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jackspencerjr
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
262 Posts |
 Posted - 02/16/2006 : 3:47:24 PM
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OK, I know there is at least one other person here into RPGs.
I'd been trying to piece together a list of RPG movies Here's what I've got so far:
Mazes and Monsters
Ah, the infamous TV movies that subjected the world to Tom Hanks. Well, he's not as bad as some people say, but this movie gives as accurate a portrayal of RPGs as Twister does of stormchasers. Well, that's not fair. The stormchasers in twister were studying tornadoes, at least, and not, say, meteors. So that movie was a little more accurate.
Dungeons & Dragons
This is the big one. The movie every gamer was clammouring for. Well, no it wasn't. The big irony here is that whenever gamers would discuss the possibility of a D&D movie, the oft-repeated opinion was that they needed to have a real gamer make it because the suits won't understand it and screw it up. Well, this movie was made by a gamer and it was screwed-up even more than the worst the suits could have done. That said, it's not a very good roleplaying movie as it's just a fantasy movie with the D&D name slapped on it. I mean, if this is a RPG movie, then so are Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. They didn't even get the rights to any of the numerous "official" settings for D&D and the orignal setting they have is lackluster, to say the least.
Drungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God.
AKA The Elemental Might. This movie gives rise to the concept of unnecessary sequels. The first movie was so horrible and faired so poorly, one wonders why they bothered to make a sequels. Chances are, there was a contract involved that guarenteed the sequels. Although this movie obviously had a much smaller budget, It is a little better. It also does a slightly better job of portraying a D&D-like group, but it's still a stock fantasy movie with the name slapped on it.
Cloak & Dagger
Probably one of the better RPG movies out there about a young boy obsessed with roleplaying in an espionage RPG who wants to do that for real and then suddenly gets his wish. It's not the greatest film ever made, but it is entertaining.
That's all I have so far. I'm sure there are more. And not just movies that have a scene of characters playing, like E.T., or television series, like the Dungeons & Dragons cartoo and Kindred; the Embraced or shorts, like the excellent if low-budgeted The Gamers or the super corny Dragon Strike Video. I want to focus on feature films.
So, can you think of any I missed? |
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UnknownSubject
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Australia
212 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2006 : 11:03:18 PM
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Would you consider including movies were characters think they are LARPing or similar, only to find out that they really aren't?
Oh, and maybe "The Dungeonmaster" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089060/).
Spandex Cinema
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Latest Review - Two more "Bibleman" reviews from Heckler King and I take a look at "The Crow" |
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jackspencerjr
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
262 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2006 : 10:44:08 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by UnknownSubject
Would you consider including movies were characters think they are LARPing or similar, only to find out that they really aren't?
I don't know. What film did you have in mind? The Game? That one was a little...unconventional.
quote:
Oh, and maybe "The Dungeonmaster" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089060/).
I saw that one on the video store shelf for years, but never watched it. It doesn't sound like a RPG movie so much as a ... I dunno. computer game movie. Sort of like Cloak & Dagger has a video game cartridge as a plot McGuffin, but not quite.
I guess, ultimatel, there have been few portrayals of roleplaying in film because, well, no one cares. The fans don't want to watch other people play, and the rest of the world don't ever want to see that. |
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Representing Labor
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
62 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2006 : 5:34:54 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by jackspencerjr
I guess, ultimatel, there have been few portrayals of roleplaying in film because, well, no one cares. The fans don't want to watch other people play, and the rest of the world don't ever want to see that.
I wouldn't say that. Zathura and its predecessor, Jewmungee (phonetic), are both rather successfully entertaining movies about people playing games. Furthermore, the Japanese have produced hundreds of comics and movies about people playing card/board/role-playing games. Yu-Gi-Oh, for example, is a comic about a kid who plays cards with other kids.
One can also make the case that movies are the ultimate role playing experiences, but I have neither the time nor the proclivity to make it. |
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TheFoywonder
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
833 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2006 : 8:41:54 PM
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The TV series Kindred: The Embrace was based on Vampire: The Masquerade.
Someone really ought to make a Tunnels & Trolls flick.
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Matrixprime
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2006 : 10:05:33 PM
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Foy, if you're gonna go that far, I'd LOVE to see a TORG flick.
Technically, they did a test run anyway - the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Sky Captain - both in a similar vein. Heroes traveling through various genres that have diced up Earth, using fantastic Tech and superpowers to fight pulp villains and demons in a France ruled by the Cyberpapacy.....
....sorry, just geeked there.
Regarding the D&D movie; Dragon Magazine, TSR/Wizards magazine, ran massive articles on how awesome the movie was going to be, how the cast played D&D after shoots, etc. The dwarf especially, got into it. In interviews they carried on about how gaming made them understand their characters better. Being as none of them follow any of the rules of D&D, or even match to their classes, or have the depth of a 3 min sketch, makes you wonder what the hell happened to the final stage, huh.
My contribution is a bit afield/scattered, but it's anything I'd rope into a good RPG flick, inspired by, or what gets me goin'.
If you count the beautiful cinematics, Warcraft III and its expansion also have a pen and paper RPG (a beautiful twist of irony, a RTS spawned a MMORPG which spawned a Pen & Paper, which was the inspiration for the RTS)
Also, Final Fantasy Advent Children.
Its Japanese, but Parasite Eve, a pretty intriguing RPG, spawned a live action movie in Japan.
