They're Made Out Of Meat
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN points to it as the best filmed version of the story whenever aliens or the nature of intelligence come up.
What it is
A 2004 short film adaptation of Terry Bisson's story "They're Made Out of Meat", in which aliens discuss the astonishing discovery of meat-based intelligent life. It stars Tom Noonan and Ben Bailey.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 2 different months, 2023 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec Borrible · 2023-05 · on “Alien Supercivilizations Absent from 100k Nearby Galaxies (2015)”
I always liked the idea and think O'Reagan's short is the best take on it. A black and white version set in Les Deux Magots, Sartre and Beauvoir at a table in the background, would be nice. [LINK] [this video]
Recommends api · 2026-04 · on “They're Made Out of Meat (1991)”
Great short film version: [this video] I do wonder sometimes if someone out there is waiting for something actually intelligent to emerge down here.