Shadowrun Master Movie List, Alphabetized even Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Switch to: Outline Switch to: Standard Linear+

[tisoz]

I went through all the movie threads that came up for my search and compiled this list. I will try to update it from time to time. When a new movie thread starts, feel free to cut and paste this list to the new thread. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

A couple of sources for more information about a title: The Internet Movie Database, Wikipedia

Master Movie List

15 Minutes
6th Day, The
8 mm
24
28 Days Later
Abyss, The
Aeon Flux [bioware, "corporate" enclaves, high-tech gear, horrible plague, tooth compartments, cyberware, arm transplants, phys ads]
AD Police [sprawls, cyborgs, police state, drones, corporate enclaves]
AI [artificial intelligence, sprawls, ecological destruction, drones]
Akira [sprawls, go-gangs, ecological destruction, police state, "Awakened" mutants]
Alien series
Alien Nation
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
Alone in the Dark
American History X
American Psycho
American Yakuza Films
Among Wolves/Les Loups Entre Eux [SR style teamwork and SR style team]
Angel Heart
Appleseed [cyborgs, big guns, sprawls, ecological destruction, drones]
Army of Darkness
Assault on Precinct 13
Austin Powers movies
Avalon [Matrix/VR, "ultraviolet" nodes, sprawls]
Back to the Future 1&2
Babylon 5
Bad Company
Baise-moi
Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever
Band of the Hand
Bangkok Dangerous [gritty assassin flick]
Banlieu 13/District 13 [sprawls, "El Infirnio"-style barrios, gangs, cynical politics]
Barb Wire [dark background and naked Pam Anderson]
Batman Begins [adept mentor, twisted adept magical group]
Be Cool
Better Tomorrow, A 1&2
Beverly Hills Cop
Big Hit, The
Big Lebowski, The
Big Sleep, The
Big Trouble In Little China
Black Rain
Blackhawk Down
Blade series
Bladerunner [sprawls, ecological destruction, bioware [Replicants], class conflict, corporate enclaves, Japanese influence]
Blind Fury
Blue Thunder
Blues Brothers, The
Boondock Saints
Bottle Rocket
Bourne Identity and sequels
Brainscan
Brazil
Breakaway
Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Broken Arrow
Bronx, The
Brother
Brotherhood of the Wolf
BubbleGum Crisis [sprawls, cyborgs, police state, drones, corporate enclaves]
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bulletproof Monk [Adepts, magic scrolls]
Bullitt
Burn Notice
Cannonball Run
Carlito's Way
Casablanca
Cave, The
Charlie’s Angels 2
Children of Men [sprawls, ecological destruction, police state, class conflict]
Chinatown
City of God [best example of the barrens ever put to film - imperialus]
City of Industry [Nothing says SR like Lucy Liu getting nekkid]
City of Lost Children
Clear and Present Danger
Cloak and Dagger
Clockwork Orange [sprawls, police state, go gangs, class conflict, science gone crazy]
Collateral
Colossus
Con Air
Condemned, The [blood sports]
Confidence
Constantine
Conversation, The
Corrupter, The
Cowboy Bebop
Cradle to the Grave
Crank
Crow, The series
Crying Freeman
Cure
Cyberwars AKA Avatar [SINs, bounty hunters, megacorps, grossly obese deckers]
Cyborg
Cypher
DareDevil
Dark Angel w/Dolph Lundgren
Dark Blue
Dark City
DaVinci Code, The
Dawn of the Dead (remake)
Day Watch
Dead or Alive
Death Machine
Death Race 2000 [sprawls, blood sports, cynical politics, crazy vehicles]
Deathwish series
Deep Blue Sea
Deep Rising
Demolition Man [sprawls, police state, ecological destruction, corporate enclaves, dystopian future, VR safer than real sex]
Departed, The
Desperado
Diehard series
Dirty Dozen, The [what hiring a bunch of random street drek for an op is really like]
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Diva [very Paris "Shadowrun" feel]
Dog Soldiers
Domino
Doom
Dresden Files [magic and investigation and otherworldly everything]
Drop Zone
Dude, Where's My Car?
Eddie and the Cruisers
El Topo
Encrypt
Enemy of the State [Computer based subterfuge, SINless (invisible) lifestyle, covert ops]
Entrapment
Equilibrium [sprawls, police state, ecological destruction, crazy pharmacology]
Eraser
Escape From New York/LA [sprawls, police state, ecological destruction, gangs]
Every James Bond Movie
Excalibur
EXistenZ [VR/Matrix, "ultraviolet" nodes]
Exit Wounds
Face/Off
Fallen [Free spirit Trickster with Possession Power]
Farscape
Fast and the Furious, The
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Ferris Beuler's Day Off
Fifth Element, The [dystopian future, overcrowded sprawl, coffin apartment, rocker (Ruby Rhod), elemental magic, an adept (Leelu), megacorporations, and metahumans]
Fight Club
Final Fantasy [magic, ecological destruction, high-tech gear]
Firefox [run to steal an experimental jet, border crossings]
FireStarter [fire elemental adept]
Fish Called Wanda, A
Fist Full of Dollars, A
Flatliners
Fly, The [Insect spirits]
Foolproof
Fortress
Four Brothers, The
Freejack
French Connection, The
From Dusk ‘Til Dawn
Fugitive, The
Full Contact
Full Time Killers
Future Sport
Gargoyles [magic, shadowruns, secret research labs/raids, biotech, cybertech]
Gattaca
Get Shorty
Ghost Dog [Street Samurai]
Ghost in the Shell [sprawls, cyborgs, ecological destruction, VR/Matrix]
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence [sprawls, cyborgs, ecological destruction, VR/Matrix]
Ghostbusters
Ghosts of Mars
Godfather, The trilogy
God's Army I- III
Golden Child, The
Golgo 13
Gone In 60 Seconds
Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The
Good Thief, The
Goodfellas [mafia]
Grindhouse
Grosse Pointe Blank [How mercs and assassins fit into normal society]
Gung Ho [Japanese corporate culture, feelings toward japanese expansion when SR was created]
Gymkata
Hackers [Young Angelina Jolie How deckers/hackers can screw you]
Hard Boiled
Hard Candy
Hard Rain
Hard Target
Hardware
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man [armored long coats, hit teams, hooders]
Harry Potter series
Heat [SR style teamwork]
Heavy Metal
Heist
Hellboy [magical group, funded as a UCAS FBI black bag operation]
High Noon
Hire, The
Hollow Point
Hot Fuzz [how the runs usually go]
House of Games
Howl's Moving Castle
Hudson Hawk
Hunted, The
I Robot [sprawls, drones, high-tech gear]
Immortals, The
Indiana Jones' Franchise
Inside Man
Insider
Island, The [sprawls, bioware [clones], high-tech gear, corporate enclaves]
Italian Job, The [SR style teamwork]
Jackal, The
Jackie Brown
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
John Carpenter's Vampires
Johnny Mnemonic [shadowrunners, sprawls, cyberware, VR/Matrix, Japanese culture, monowhip, yakuza, wired reflexes, cyberzombie, headware memory]
Judge Dredd
Jurassic Park
Kill Bill
Killer, The
Killing Zoe
King Kong
King of New York
Kiss of the Dragon
LA Confidential
La Femme Nikita (French version, not TV series)
Ladykillers [SR style teamwork]
Land of the Dead
Langolears, The
Last Boyscout
Last Man Standing
Last Samurai, The
Lawnmower Man [VR/Matrix]
Layer Cake
Legally Blonde [face]
