I watched the Matrix recently and it got me thinking about other scifi fIlms that had a similar premise. Can anyone think of a film that predates "Tron" which involved an alternate reality that was governed by a digital/computer a.i. which kept a tight control over its inhabitants? If there aren't any then I think it truly makes "Tron" a genre defining film.

THX 1138?

The highly controlled underground society wasn't a virtual/false one. It was still part of the real world.

There was a Star Trek (OS) episode, with a colony of people who did not know they were on an asteroid traveling though space run by a computer program.
The World is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky

Anyone ever see "The Starlost", a 70s show about isolated communities of humans on a giant computer controlled ship. It did not last for long but it was one of the weirdest sci fi shows I saw as a kid.

Ah yes, that's a good one! I saw that episode a couple years ago and I liked how the story centered a lot on McCoy.

The Thirteenth Floor.
It came out at about the same time as The Matrix, and is better in many ways.

I second that. It's available on Netflix, and the ending is worth waiting for. Although the Matrix is a more enjoyable movie, The Thirteenth Floor is arguably a smarter story.

As for pre-dating TRON, I'll have to give that some thought. Does seem like there would be something Twilight Zone or Outer Limits that could do that. Not sure if the TZ Eye of the Beholder qualifies, that was an alternate reality and not a control. I bet there's something in those shows that would fit the bill.

Re: Matrix....always seemed like a reimagined Dark City to me. Love both flicks, both had excellent style.

TRON...brilliant. The more you learn about computers the more you can read into it.

Not pre-dating Tron, but, how about the slightly freaky and often overlooked eXistenZ from Cronenberg.

A significant stretch to the parameters asked for, but what about "Westworld" with Yule Brenner? Pretty good movie too, saw a lot of influences that have been seen in later movies...



...the outer, greater world was not affected by the problems in the movie.

I actually saw this one in the theatre and really liked it. I can't believe I totally forgot about it though!

I can. While I enjoyed it, I did find it forgettable.



The Jedi Master

for anyone interested in a similar subject matter, I can recommend the book "Old Twentieth" by Joe Haldeman

http://www.amazon.com/Old-Twentieth-Joe-Haldeman/dp/0441013430

Panzermeyer, Tron must be considered historic when put in the context as you presented it (genre defining), but there is such a huge gap between it and The Matrix that it makes me wonder why it wasn't jumped on by Hollywood after Tron came out. I mean, wasn't Tron successful enough? I did however notice that the waters were tested with a show called Max Headroom, but that was waaaaaay more "pop" than Tron was cerebral.

How about Logans Run?

That's a close example since it did indeed have a separate "reality" from the rest of the world but it was run my humans, not any kind of computer or A.I.

I'm not usually a fan of remakes but a remake of Logan's Run could be great if the right people are involved.

So what was the computer/AI that sent Logan out to find Sanctuary, and he caused to shut down with spectacular results at the end of the film?

Ok, I had forgotten about that. Good point. I hadn't seen Logan's Run in over 20 years so I guess I need to watch it again and refresh my memory.

There were also the 2 Lawnmower Man films, but they're not that great in comparison.
Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe, the Scott Bros' favorites, were in Virtuosity, also largely forgettable.

However, while AI and VR were big in those, it wasn't "people living in a computer" like in TRON or The Matrix.

As to why, that's easy. Until The Matrix, no film like that made good money! So why do it?




The Jedi Master

Lawnmower man, also a lesser of the films based on a Stephen King book.

What about "Freejack".

Not alternate reality. Bizarre mix of time travel and people being stored in a computer but still interacting with the real world.





The Jedi Master

I suppose in one way, the "computer alternate reality" genre is just an evolution of the "dream alternate reality" genre best illustrated by the Wizard of Oz, or possibly even the pure "alternate fantasy world" concept set forth by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or the Chronicles of Narnia.

Yeah, I agree with that. Notice how in almost all of these examples, the alternate world is almost always either a dystopia or one with a powerful force that exerts control over everything.

They're returning to that again.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1623205/



The Jedi Master