Tron (1982)

Tron is the holy grail of early computer-animated movies. In the age after Pong on the Atari and predating even the Macintosh, mainframe-based color graphics and animation predominated in Tron but it had the semblance of a story that dovetailed with the characters and computer graphics. In this story, Jeff Bridges is a game programmer whose work is being stolen by the CEO of a megacorporation and its evil mainframe computer (David Warner as Dillinger and the MCP). Bridges has also developed a new technology that can digitize matter into data; turning it against him, the evil mainframe transports Bridges inside the virtual-reality world of its own datastores to pit him gladiator-style against his own games' champions. Bridges has courage though and is determined to surmount each challenge. Through their creator's "incarnation" and battle against totalitarian control, his digital creations show their devotion; the last words of one "program" is a reverent "O, my User!" Tron's most iconic scenes are the deadly lightcycle races and the final confrontation with the evil mainframe. Tron seems a bit dated by today's standards, certainly, but like Metropolis, it remains a seminal and impressive movie from its time. Spoofed in Family Guy so you know it's cool. 4.5 stars.