Leon: The Professional
Limey, The
Live Free or Die Hard [hackers, ineffective encryption, a Johnson who knocks off his freelancers to tie up loose ends, Mr. Lucky]
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Logan’s Run
Long Goodbye, The
Long Kiss Goodnight, The
Lord of War [arms dealer, face]
Lost Boys, The
Lucky Number Slevin
LXG
Mad Max series [dystopian future, ecological destruction, go gangs, crazy vehicles]
Magnificent Seven, The [hiring a runner team, runner team, SR style teamwork]
Maltese Falcon, The
Man on Fire
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The
Mariachi
Matador, The
Matrix, The [VR/Matrix, AI, ultraviolet nodes, ecological destruction, sprawls]
Max Headroom [VR/Matrix, AI, sprawls, corporate enclaves, Japanese culture, media saturation]
Mean Guns
Memento
Men in Black, MIB2
Mercury Rising
Metropolis
Miami Vice
Miller’s Crossing
Mimic
Minority Report [Augmented Reality, drones, bioware, crazy pharmacology, magic [psychics], sprawls, crazy vehicles, high-tech gear]
Mission, The
Mission Impossible [SR style teamwork]
Montana
Mother Night
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Mummy, The (Returns)
Munich
National Treasure
Negotiator, The
Nemesis
Nest, The
New Rose Hotel [shadowrunners, commlinks, Japanese culture]
New York 1997
Net, The [Computer based subterfuge, Hackers, Internet (matrix) terrorism]
Nightwatch
Nikita
Ninth Gate, The
No Country For Old Men [worth including for the action scenes, and the socio-political commentary.]
No Escape
Ocean's Eleven, etc [SR style teamwork]
Office Space
One, The
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Once Upon a Time in the West
Opportunists, The
Order, The
Out of Sight
Outlaw Josey Wales, The
Over There
Panic Room
Patton
Payback
Paycheck
People I Know
Perfect Score, The
Phoenix
Planet of the Cannibals
Point Blank
Point Break
Point of No Return
Postman, The
Predator series [Ruthenium/Chameleon Suit, sprawls, ecological destruction, gangs]
Proof of Life
Psycho [Hiding out after the run]
Pulp Fiction
Punisher, The
Ravenous
Real Men [spy/action film parody, clown hit squad, legwork]
Red Dawn
Reign of Fire [Dragons and tanks, ecological destruction, dragons in modern times]
Relic, The
Remo Williams - The Adventure Begins
Renaissance [sprawls, corporate influence, smartlinks, paid criminals, crazy pharmacology, shades of gray morality]
Replacement Killers, The
Reservoir Dogs [SR style teamwork]
Resident Evil series
Returner
Revenge
Rise:Blood Hunter [Naked Lucy Lui kills vampires]
Rising Sun [japanese corp environment]
Robocop [shadowrun team hired by a corporate Mr. Johnson, cyberware, corporate enclaves, high-tech gear, media saturation, privatized police, cyberzombie]
Rock, The
Rollerball (original & remake) [blood sports, corporate enclaves]
Romeo Must Die
Romper Stomper
Ronin [SR style teamwork, showing what Shadowrunners "do", Mr. Johnson]
Running Man (Le prix du danger / The price of peril) [blood sports, corporate enclaves, media saturation, sprawls, ecological destruction, cynical politics]
Running Scared
S1m0ne [virtual reality]
Safehouse
Saint, The
Salton Sea, The
Scanners
Scarface
Score, The
Screamers
Semi-Automatic
Serenity [sci fi tech, adept martial arts stuff, secret government projects, normal people turned into rampaging cannibals (HMVV)]
Series 7
Seven
Seven Samurai [SR style teamwork]
Shadow, The [What a guy with Invisibility and Illusion spells can do]
Shaft
Shaun of the Dead [ghouls]
Shawshank Redemption
Shoot "Em Up [gun/melee adept, squatter lifestyle, biometric safety]
Shooter
Shrek the Third [Shrek - leader, Puss - sammie, Donkey - connections, Artie - string-pulling face, kingdom coup, shifting alliances]
Silent Mobius [magic, sprawls, cyborgs, flying cars]
Silent Trigger
Silverado [SR style teamwork]
Silver Streak [Leonardo's letters, Face example, getting through security checkpoints, motivation for running, racism]
Sin City
Skyline Cruisers
Smokin’ Aces [multiple teams converging on same target]
Snatch
Sneakers [SR style teamwork]
Solarbabies [magic, ecological destruction, police state, blood sports]
Soldier [stuck in the barrens with some Megacorp's private army tearing the place up to find you, dystopian future, corp experiment]
Solo [corp experiment]
Soundless
Soylent Green [dystopian future, soy foods, sprawls, class warfare, ecological destruction]
Spanish Prisoner, The
Spartan
Spawn - The animated director's cut
Species [bug hunt]
Speed (only the first one)
Split Second
Spy Games
Star Wars [SR style teamwork]
Starship Troopers
Steel Dawn
Sting, The
Strange Days [VR/Matrix, shadowrunners, AR, sprawls, class warfare, cynical politics, dystopian future, BTLs]
Stranger Than Fiction
Straight Shooter
Streets of Fire
Subway
Suicide Kings
Surviving the Game
Swordfish [SR style teamwork]
Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Tank Girl
Taxi
Telefon
Terminator, The series [sprawls, cyborgs, high-tech gear, threat of possible dystopian future]
Tetsuo: The Iron Man [sprawls, cyborgs, bioware]
Thick as Thieves
Thief
Think Big
Things to do in Denver when You're Dead
Third Man, The
This Is England
This Gun for Hire
Thomas Crown Affair
To Cast A Deadly Spell
To Catch a Thief
Tomb Raider films
Tombstone
Total Recall
Touch of Evil
Training Day
Transporter, The
Triads, The Inside Story
Trigun
True Lies
True Romance
Twelve monkeys
Two, The
Two Jakes, The
Ultraviolet [sprawls, Awakened people, high-tech gear, Asian influence]
Unbreakable [adept who has denied his abilities, Immunity to Normal Weapons, Immunity to Pathogens/Toxins, boosted strength, mystic armor, some sort of sixth sense, Weakness (Water)]
Under Siege
Undercover Blues
Underworld
Unforgiven, The (Clint Eastwood version)
Universal Soldier
Unleashed
Untouchables, The
US Marshalls
Usual Suspects, The [SR style teamwork]
Vampires
Versus
Volcano High
Virtuosity [sprawls, VR/Matrix, AI, cyborgs, drones, police state, class warfare]
Wall Street [Corporations only concerned with bottom line, corporate espionage]
Wargames
Warlock, The movies [runners have somehow called down the wrath of the biggest baddest mojo slingers there are]
Warriors, The [gangs with themes]
Way of the Gun, The
Where Eagles Dare
White Noise
Whole 9 Yards, The
Wild at Heart
Wild Bunch, The [SR style teamwork]
Wild Geese, The
Wild, Wild West
Wizards
World Police: Team America
X-Men series [Adepts/spellcasters, secret training facility, high tech gear]
Yakuza [yakuza, realistic swordplay]
Year of the Rat
Zatoichi series [Blind sword adept/Mercenary criminal with a heart of gold]

[Dashifen]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/eek.gif)

[Lionhearted]

I'd love to point out that you missed one, however I can't think of one that's not already on that list (i'd assume).. great work and (IMG:style_emoticons/default/eek.gif)

[djinni]

there's alot of names on the list that are extremely questionable, any chance you can add a parin behind them that states what aspects of the movie are shadowrunish?

