Top 9 movies and documentaries about computing

Some say they dream in code, eat code, and even "piss" code, but personally computing is also present in my moments of relaxation, especially in movies and documentaries.

As an anecdote, my wife regularly makes fun of my taste in cinema, claiming that I only watch movies about computing, entrepreneurship, or space (which is almost true).

You'll understand then that it was unthinkable for me not to dedicate an article to the best movies and documentaries about computing!

#8 - The Computer Wore Menace Shoes (Les cinglés de l'informatique)

Genre: Documentary

This documentary retraces the history of modern computing and microcomputers, told "American-style" from the end of World War II up to 1995.

Recommended by a reader of the blog, I discovered it recently and devoured it. The only downside is that the documentary really feels "dated," but for those like me who are nostalgic for that era (which I didn't even live through), that actually adds to the charm of the footage.

Available on Youtube

#7 - Inside Bill's Brain

Genre: Documentary

I'm not a big fan of Bill Gates, and yet I found the documentary interesting. I knew his story through the lens of the modern computing world in which he played a major role, but this documentary barely touches on that.

"Inside Bill's Brain" focuses on the post-Microsoft Bill Gates, his passion for reading, and above all the actions taken through his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

We see his work fighting Polio in Nigeria, the search for a solution for treating fecal matter in developing countries, and a few other topics.

It's always hard to know how impartial such a film (with the participation of the person concerned) really is, and to what extent the facts may have been spun in his favor, but the documentary remains inspiring nonetheless.

Available on Netflix

#6 - Silicon Cowboys

Genre: Documentary

This documentary tells the story of the company Compaq and its goal of dethroning IBM, the most powerful tech company of the time, in the laptop market of the 1980s.

It's stories like this one that shaped today's computing world, and yet they remain too little known to the general public.

Available on Netflix

#6 - Blackberry

Genre: Biopic

Blackberry is a movie (originally produced as a mini-series) that depicts, as its name suggests, the meteoric rise and fall of one of the flagship tech products of the early 21st century, the Blackberry.

The film is captivating, and its aesthetics and narration bring to mind the fabulous series Halt and Catch Fire!

Available on Amazon Prime (Paramount+)

#5 - Pirates of Silicon Valley

Genre: Biopic

I sometimes feel like a new movie about Steve Jobs' life comes out every 2 years, and yet, this one remains unbeatable in my eyes. Of course you have to look past the film's age, since it dates from 1999, but if you only watch one movie about the history of Apple and Microsoft, it should be this one.

Note that the film focuses on computing from the early 1970s to the late 1980s — don't expect to see a Steve Jobs like the one from his 2000s keynotes!

If you find a link to watch it legally online, feel free to share it with me so I can add it to the article!

#4 - Snowden

Genre: Biopic

I put this movie in fourth place not because of its direction (which remains very good) but because it's a film of public interest.

If you're not familiar with the story of Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who warned the world's population about the massive surveillance carried out by the United States under cover of the NSA, you need to see this film!

Available on Netflix

#3 - The Internet's Own Boy

Genre: Documentary

I had already mentioned Aaron Swartz's life in my 2019 reading challenge, where I explained that I discovered this genius's life through a magnificent documentary about his (too short) life.

Discover the life of this extraordinary teenager, co-founder of Reddit but also a contributor to the RSS and Markdown format specifications before he was even 20 years old.

Available on Youtube

#2 - The Imitation Game

Genre: Historical film

If you truly love computing the way I do, this film might just be able to bring a tear to your eye — not because of its sadness, but because of its incredible ability to make you feel something as you (re)discover the life of Alan Turing and the birth of computing as we know it today.

A magnificent and accessible film (even for newcomers) that you absolutely must see!

Available on Netflix

#1 - The Social Network

Genre: Biopic

In addition to topping this list, it's also my favorite movie of all time, in any category. David Fincher's magnificent work, Jesse Eisenberg's flawless performance, and above all the music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross make it, in my eyes, a masterpiece.

Despite the fact that Mark Zuckerberg has disputed the accuracy of part of the film, it's easy to understand that it's probably not that far from the truth. I find the film captivating, fair, endearing, infuriating (at the right moments), and for my part... motivating.

Facebook remains a landmark in the history of computing, the web, and our society, even if it's hard today to determine whether its creation has brought more good than bad into our world.

Available on Netflix

As a bonus

To wrap up this list, I'd also like to share a documentary released a few months ago about the creation of VueJS and the story of its creator Evan You, which I loved but which didn't really fit into the same category as the previous works.