If you include anime, Final Fantasy Unlimited was pretty good, and a spin off of the RPG games. I'd also throw in the Robotech series, since Palladium did an EXTREMELY faithful RPG adaptation. Plus, you can get the entire series remastered, and Harmony Gold is finally doing a Sentinels anime series (of which I have all 21 or so Jack McKinney novelizations, so I'm pretty thrilled on that).
Buffy and Angel both have RPG's now, but Angel has a very Dark Conspiracy vibe to it.
of course, the one film that kept getting thrown on while we gamed, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The fact that in a homebrewed game, a friend created ships that were faster in full retreat than going forward, but he had to yell 'Run Away!' to do so...
Wild Wild West has a great Deadlands vibe (probably why I enjoy watching it).
Harsh Realm was an entire series about soldiers stuck in an RPG inspired virtual environment.
Of course, Existenz and 13th Floor are *technically* RPG flicks, as they both center around a virtual reality game.
The Conan flicks and Aliens were also usually on or running before/after/during gaming sessions.
Don't know about the TV series (still haven't watched the set I bought) but the Lone Gunmen from XFiles (which is a great Conspiracy X setting, or Dark Conspiracy) were very much like most of the parties we formed in modern settings, and in at least one they had to pry the long haired one from a gaming table, by saying 'Your kung fu is superior' (a nice Mitnick reference for those who got it).
And last, the Spiderman and first two Batman films always puts me in the mood to play Heroes Unlimited.
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And now its me too:
http://matrixprime.blogspot.com |
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jackspencerjr
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
262 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 3:50:59 PM
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Heh. If you're going to count stuff like that, we should also count the Dragon Strike video which came with the Dragon Strike board game by TSR. The video is incredibly cheesy. I really ought to write a nice Nugget review for it.
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GalahadPC
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
380 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 5:24:30 PM
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Does a TV series based on a fictional RPG qualify?
Representing Labor's post reminded me about the .Hack series and Playstation games, about the players of an online RPG where players start going into comas, one player actually finds himself inside the game while thinking he's still just playing, and an AI program in the form of a small girl wants to be "born," while evading hunter programs designed to kill her.
What was pretty cool about the first series was that almost the entire show is from the perspective of the characters in the game, and when we see real-world events, they're in quiet black-and-white, with title cards like a silent movie. |
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jackspencerjr
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
262 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 8:14:01 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by GalahadPC
Does a TV series based on a fictional RPG qualify?
Well, shucks. I was thinging of sticking to features, but if we include TV series, there's also the D&D cartoon from the 80's.
Not everyone does, but I draw a distinction between pencil & paper RPGs and compter/video game RPGs. As said in the IMMORTAL DIALOG of the afore mentioned Dragon Strike Video:
Player: Is this like a video game?
Dragon Master: Sort of. But it uses the most powerful information processor in the world: your brain! |
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GalahadPC
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
380 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 8:16:49 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by jackspencerjr
Player: Is this like a video game?
Dragon Master: Sort of. But it uses the most powerful information processor in the world: your brain!
Wow... That sounds like it would make a great nugget review. :) |
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jackspencerjr
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
262 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 8:16:49 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by TheFoywonder
Someone really ought to make a Tunnels & Trolls flick.
Well, Ken St Andre keeps working on a Tunnels & Trolls novel. Maybe it will become more complete than the ColecoVision cartridge.
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jackspencerjr
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
262 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 8:17:48 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by GalahadPC
Wow... That sounds like it would make a great nugget review. :)
Oh, you have no idea...
:D |
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TheFoywonder
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
833 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 8:33:07 PM
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Another role-playing game move, sort of, is SHAKMA. Not actually based on an RPG; SHAKMA has a bunch of pre-med students getting together in the facility after hours to play a live action fantasy role playing game only to get killed off by a psychotic experimental lab monkey. The movie has unlimited hit points on the silly scale as well as a +4 Christopher Atkins performance.
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jackspencerjr
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
262 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 8:45:17 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by TheFoywonder
Another role-playing game move, sort of, is SHAKMA. Not actually based on an RPG; SHAKMA has a bunch of pre-med students getting together in the facility after hours to play a live action fantasy role playing game only to get killed off by a psychotic experimental lab monkey. The movie has unlimited hit points on the silly scale as well as a +4 Christopher Atkins performance.
That's a good'un that I was unaware of. thank you.
According to IMDb, Roddy McDowall's character is named Sorensen. There is a guy named Jared A. Sorensen who writes RPGs. That's just too weird for words. Like in the Captain Marvel cliffhanger where they refer to the Malcom Expedition, but I kept hearing "Malcom X-pedition"
Jared's site is over here for those who are interested. http://www.memento-mori.com/ |
Edited by - jackspencerjr on 02/20/2006 8:49:50 PM |
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TheFoywonder
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
833 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 10:06:38 PM
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Definatly worth tracking down a copy of.
Now Playing in Foyeurism at Schlocktoberfest.Com:
BALLAD OF THE NASTY HERO - An overlooked gem of 80s action cheese gets it due
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kdraut
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
343 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2006 : 09:43:52 AM
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Back when MechWarrior 2 was the Latest Thing(tm), there were rumors a-plenty about a BattleTech movie. I know one studio was contacted about the CGI work for the 'mechs, but that's about it.
It's best that it died on the vine. The end result would probably would have been a RobotJox-style cheese fest.
http://www.kdraut.com/photo |
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