[martindv]

But that takes all the fun out of watching this thread explode into "what makes it a SR movie". I mean, I wouldn't even be so cruel to torture someone by making them watch Ultraviolet, let alone suggest others watch it out of their own free will.

BTW, you have Predator, but not Predator 2. Under Siege, but not Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. Also you have The Mariarchi Trilogy, but then list Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico separately.

Other than that. That's an awesome list.

[Cool Mirage]

Ehh, I totally have to agree with Djinni. I mean, you could put 75% of the IMDB into that list if you try and stretch the commonalities between those movies and then compare them to shadowrun.

[Aaron]

Ehh, I totally have to agree with Djinni. I mean, you could put 75% of the IMDB into that list if you try and stretch the commonalities between those movies and then compare them to shadowrun.

That gives me an idea. What if we took the film that most of us agreed was the most Shadowrunny film, and then got a list of films that shared one or more IMDb tags with the chosen film?

Of course, the trick is deciding what the seed should be. I'd vote for Ronin.

That being said, one could determine a film's Shadowrunniness by finding the list of films that share one or more IMDb tags with it and determining how many of those films would also qualify as Shadowrunny.

[hyzmarca]

Zatoichi. You can't have Blind Fury on there without the movie series that inspired it.

I must also protest that Baise-moi isn't included, though I probably forgot to mention it in previous threads.

[nathanross]

I know this would be a decent bit of work, but would it be possible for this to be made sticky, and for each title to link to either IMDB or Wikipedia. Also, color coding based on source (aka, Anime, TV Series, Movie) would be nice. As Im seeing A LOT of anime, and I get those from a different place than normal movies.

[Fix-it]

list is missing No Country For Old Men not sci-fi, but worth including. both for the action scenes, and the socio-political commentary.

[Fortune]

If it matters, I vote no on the 'Sticky' idea. Stickies should only be for important stuff. In my opinion, 'Movies That Can In Some Remote Way Be Seen As Being Shadowrun-ny' is not really all that important that it needs to clutter the forum every single time I load a page.

[nathanross]

If it matters, I vote no on the 'Sticky' idea. Stickies should only be for important stuff. In my opinion, 'Movies That Can In Some Remote Way Be Seen As Being Shadowrun-ny' is not really all that important that it needs to clutter the forum every single time I load a page.

Would you rather have a movie thread pop up every month? This topic comes us SOOOOOO many times, I just assume stick it. And there should be at least some info after the title, so that we know what about the movie relates to Shadowrun)

Example:

Ghost in the Shell (Cyberpunk, Cybertechnology, AI)
Ghost Hound (Astral Projection)

Not a complete solution, but I think it would be good to perhaps have a movie section within the Discussion forum.

[Fortune]

Would you rather have a movie thread pop up every month?

Shrug. Yes!

[martindv]

It's not hurting anything or anyone.

[nathanross]

It's not hurting anything or anyone.

I didnt say it's hurting anyone, but it seems there's a lot of annoyance every time one comes. I just dont know why a group as intelligent as ourselves cant do something that would be worthwhile and save time in the long run.

[Kyoto Kid]

Italian Job, The

...of course only original with Michael Caine and Benny Hill...

...accept no substitutes

[Fortune]

I didnt say it's hurting anyone, but it seems there's a lot of annoyance every time one comes.

Seems to me that the only one bitching about it in this thread is you.

[nathanross]

Seems to me that the only one bitching about it in this thread is you.

HAHAHAHA, TRUE!
Still, Ill just be patient for a "I told you so!" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Casper]

Not a bitch but why is king kong on this list?

[martindv]

HAHAHAHA, TRUE!
Still, Ill just be patient for a "I told you so!" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Good luck with that.

[tisoz]

there's alot of names on the list that are extremely questionable, any chance you can add a parin behind them that states what aspects of the movie are shadowrunish?

I am not familiar with all the movies. As a matter of fact, I even like when a movie thread pops up and one is listed that sounds good enough to track down and see.

If people want to go through and annotate/discuss the merits of why it is SRish, I will try to edit the list and include the concensus, especially if it is an easy cut & paste.

But that takes all the fun out of watching this thread explode into "what makes it a SR movie". I mean, I wouldn't even be so cruel to torture someone by making them watch Ultraviolet, let alone suggest others watch it out of their own free will.

BTW, you have Predator, but not Predator 2. Under Siege, but not Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. Also you have The Mariarchi Trilogy, but then list Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico separately.

Other than that. That's an awesome list.

I compiled the movies I saw listed elsewhere. Maybe people did not think the sequels were as SRish, or maybe they thought it was obvious and did not need listed. Mariachi trilogy and then listing them individually is my own ignorance. I think I will edit trilogy part so that all three titles appear for others as ignorant as myself.

There are some movies that get mentioned all the time, usually early in a thread, and usually again a few pages later when a late comer mentions it again and says they can't believe no one mentioned it yet. If everyone wants to agree on some of these titles, maybe they can be set apart (as listed as the first relatively small group) or get an asteric or have the title bolded. I favor the bolding, but if I link them like someone suggested, I would do it so the title was the click-through and bolding would not show. A better idea on my part may be including links to IMDB and Wikipedia and letting you lazy fraggers type in ech title. Then the titles can get bolded. With the SRish elements listed, curiosity can then overcome laziness. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/spin.gif)

Zatoichi. You can't have Blind Fury on there without the movie series that inspired it.

I must also protest that Baise-moi isn't included, though I probably forgot to mention it in previous threads.

hyzmarca, I am sorry to admit, but you force me to, that some of your recommendations were ones that I purposefully omitted. You listed some really obscure movies, at least to me, that did not elicit any response in the original thread they appeared, that I wondered if the thread had derailed or if you had access to movies the genaral population has never heard of or will never get a chance to see. I think once you went on about a particular martial art and movies that demonstrated it well - I think I omitted them.

I am sorry if I wronged you. Is Zatoichi the movie you feel inpired Blind Fury (I say you feel because there was quite an argument about 4 filma that supposedly inspired or were remakes without any actual credit appearing in the film.) While I am at it, point out its SR qualities so I can include the entry. Ditto, Baise-moi.

I know this would be a decent bit of work, but would it be possible for this to be made sticky, and for each title to link to either IMDB or Wikipedia. Also, color coding based on source (aka, Anime, TV Series, Movie) would be nice. As Im seeing A LOT of anime, and I get those from a different place than normal movies.

LOL!

I will see how much time I have to kill about linking them. As far as color coding them, I am too ignorant. For example, I did not know Renaissnce was animated until the other day when I requested the library put a hold on it. Then again, it may have been so bad to me that I already saw it and eradicated all traces of it from my memory. I am an old codger, so anime to me is a bit like that banging you kids call music. If a lot of people agree something anime is good, I try to see it. But if someone just mentions an anime title, I will see it when I am really bored. (I compiled this list before I went looking for anime. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) )

If people want to include what category/genre the title is when they are coming up with the SRish qualities, I will try editing them in (remember: cut & paste makes it easy on me/more likely to get 'er done.)

