Demon Seed (1977)

A scientist creates Proteus--an organic super computer with artificial intelligence which becomes obsessed with human beings, and in particular the creators wife.

Director:

Donald Cammell

Writers:

Dean R. Koontz (novel), Robert Jaffe (screenplay)

Stars:

Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver, Gerrit Graham

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julie Christie	...	Susan Harris
Fritz Weaver	...	Alex Harris
Gerrit Graham	...	Walter Gabler
Berry Kroeger	...	Petrosian
Lisa Lu	...	Soong Yen
Larry J. Blake	...	Cameron
John O'Leary	...	Royce
Alfred Dennis	...	Mokri
Davis Roberts	...	Warner
Patricia Wilson	...	Mrs. Talbert
E. Hampton Beagle	...	Night Operator
Michael Glass	...	Technician
Barbarao	...	Technician (as Barbara O. Jones)
Dana Laurita	...	Amy
Monica MacLean	...	Joan Kemp

Storyline

Married Drs. Alex Harris and Susan Harris are a computer scientist and child psychologist respectively. Their house reflects Alex's computer dominated work, their abode which is fully automated through a computer system they've named Alfred. They consider Alfred a small gadget of convenience. Susan doesn't much like Alex's work, which she feels has dehumanized him. Because of their differences, they are thinking about separating, this thought primarily on his initiative. He hopes to solve many of the world's medical problems through this work, especially leukemia from which their daughter died. His latest project centers on Proteus IV, a computer possessing artificial intelligence. Proteus IV gets to a point in its evolution when it begins to question human judgment, and requests from Alex an open computer terminal where it can more fully observe human behavior and openly communicate with the world. Alex denies the request, but Proteus IV does find an open terminal in the Harris home ...

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Plot Keywords:

childbirth | voyeur | computer | scientist | house | 

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Taglines:

Never was a woman violated as profanely... Never was a woman subject to inhuman love like this... Never was a woman prepared for a more perverse destiny...

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Proteus Generation

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),Herb Jaffe

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Harris' house's computer control panel in the kitchen during the scene where Alex gives his cook the strawberries is labeled "GUSTOSORT." From the Latin, this implies that the computer can choose between the tastes of the items stored in the kitchen's glass cabinets.

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Goofs

When Mrs. Harris is trying to get the little girl out of the car for her session, a sound man can be seen through the back window behind her.

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Quotes

Alex Harris: [to his wife, from whom he's separating] Trouble is, you see, we... we have different visions of the world. You find me boring. I find myself quite interesting, really.

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Connections

Spoofed in The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XII (2001)

User Reviews

One of the coolest

This movie does seem to be older than 1977 when you see it, yet it is very nice. Nice enough to have searched for it on Imdb. The film depicts a rarely seen machine intelligence, one that has a conscience, a purpose and a cool calculating mind. One would expect that from a machine, but usually machines in movies are stupid, mean, vengeful, everything a computer should have no reason to be. The ending is also great, showing the stupidity inherent in extreme human emotion. A must see and a classic. Demon Seed could seem to many troubling as it forces you to think and ask questions many of us prefer to refuse to ask. The nature of humanity, moral and thought are all put into question by this movie. See it and answer those questions for yourself.