Talks to Watch

infamous hugh jackman "swordfish" hack scene

447K views · Apr 17, 2014 · 2:00 · 0 HN recommenders · 5 mentions · discussed 2019–2026

The scene from the 2001 film Swordfish in which Hugh Jackman's character is forced to hack while under pressure. The clip is widely known for its absurd depiction of hacking.

Why Hacker News points people here: Used as a joke or shorthand for ridiculous movie hacking and unrealistic depictions of software work.

What Hacker News said 5

Cites itMichaelApprovedDec 2019

“This is a reference to the ridiculous scene from the 2001 movie Swordfish”

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This is a reference to the ridiculous scene from the 2001 movie Swordfish where Hugh Jackman is writing a program to hack into a bank network. this video

in “Music for Programming (2011)” · view on HN
JokefoxfiredApr 2020

“Turns out he was just assembling the crypto algorithm using vim.”

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And here I was making fun of the Swordfish hack scene [1]. Turns out he was just assembling the crypto algorithm using vim. [1]: this video

in “Vim rendered on a cube for no reason” · view on HN
JokevijucatMay 2020

“as a counterexample of what hacking does NOT look like”

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This article missed a great opportunity to post that hacking scene from Swordfish as a counterexample of what hacking does NOT look like: this video

in “Career Choice Tip: Cybercrime Is Mostly Boring” · view on HN
JokeacidburnNSASep 2022

“That "building the worm" scene has got to be my favorite depiction of software development of all time.”

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That "building the worm" scene has got to be my favorite depiction of software development of all time. this video

in “The movie Hackers was released 27 years ago” · view on HN
JokewhynotmaybeFeb 2026
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Just like watching the movie Hackers and hearing how he hacked the gibson or the 7 screens setup in swordfish : this video

in “Tesla Sales Down 55% UK, 58% Spain, 59% Germany, 81% Netherlands, 93% Norway” · view on HN