Would you rather have a movie thread pop up every month? This topic comes us SOOOOOO many times, I just assume stick it. And there should be at least some info after the title, so that we know what about the movie relates to Shadowrun)

Example:

Ghost in the Shell (Cyberpunk, Cybertechnology, AI)
Ghost Hound (Astral Projection)

Not a complete solution, but I think it would be good to perhaps have a movie section within the Discussion forum.

I do not like stickies myself. If it got stickied somewhere, it would probably be moved to another forum, anyway. (IMO)

I like the idea of how the Title relates to SR, but like I said, I am not the complete authority and am ignorant of some titles or even why some were mentioned in the original thread they appeared.

If people contribute their thoughts, eventually there may be a few titles that no one has thoughts about, and we can somewhat agree they are not all that SRish and can be omitted from the list.

...of course only original with Michael Caine and Benny Hill...

...accept no substitutes

I thought I put both versions?

Not a bitch but why is king kong on this list?

Someone mentioned it in a thread. IIRC, they mentioned the Big Game Hunt SR scenario, and maybe something about exploring a foreign environment comparing it to what might be an awakened environment. Most of the King Kong movies had those elements.

[mfb]

City of Industry. nothing says "Shadowrun" like Lucy Liu getting nekkid.

[tisoz]

City of Industry. nothing says "Shadowrun" like Lucy Liu getting nekkid.

Never heard of it, but it has been added along with your reason for it being SR related.

[D Minor]

What about "harvey" . The best drunken freespirt around (who happens to look like a 6 foot rabbit )

Linky to the Pooka



Think I'm going to have to stat Harvey up (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ork.gif)

[hyzmarca]

I think once you went on about a particular martial art and movies that demonstrated it well - I think I omitted them.

That was probably Wounded Ronin.

I am sorry if I wronged you. Is Zatoichi the movie you feel inpired Blind Fury (I say you feel because there was quite an argument about 4 filma that supposedly inspired or were remakes without any actual credit appearing in the film.) While I am at it, point out its SR qualities so I can include the entry. Ditto, Baise-moi.

I don't think there is any controversy over the fact that Blind Fury is a modern western version of Zatoichi. The two are practically identical and the plot of Blind Fury is pretty much the same as the plot of Zatoichi Challenged. In fact, pretty much everything I can find in about Blind Fury makes this connection.

Zatoichi is one of the longest running film series in Japan; I don't think that it is fair to call it obscure.

Ichi is a blind man who ostensibly makes a living wandering from village to village selling massages and hustling dice. He is also a freelance gangster and a master swordsman who often sells his skills to local Yakuza factions for large sums of money. Generally he performs a service for the local Yakuza but finds that they do not meet his high standard of Yakuza honor and so turns against them when his employment is done. This leads to a huge fight scene in which Zatoichi slays dozens of opposing swordsman. Tarantino himself stated that Zatoichi's huge fight scenes were the inspiration for the battle between The Bride and The Crazy 88 in Kill Bill volume 1.

Baise-moi is either an orgy of anarchistic nihilism or an orgy of nihilistic anarchism, though I'm not sure which. And it's French. It's basically about a couple of downtrodden women who are fed up with their worthless crappy lives and go on a cross-country murder spree together. It's sort of like Thelma and Louise with unsimulated sex and a great deal more violence. And it's French. Also, it is banned in Australia.

[Fortune]

Also, it is banned in Australia.

Well, that made me click the linky. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[tisoz]

I don't think there is any controversy over the fact that Blind Fury is a modern western version of Zatoichi. The two are practically identical and the plot of Blind Fury is pretty much the same as the plot of Zatoichi Challenged. In fact, pretty much everything I can find in about Blind Fury makes this connection.

I was not speaking specifically about this example. Your citation of proof is really weak, though I will agree with the assertion.

Zatoichi is one of the longest running film series in Japan; I don't think that it is fair to call it obscure.

I have never been to japan and until it gets exported and shows up in the video aisle, I doubt a majority of US (or european) people are going to get a chance to see it. So what is your definition of obscure, or what would be a better word to describe it than obscure?

Baise-moi is either an orgy of anarchistic nihilism or an orgy of nihilistic anarchism, though I'm not sure which. And it's French. It's basically about a couple of downtrodden women who are fed up with their worthless crappy lives and go on a cross-country murder spree together. It's sort of like Thelma and Louise with unsimulated sex and a great deal more violence. And it's French. Also, it is banned in Australia.

With a title of Fuck Me, I wonder why? Also, following your link and learning a little about the film and its actors/actresses, where should we draw the line on what some consider porn? In the golden age of big budget porn, there were some epics and classics with SR themes. Should we include them. Most of them would probably have better name recognition than Fuck Me.

If you insist on having me add them to the list, at least present them in the proper cut & paste format of title followed by SRish elements that are examples for emulation.

I really have to wonder if you and your buddy do this just to yank my chain.

[mfb]

eh, you can get Zatoichi from Blockbuster. that said, you can also get a lot of awesome Korean films nobody's ever heard of from Blockbuster (you must acquire 2009: Lost Memories and Friend, if nothing else). there are a lot of people who've at least heard of Zatoichi... and there are also a lot of people who haven't.

[tisoz]

Ah, at last. A confirmation.

[hyzmarca]

I was not speaking specifically about this example. Your citation of proof is really weak, though I will agree with the assertion.


I have never been to japan and until it gets exported and shows up in the video aisle, I doubt a majority of US (or european) people are going to get a chance to see it. So what is your definition of obscure, or what would be a better word to describe it than obscure?

http://www.amazon.com/s/103-9162962-231825...=Mozilla-search
They've all been released in North America and Europe for some time now. Decades, actually. And new versions are released every now and then.

With a title of Fuck Me, I wonder why? Also, following your link and learning a little about the film and its actors/actresses, where should we draw the line on what some consider porn? In the golden age of big budget porn, there were some epics and classics with SR themes. Should we include them. Most of them would probably have better name recognition than Fuck Me.

I'd suggest that the difference between porn and not porn is that in not porn sex may be integral to the plot but in porn sex is the whole point of the movie. But, as porn goes, I think that there are some anime entries that are better adapted to SR than most golden age classics. Take, for example, La Blue Girl (Ninja magician adepts fighting life-draining sex demons).

If you insist on having me add them to the list, at least present them in the proper cut & paste format of title followed by SRish elements that are examples for emulation.

Zatoichi series [Blind sword adept/Mercenary criminal with a heart of gold]

Edit:

I really have to wonder if you and your buddy do this just to yank my chain.

I once did a search for banned movies ( Wikipedia has a nice list) and made an effort to obtain all of them that looked good, by hook or by crook. You can find some pretty good movies by looking for stuff that has been banned in modern Western democracies. I found both Baise-moi and Ken Park this way, among other movies.

[mfb]

I'd suggest that the difference between porn and not porn is that in not porn sex may be integral to the plot but in porn sex is the whole point of the movie.

there really should be more movies with awesome sex, where the awesome sex isn't the point of the movie.

haha, Iran's banned movie list is a riot. The Dark Crystal? really?

[Critias]

there's alot of names on the list that are extremely questionable, any chance you can add a parin behind them that states what aspects of the movie are shadowrunish?

