmm... no documentary that actually are stranger than fiction which relates to programming?

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Jakub T. Jankiewicz • Edited

"Antitrust" is more about programming, young Open Source programmer is hired by owner of big corporation (inspired by Bill Gates and Microsoft).
Also "Takedown" about capturing Kevin Mitnik.

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CoiMobile

Thanks, I am using Mobdro and enjoy movies, documentaries, news shows on my phone.
See also: coimobile.com

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Maxi Contieri

I am sad because I saw them all. So I'll wait for comments.

I'd add IT Crowd (an English series and Black Mirror, of course)

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Hana Hasanah

Ready Player One(Artificial Intellegence Technology's)