Movie Inspiration, Anything else stand out? Options

[JonathanC]

Has anyone mentioned The Warriors yet?

[HullBreach]

Oh heres a freakin goldmine of run hooks for you:

The Shield

Best damn police drama ever! Vick Mackey is kinda how I pictured Hatchetman before the...uh..."changes" he went through.

[hyzmarca]

I deliberated about starting a new movie thread or bringing back this one. As much as I'd like a dedicated thread to discuss the SR implications of this particular movie, I cannot, in good conscious, create another movie thread. Moral decency compels me to set a good example by resurrecting an old movie thread which fits my topic quite well.

The movie, my friends, is Hard Candy and it is, in my opinion, the Single Greatest Shadowrun Movie Ever Made.

What makes Hard Candy so special? Well I can't tell you because that would spoil the entire movie. It is one of those things that just grips you from beginning to end but loses some of its power once everything has been explained. Its strength is in its ambiguity and that ambiguity is played for all it is worth. It is something that should be watched fresh. But, it is the single grittiest movie I've ever seen. It is one of those films where there is no good or bad, black or white, or up or down. You've just got characters doing what they do. The movie doesn't tell you who to root for, it just tells you what happens. That is quite rare in modern storytelling.

[ Spoiler ]

Okay, spoiler tags, now. Don't say I didn't warn you. If you've seen the movie, I'd love to discuss it's pertinence to Shadowrun within spoiler tags so that those who want to enjoy it to its fullest can do so.

Hard Candy is best described as Surburban Shadowrun. It isn't big crime for big money. There are no gunfights and there is no breaking and entering, no robbery either.It is, instead, the story of a perfect wetwork operation against a normal person. It starts out like a chick movie. A 14 year old female talks to a guy online and they meet at a coffe shop. He's a 34-year-old photographer but the creepiness of the age differents quickly fades away. While there is some flirtatious talk, he acts as the perfect gentleman and is very clear about what will not be happening until she is over the age of consent. She continues to come onto him and insists that they go back to his place so that she can get a copy of a Goldfrapp concert that he recorded. When he offers her a glass of water she says that she was told never to drink something she didn't pour herself and proceeds to make herself a screwdriver, and one for him, as well. She then insists that he take some photographs of her, which he does while still remaining a perfect gentleman until he passes out due to the drug that she put in his drink.

What happens next is the single most psychologically violent movie that I've ever seen, and I'm seen some doozies. It contains a level of mental torture that no slasher flick could ever dream of approaching. As an audience member, one cannot help but feel for the victim. As the torture progresses, we learn about his lost love, his abusive aunt, and his career as a photographer. We also learn about his other photograph collection, one far less savory that the works he hangs on his walls, and we learn about his connection to a disappearance. Still, it is highly ambiguous.
He is a nice guy by all appearances, a victim, one with illegal pictures in a hidden wallsafe, but a victim nonetheless. She, on the other hand, presents herself as an avenger throughout her the torture, laying the blame for everything that happens squarely onto him and pointing out his every little flaw. Her strength, her intelligence, her cuteness, and her apparent righteousness make it difficult not to root for her, as well, up to a point. here is one moment where every man in the audience will be against her, certainly. It is impossible to watch that scene without felling the anxiety or doing to self-check just to be sure.
But, we know nothing about her. All we know is that every word she has said is a lie, she has planned everything from the beginning and intentionally used false details to distance herself from the operation. She is, the consummate professional. She controls the situation from the very begining, manipulates everything to serve her propose. She even manipulates her victim, first to make him suffer as much as is possible, and then to convince him that the only way to end his suffering is suicide. And in the end, she leave behind no evidence that is was anything but a suicide, the perfect murder, but we still don't know if she was a hired professional, a friend or loved one of the missing girl, or simply a serial killer who is far more evil than her victim could ever be. All we do know for sure is that she hates Goldfrapp.

And if there were an Oscar for best castration scene, this film would have won it.

[Kyoto Kid]

...just viddied Clockwork Orange the other night (sorry. the lingo kind of sticks). I must say, seeing it on the big screen in the Cinema again after having played SR for a number of years now made me think a bit.

Society is basically on the rocks.

Gangs like Alex and his droogs run rampant and wantonly indulge in what they term "Ultraviolence" and other unsavoury acts on a nightly basis. This violence is not just limited to other groups of "droogs" but also perpetrated against the citizenry at large.

The use of drugs (Milk Plus) to enhance and heighten the experience

The use of distinctive street slang.

The police portrayed as a a brutal military-like organistion. (not unlike the description of the UK National Police in the London Sourcebook and Shadows of Europe)

People in power using those less fortunate (in this case the criminal element) to advance their own political agenda (just insert Johnsons and Corps where needed).

True there were no guns, no magic, & no meta races but these aside I could see distinct parallels to the societal setting as portrayed in Shadowrun.

[Kagetenshi]

Debbie Does Dallas.

~J

[Kyoto Kid]

[Wounded Ronin]

The Best of The Best just inspired me this weekend. It's got Midwestern auto workers with mullets battling robotic and philosophical asians. How much more SR can you get?

[Thane36425]

Since this topic comes up so often, perhaps it should be stickied up top?

[Kagetenshi]

Stickying is not a replacement for the search feature.

~J

[Grinder]

[Wounded Ronin]

[fourstring_samur...]

Payback with mel gibson.

TOTALLY shadowrun.

one of the few i think actually gets the mood right.



EDIT: i just used the search engine(yay me!), and it seems i'm the first person to mention Payback as an SR film!

WOOOO! WOOOOHOOOO!!!

[BullBear]

I'm surprised no has mentioned Streets of Fire.

Perfect inspiration for low tech runs involving music.

Also, Eddie and the Cruisers (since On the Run is basically a retelling)

[Grinder]

Can you give me a short description of the movie?

[BullBear]

A pop idol is kidnapped by a biker gang (the bombers), so her ex-soldier, ex-boyfriend is called to rescue her.

fairly simple story and plot, however it's the combination of costumes (30's, 50's, 80's, and dystopia), sets (fluorescent lights, sewer smog, always raining, etc), and musical background that really scream Shadowrun to me.

Here. Watch the trailer and tell me it's not Shadowrun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5ucfBvOmIU

Anyway, here's more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streets_of_fire

[tisoz]

I did a search and did not see this title come up. It is not anything really violent or cyberpunk, but it helps catch a mood of the 80's.

Mr. Mom with Michael Keaton. The movie captures US attitudes towards the Japanese business takeover, japanese corporate culture, morning calisthenics at the job, etc..

[DuckEggBlue Omeg...]

Just because I happened to see it the other day, Planet of the Cannibals.