Someone that likes Shadowrun also likes the movie, and said it was Shadowrunish on Dumpshock. Ta-da!

[tisoz]

there's alot of names on the list that are extremely questionable, any chance you can add a parin behind them that states what aspects of the movie are shadowrunish?

I would welcome others input for this. It should be obvious by now, I have not even heard of every movie on this list.

Wow, I just put in a request to my local library for a hold on "No Country for Old Men". There is a waiting list of over a hundred people. For perspective, the only time the I see the list go over a hundred is for a blockbuster hit, or a reaaally good chick flick. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Critias]

Well, No Country is up for like a gajillion awards and stuff. I'm not surprised it's pretty popular.

[tisoz]

I had not heard about it and saw that it Grossed 50 some million dollars, respectable, but no where near blockbuster.

[Critias]

Right, I think it's doing that "slow burn" sort of gig (like There Will Be Blood). One of those weird gigs where it's the critical acclaim that brings the dvd/rental sort of money, as opposed to a totally awesome run at the movie theaters bringing the financial success.

I know it's getting pimped hard for Oscars and crap, and the only mention of it I heard while it was still in theaters was a thread on Glocktalk where someone asked a gun question. So despite not being a smash hit on opening weekend or whatever, the fact it's getting all sorts of press as awards come rolling around doesn't surprise me.

[martindv]

Well, No Country is up for like a gajillion awards and stuff. I'm not surprised it's pretty popular.

Why? Save for the opbvious ones like Titanic and Braveheart, there has generally been a trend where there exists a giant disconnect between popular movies and what the academy and various guild deem as best picture winners. Since like the 80s.

[tisoz]

I wonder if we should annotate this movie list to include awards won? I think the Usual Suspects won an Oscar for best original screenplay, The Godfather and II both won for best picture (I think that is the only time a film and its sequel have done so).

Probably not, as I am sure someone will want to include every obscure award out there, like the winner of the North Podunk film revival for best performance by a dwarf doing voiceover in a foreign film for some film they love. "I swear, you couldn't even tell he was a dwarf, and he must be a genius as the translation was spot on." (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sarcastic.gif)

[Wesley Street]

"Dude Where's My Car?"? "Legally Blonde"?!? Seriously? Oh man, this Shadowrun master movie list needs to be trimmed a bit. Of course, everyone's definition of what makes Shadowrun Shadowrun is different but to me it's a mash-up of near-future dystopian 80s cyberpunk, modern post-cyberpunk, and New Age Magic (spirits represent whatever you want them to, semi-scientific explanations for Awakened flora and fauna, no "gods" or "demons" like in D&D). There are many elements you can pull from many different films that are a part of the Shadowrun system and universe. But it's the concepts I just listed that are unique to Shadowrun. So using those criteria here's what I came up with in terms of a movie list along with what Shadowrun elements apply. Please note that these are only the films I've seen and I don't claim to be an expert... there are more out there.

Aeon Flux (bioware, "corporate" enclaves, high-tech gear)
AD Police (sprawls, cyborgs, police state, drones, corporate enclaves)
AI (sprawls, ecological destruction, drones)
Akira (sprawls, go-gangs, ecological destruction, police state, "Awakened" mutants)
Appleseed (cyborgs, big guns, sprawls, ecological destruction, drones)
Avalon (Matrix/VR, "ultraviolet" nodes, sprawls)
Banlieu 13/District B13 (sprawls, "El Infirnio"-style barrios, gangs, cynical politics)
Bladerunner (sprawls, ecological destruction, bioware [Replicants], class conflict, corporate enclaves, Japanese influence)
BubbleGum Crisis (sprawls, cyborgs, police state, drones, corporate enclaves)
Children of Men (sprawls, ecological destruction, police state, class conflict)
Clockwork Orange (sprawls, police state, go gangs, class conflict, science gone crazy)
Death Race 2000 (sprawls, blood sports, cynical politics, crazy vehicles)
Demolition Man (sprawls, police state, ecological destruction, corporate enclaves)
Equilibrium (sprawls, police state, ecological destruction, crazy pharmacology)
Escape From New York/LA (sprawls, police state, ecological destruction, gangs)
EXistenZ (VR/Matrix, "ultraviolet" nodes)
Final Fantasy (magic, ecological destruction, high-tech gear)
Ghost in the Shell (sprawls, cyborgs, ecological destruction, VR/Matrix)
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (sprawls, cyborgs, ecological destruction, VR/Matrix)
I Robot (sprawls, drones, high-tech gear)
Island, The (sprawls, bioware [clones], high-tech gear, corporate enclaves)
Johnny Mnemonic (shadowrunners, sprawls, cyberware, VR/Matrix, Japanese culture)
Lawnmower Man (VR/Matrix)
Mad Max series (ecological destruction, go gangs, crazy vehicles)
Matrix, The (VR/Matrix, AI, ultraviolet nodes, ecological destruction, sprawls)
Max Headroom (VR/Matrix, AI, sprawls, corporate enclaves, Japanese culture, media saturation)
Minority Report (bioware, crazy pharmacology, magic [psychics], sprawls, crazy vehicles, high-tech gear)
New Rose Hotel (shadowrunners, commlinks, Japanese culture)
Predator 2 (sprawls, ecological destruction, gangs)
Reign of Fire (ecological destruction, dragons in modern times)
Robocop (cyberware, corporate enclaves, high-tech gear, police state, media saturation)
Rollerball (original) (blood sports, corporate enclaves)
Running Man (blood sports, corporate enclaves, media saturation, sprawls, ecological destruction, cynical politics)
Silent Mobius [The most Shadowrun-y film I've ever seen... literally Bladeruner in Tokyo with magic] (magic, sprawls, cyborgs, flying cars)
Solarbabies (magic, ecological destruction, police state, blood sports)
Soylent Green (sprawls, class warfare, ecological destruction)
Strange Days (VR/Matrix, shadowrunners, AR, sprawls, class warfare, cynical politics)
Terminator, The series (sprawls, cyborgs, high-tech gear)
Tetsuo 2: The Iron Man (sprawls, cyborgs, bioware)
Ultraviolet (sprawls, Awakened people, high-tech gear, Asian influence)
Virtuosity (sprawls, VR/Matrix, AI, cyborgs, drones, police state, class warfare)

I welcome additions!

[Aaron]

I'd like to nominate Shoot Em Up for the list.

[martindv]

"Dude Where's My Car?"? "Legally Blonde"?!? Seriously?

Have you seen either of those movies?

First, there is a whole discussion about "Dude..." in another thread that makes a compelling argument. As for Legally Blonde, I'm going to guess it has something to do with Elle being an uber-Face.

[BFaolan]

Adding to Wesley Street's List (having just seen the movie last night)

Renaissance (sprawls, corporate influence, smartlinks, paid criminals, crazy pharmacology, shades of gray morality)

[hyzmarca]

Rise:Blood Hunter [Naked Lucy Lui kills vampires]

[tisoz]

I'd like to nominate Shoot Em Up for the list.

Can you list its Shadowrun elements? [action]

[martindv]

Renaissance (sprawls, corporate influence, smartlinks, paid criminals, crazy pharmacology, shades of gray morality)

I didn't much like that movie. It is actually why I am hesitant to watch any movie just because it's recommended for being a good SR movie.

