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infamous hugh jackman "swordfish" hack scene

N

Neon Stowe

Comedy

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Cited on HN 5 times, 2019–2026, never outright recommended score 0

Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

Used as a joke or shorthand for ridiculous movie hacking and unrealistic depictions of software work.

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.

1 citations · 4 jokes · Comedy

Film & TV clipsSecurity & hacking Comedy Arts, Comedy, Music & Film

5 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

M

@MichaelApproved Dec 2019 Cites it

on HN thread Music for Programming (2011)

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]

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F

@foxfired Apr 2020 Makes a joke

on HN thread Vim rendered on a cube for no reason

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]

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V

@vijucat May 2020 Makes a joke

on HN thread Career Choice Tip: Cybercrime Is Mostly Boring

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]

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A

@acidburnNSA Sep 2022 Makes a joke

on HN thread The movie Hackers was released 27 years ago

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

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W

@whynotmaybe Feb 2026 Makes a joke

on HN thread Tesla Sales Down 55% UK, 58% Spain, 59% Germany, 81% Netherlands, 93% Norway

Just like watching the movie Hackers and hearing how he hacked the gibson or the 7 screens setup in swordfish : [this video]

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