But it is very much a Shadowrun movie.

[BFaolan]

I didn't much like that movie. It is actually why I am hesitant to watch any movie just because it's recommended for being a good SR movie.

But it is very much a Shadowrun movie.

My better half qualified it perfectly: it was good. Once. Never again.

[martindv]

I fell asleep watching the DVD. Twice.

But that's interesting. I thought the same thing about Mystic River. It was a great movie I hope I never see again.

[Critias]

There are several movies that are like that. Excellent films, that just aren't pleasant to watch.

[martindv]

Children of Men almost made me sick.

[Wesley Street]

Adding to Wesley Street's List (having just seen the movie last night)

Renaissance (sprawls, corporate influence, smartlinks, paid criminals, crazy pharmacology, shades of gray morality)

Oh that's EXCELLENT! The movie wasn't great but it's definitely got the look and feel. Good call (and I can't believe I forgot that one)! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Wesley Street]

Have you seen either of those movies?

First, there is a whole discussion about "Dude..." in another thread that makes a compelling argument. As for Legally Blonde, I'm going to guess it has something to do with Elle being an uber-Face.

Of course!

Can you give me a link to the "Dude" discussion thread? Now I'm intrigued.

I'm still not convinced on "Legally Blonde", despite Elle's potential as an uber-Face ("Election" would be a more appropriate choice if we're talking Reese Witherspoon movies (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ). Really, any movie about a slick-talking lawyer/gambler/criminal would fit the bill as a "Face" movie. Glengarry Glenn Ross isn't a Shadowrun movie despite the real-estate salesmen/Faces, rainy nighttime setting and thievery.

[Kyoto Kid]

But it's the concepts I just listed that are unique to Shadowrun. So using those criteria here's what I came up with in terms of a movie list along with what Shadowrun elements apply. Please note that these are only the films I've seen and I don't claim to be an expert... there are more out there.
.
.
.
I welcome additions!

Two that come to mind...

...Enemy of the State [Computer based subterfuge, SINless (invisible) lifestyle, covert ops]
...The Net [Computer based subterfuge, Hackers, Internet (matrix) terrorism]

[Green Eyed Monst...]

Silver Streak [Pretty good Face example, getting through security checkpoints, motivation for running, racism]
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man [armored long coats]

[martindv]

Of course!

Can you give me a link to the "Dude" discussion thread? Now I'm intrigued.

I'm still not convinced on "Legally Blonde", despite Elle's potential as an uber-Face ("Election" would be a more appropriate choice if we're talking Reese Witherspoon movies (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ). Really, any movie about a slick-talking lawyer/gambler/criminal would fit the bill as a "Face" movie. Glengarry Glenn Ross isn't a Shadowrun movie despite the real-estate salesmen/Faces, rainy nighttime setting and thievery.

No. But it's Mamet, and it's good.

If your group can't take away the inspiration to make your games better, you're out of luck. Every time I've seen it it makes me want to be a better role-player.

Let me be more blunt. If someone can't sit through that movie, they don't sit at my table. I don't want someone who can't "get" Mamet gaming with me. It tends to result in a "black" campaign being interrupted by some jerkoff playing a troll with ADD. And I mean, it's not like I'm asking someone to sit down to an Albee production. This is a guy who worked on Ronin, The Shield, and created The Unit.

Hey, gee, what's that that's a running thread through all of his work? It's the con! What do you know, he writes about complex manipulations and backstabs. Why on Earth would a masterpiece of said peculiarity not be required by any Shadowrun player or GM with standards? It's not like that's a staple of the game.

Oh... Wait. It is.

[Dallas]

There are some good movies on that list, but many of them are not the least bit shadowrunny.

[Aaron]

Can you list its Shadowrun elements [of Shoot Em Up]?

• Adept-like action hero.
• Plot driven by government and corporate intrigue.
• Hero living in a slum/barrens.
• High-tech firearms.

[Wesley Street]

No. But it's Mamet, and it's good.

If your group can't take away the inspiration to make your games better, you're out of luck. Every time I've seen it it makes me want to be a better role-player.

Let me be more blunt. If someone can't sit through that movie, they don't sit at my table. I don't want someone who can't "get" Mamet gaming with me. It tends to result in a "black" campaign being interrupted by some jerkoff playing a troll with ADD. And I mean, it's not like I'm asking someone to sit down to an Albee production. This is a guy who worked on Ronin, The Shield, and created The Unit.

Hey, gee, what's that that's a running thread through all of his work? It's the con! What do you know, he writes about complex manipulations and backstabs. Why on Earth would a masterpiece of said peculiarity not be required by any Shadowrun player or GM with standards? It's not like that's a staple of the game.

Oh... Wait. It is.

As a huge fan of Mamet (and a film snob) I completely agree. You can pull bits and pieces of what would make a good Shadowrun game (or any action/intrigue RPG) from any of his films. Spartan, The Unit, The Spanish Prisoner, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Edge, and Wag the Dog all have elements that you could (and should) pull into any slick-con, tactics and survival based game. There are many, many other good movies that are required-viewing for good story telling GMs. But when it comes to setting and tone none of those films really toes the Shadowrun line, you know? They're gold-standard movies but so is Citizen Kane. Not like it's a Shadowrun movie (it's just noir).

Hmmm... a dying Damien Knight calls out for his cyberdeck "Rosebud". Dibs on this idea! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I guess my baseline standard for a Shadowrun-style setting movie is something like Blade Runner or Strange Days. Your mileage my vary.

Trolls with ADD catch bullets in the brainpan in my games. I don't mess around with gamer stupidity and I run a tight ship when it comes to character creation. So I sympathize there. One of my players hasn't seen Blade Runner all the way through. I have my mental crosshairs on him. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[knasser]

I haven't read through this whole thread, so I apologise if it's already been listed, but if it hasn't I think I've just found a new one.

Haven't actually seen this, but I think the trailer alone is... sufficient.

The Machine Girl

(Warning: Limited character development).

-K.

[Redjack]

Wow.... That was just..... wrong. Granted it appears no worse than some of Tarantino's new stuff... but I guess that's the point..

[knasser]

Wow.... That was just..... wrong. Granted it appears no worse than some of Tarantino's new stuff... but I guess that's the point..

It's better than Tarantino's stuff - it doesn't pretend to be ironic art.

[tisoz]

• Adept-like action hero.
• Plot driven by government and corporate intrigue.
• Hero living in a slum/barrens.
• High-tech firearms.

I have not seen the movie and only remember the line you want to buy bullets with food stamps? from the preview. I am reluctant to cite the reasons you give as many action heroes could be described as Adept-like, and I do not know the degree of government/corp intrigue (and since you state both, it sounds wishy-washy.) Is the slum the hero lives in a good representation of the barrens? And just how high tech ae the firearms? Are some of them representative of specific SR firearms or something like a smartlink?

I can not say having not seen the movie, and your short points seem to assume everyone has. There has been too much complaint about including every other movie that is released, that until someone clarifies the SRishness, I am reluctant to include it.

It would be nice if everyone could state why when nominating a movie. It would also be nice if people went through the listed movies, especially the ones with no SR references cited and listed their SR features. Someone at some time said it should be on the list. If enough people say take it off with no one defending it, the title is coming off.

[hyzmarca]

I have not seen the movie and only remember the line you want to buy bullets with food stamps? from the preview. I am reluctant to cite the reasons you give as many action heroes could be described as Adept-like, and I do not know the degree of government/corp intrigue (and since you state both, it sounds wishy-washy.) Is the slum the hero lives in a good representation of the barrens? And just how high tech ae the firearms? Are some of them representative of specific SR firearms or something like a smartlink?

I can not say having not seen the movie, and your short points seem to assume everyone has. There has been too much complaint about including every other movie that is released, that until someone clarifies the SRishness, I am reluctant to include it.

It would be nice if everyone could state why when nominating a movie. It would also be nice if people went through the listed movies, especially the ones with no SR references cited and listed their SR features. Someone at some time said it should be on the list. If enough people say take it off with no one defending it, the title is coming off.

The plot of Shoot 'Em Up is that an anti-gun Congressman has an absurd plan to ban firearms that somehow had popular support. A mid-sized family-owned handgun manufacturer notices that if handguns were banned they'd go out of business and thus decides that it would be best if the Congressman died. They couldn't just shoot him because then he'd be a martyr to his cause. However, they discover that he has a terminal illness and will soon die without a transplant and that, in a desperate last-ditch attempt to create a compatible donor he has secretly impregnated several women with his clone offspring.
Thus, the corporation's hit-squad is sent after these women, killing them one-by-one knowing that once all of them are dead their enemy's death is inevitable. However, the the gun manufacturer is eventually able to get into contact with the Congressman about this matter once there is only one baby left and the Congressman decides that he likes living more than he hates handguns agreeing to intentionally tank his bill in exchange for the baby's bone marrow.

The protagonist is the son is a gunsmith who was a military special ops guy until becoming disillusioned with the morality of the government and settling down to a quiet life running his family gun store and then became dissillusioned with gunsmithing and gave up that career after a weapon he sold was used to kill his wife and child. Having no skills other than making guns and killing people and being disillusioned with both, he settles into a upper-squatter-class lifestyle in the loft of an abandoned factory and occasionally does criminal odd jobs (apparent from the backstory but not actually seen in the movie).

As to the protagonist's adept-like abilities.
In the beginning of the movie he sees a bunch of thugs chasing a pregnant woman. The thugs have guns but he does not. He only has carrots. So he kills the thug by stabbing him to death with a carrot and takes his gun, eventually killing all the thugs and helping deliver the woman's child before she herself is killed by the antagonist. He then takes the baby to a playground and leaves it on the merry-go-round on the assumption that it will be found by a good family and taken home. However, he notices just in the nick of time that a corporate sniper is aiming at the baby and, to disrupt the sniper's shot, he shoots one of the merry-go-round's handles, causing the merry-go-round to start spinning. He does this repeatedly, without missing, to make the merry-go-round spin faster and faster and escapes before the sniper can compensate for it.
There is also a scene in which the protagonist is having sex with the female lead (a lactation fetish prostitute who he went to because he needed someone to nurse the baby) and corporate SWAT busts into the room. The protagonist proceeds to single-handedly take out the entire SWAT team while having sex with the female lead, never once pausing the activity during all of the killing.

For high tech firearms, the villains (except for the hired thugs at the beginning) use SOTA guns with biometric locks so that they can only be fired by someone with the correct fingerprint. The protagonist gets around this by simply cutting off a villain's hand.

All in all, it is an extremely violent live-action Bugs Bunny cartoon, with the protagonist taking the role of Bugs Bunny (he even eats carrots and says "what's up, Doc" to drive this home) and the antagonist in the role of a slick semi-competent amoral misogynistic Elmer Fudd.

[Aaron]

Don't forget about the gun battle in free-fall.

Basically, it's a budget film by an indie director.

[Critias]

It's also one that drives some people batty, because they can't wrap their head around the fact that it's a tongu in cheek (albeit affectionate) sort of homage flick towards all the existing "Shoot 'Em Up" flicks that came before. The one-liners, the insane gunplay, the stereotypical "Go To Guy" with the long-barrel revolver fetish, all that fun stuff -- it was by no means meant to be a "real" action movie.

[Nath]

Since you include obscure French movie in the list: Les loups entre eux, 1985, released under the title Among wolves in english-speaking countries. A team of deniable assets (that point is clearly stated) comprising mercenaries of various origins, a burglar, a rock climber and a dog handler, is sent to rescue a NATO general held hostage. Not an action movie, as it most of it focuses mostly on how the teammembers with different background relate during the op planning and training.

Les loups entre eux [SR style teamwork and SR style team]

[Phantastik]

Pretty comprehensive list!

I'd certainly add Jean-Jacques Beineix's "Diva", which has a very Paris "Shadowrun" feel.

And while it's not particularly high-tech, a Thai film called "Bangkok Dangerous" is one of the grittiest assassin flicks I've seen.

[Wesley Street]

There are definite elements of SR in "Shoot 'Em Up" (like the evil fire-arms manufacturer) but I'm bouncing back and forth one whether it's a SR movie or not. The SOTA pistols with the finger-print safeties are starting to enter the mainstream arms market now in the form of holsters (I'll post a link to the article I read shortly). Mr. Smith's abilities, while "adept-like" on screen, are meant to exaggerate the invulnerability of traditional action film protagonists. But, they would be good examples to show a player how a gun slinger adept would look and move. And he just lived in an abandoned building... not really a lawless Barrens. If the movie took place 10+ years in the future, Smith was jacked up on cybertech, and he lived in a burned-out Mad Max urban wasteland I'd be more inclined to agree.

Just as an aside, if you liked "Shoot 'Em Up" you should check out "Crank." Same kind of movie but add twenty doses of meth and Jason Statham. It has some SR elements too (and the plot itself would make for a great SR game session).

[DocTaotsu]

Zatoichi's been around since forever, I ran into a 5 disc box set over here in Japan. And I was informed that it wasn't complete.

Plus the new one is pure movie goodness, the ending song and dance routine just rounds out a delightfully enjoyable movie.

[thorr]

I'd like to see the list split into movies with a shadowrun setting vs movies with sr elements or feel to it. I think that would make things alot simpler even if some movies might be debatable about which list to end up on.

[nathanross]

Zatoichi's been around since forever, I ran into a 5 disc box set over here in Japan. And I was informed that it wasn't complete.

Plus the new one is pure movie goodness, the ending song and dance routine just rounds out a delightfully enjoyable movie.

Zatoichi is like 26 movies + one that came out in 2003. Im only up to like the 11th movie and Ive been watching it hardcore.

BTW, is Machine Girl out yet? That movie looks GREAT! I also must agree that it is better than Tarantino. It makes absolutely no excuse about what it is, Yakuza, Ninja, Decapitator, Tempura, Saw Bra, and hot high school girl with minigun. OH YEAH!

[chromedog]

I couldn't see Immortel (Immortal) on the list.

A french film by French Croatian Director Enki Bilal based upon his comic series "nikopol". It's a live action/CG strange amalgam of various styles and themes. A couple of years old, it was either 2005 or 2006. Essentially as French as it gets. It has entries on Imdb.

Visually, a cross between The Fifth Element, and Final Fantasy:the spirits within, by way of "Sky captain".

It's set in New York, 2095 with towering skylines and overhead cableways (cars don't fly through the air, they're more like a scenic skyway kinda thing, but you can fly up to an away from the 'grid').

[Wesley Street]

Awww, man. I can't believe I forgot about Immortel! I highly recommend this one. Switch out the shapeshifting Egyptian gods in their flying pyramid with dragons and the weird-looking bio-engineered people with metahumans and you've got Shadowrun. This comment would be more appropriate for the comics thread but any Enki Bilal comic is worth a read.

I'm all for creating an "Elements of Shadowrun" movie-list and an "Almost-or-Just-Like Shadowrun" movie-list.

[Wesley Street]

Just remembered another one. The Korean film Natural City. Take Blade Runner, add a heaping helping of Asian-style gunfights and there you go. It's actually so much like Blade Runner, visually and story-wise, it's almost funny. But it isn't a bad film. Worth a rent at least.

[pbangarth]

Not out yet, but coming this year will be The Expendables, a movie about mercenaries in South America. Get this: Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwartzenegger.

[hahnsoo]

Not out yet, but coming this year will be The Expendables, a movie about mercenaries in South America. Get this: Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwartzenegger.

AND Jet Li. AND Dolph Lundgren. AND Jason Statham (The Transporter/Transporter 2, you'll recognize him). The cast is studded with more stars than an Astronomy textbook.

[underaneonhalo]

Two Anime flicks.

Gunsmith Cats: Assassins, crime syndicates, armored long coats, a gun bunny, an explosives obsessed girl who looks 12, and one sweet ass car.

Riding Bean: The only way I can describe it is that it's like "The Transporter" on steroids.

[Method]

If it hasn't been mentioned yet, I would add "Ink" as a fair example of the astral plane, assensing, metaplanes, astral quests and astral combat(ish). And the "incubi" that bring nightmares are down-right fucking creepy...

[DrewRadley]

You forgot "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank."

Raul Julia plays Aram Fingal, a very intelligent computer programmer and a very bored man in the employ of Novicorp, a mega-corporation that exists somewhere in the future. When caught watching "Casablanca" at his desk, Fingal is required to undergo rehabilitation therapy called "doppling." Doppled patients find their minds transferred into the bodies of animals for a new outlook on life (and for a number of amusing nature documentary sequences narrated by Julia). However, Fingal's body is misplaced and he is transferred into a computer while the body is located. With the help of Appolonia James, a medical technician played by Linda Griffiths, Fingal manages to reprogram himself into a simulation of Casablanca and eventually gains access to Novicorp's financial computers, bringing the company to its knees. But Fingal's real problem is getting back into his body before his memory patterns are erased.

[Fezig]

AND Jet Li. AND Dolph Lundgren. AND Jason Statham (The Transporter/Transporter 2, you'll recognize him). The cast is studded with more stars than an Astronomy textbook.

WOW! That is simultaneously the greatest and worst cast for a movie I've ever heard.

[Smokeskin]

Xchange needs to be on that list! Perhaps the best B movie ever. It even has a monofilament whip, and loads of other cool gadgets.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242150/

[hahnsoo]

WOW! That is simultaneously the greatest and worst cast for a movie I've ever heard.

That's exactly what I was thinking! And parts were offered to Jean Claude Van Damme and Kurt Russel (who both turned them down at the time), too.

[McCummhail]

Yesterday (S.Korean movie) [Drones, genetic experiments, augmented reality, commlinks, SR style teamwork, Rainy near-future setting, Barrens, suitcase smg]

Korean Techno-thriller. Not necessarily an amazing film, but the setting feels like it is pulled right out of a cyberpunk story. Even the police special investigative team is a bit pink mo-hawk.
http://www.dvdvisionjapan.com/yesterday.htm

[CanadianWolverin...]

In the interest of clarifying what elements seem SR like, I'll try to help the format of a few of the films that I own a DVD of (feel free to debate and/or pare down if I get too lengthy):

Bourne Identity, The and sequels
--> The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum [Assasin: Parkour, Infiltration, Firearms, Unarmed, Memory Loss Neg Quality, Pilot Vehicle, Explosives, Lockpick, Information Gathering, Conspiracy and Black Ops] Note: Inspired by a novel series of similar names.

Face/Off [Explosive gun slinging "Terrorist" vs FBI with black ops, identity replacement surgery, contacts, con, pilot boat, secret prison]

The Fast & The Furious [Go Gangs?, undercover agent, pilot groundcraft]

Ferris Beuler's Day Off [Face Con Artist takes a "sick day"]

Foolproof [Professional Team Work "Puzzles" out criminal activities]

Gone In 60 Seconds [Professional Criminal Team Work takes Mr. J job to steal cars, pilot groundcraft, police task force]

Hudson Hawk [Humorous and entertaining take on professional thievery]

Hunted, The [Very intense infiltration, blades, unarmed, tracking, survival, stealth, disguise in black ops in a dark and back to nature world]

Inside Man [Professional Shadow Team out smarts the police and local established business elite in a bank heist with a conspiratorial twist]

Man on Fire [Ex-Professional boozing Assassin takes a job as a bodyguard of rich man's daughter, ends up writing his "masterpiece" to get her back when she is taken for ransom in down trodden Mexico]

Mr. and Mrs. Smith [Professional veteran Assassins fall in love then are assigned by their opposing employers to take each other out of the picture and it all goes sideways]

Payback [Cheer on the professional criminal as he goes through the who's who in the underworld to get "payback"]

... oh man, the list is huge and I just don't think I am doing these short descriptions justice and my eyes are going a bit square. I should come back to this later but there are few more there on the list...

Running Scared [Deep undercover cop's kid and their neighbor ends up sending him on an perilous adventure through the spooky grim's tale like horrors of the underworld of their community]

Saint, The [A face con artist, infiltration, disguise, stealth, thieving specialist with a heart of gold out smarts a conspiratorial rich man and his shadow ops]

True Lies [Secret Agent man in a black ops unit has to save his family and America from terrorists]

Ack, I know there are some other movies I would suggest for the list given what is there but they flew from my brain, maybe they will come back to me later as I browse my movies for something to watch. Hmm, I know I was thinking of Stark Raving Mad, Collateral, and Cradle 2 The Grave but I just can't seem to wrap my brain around composing anymore of this post at the moment.

I would also like to note Babylon 5 is a tv series, yes? In that case, please include Dark Angel: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204993/ which in the interests of trying not to confuse it with the other if you don't split the tv series off from the movies:

James Cameron's Dark Angel (2 seasons) [Bioware, Cyberware, High Tech, Low Tech, Dystopian Future, Seatle, Criminal Orginizations, "Robin Hood" Hacker, Corporate Control, "Surge" variants, Assassins, Drones, Thieves, Corporate, Cults, Adepts?]

- there may even be more things that seem like they are SRish in that tv series but that is all that is coming to mind at the moment

[magi]

Surrogates - Big Corp, Drone/Jar-head

Denno Coil - Augmented Reality, Interaction between the Matrix and the Real

I'm surprised Strange Days isn't highlighted either. That's a definitive cyberpunk movie if I ever saw one.

[Stahlseele]

Watchmen.

[Trigger]

A new film for the list, actually only released in theaters two months ago. But it has a lot of action elements, woman with a giant gun with underbarrel grenade launcher, a plot involving lots of money in diamonds, and swords.

Bitch Slap

[KarmaInferno]

Riding Bean: The only way I can describe it is that it's like "The Transporter" on steroids.

Bean throws a knife hard enough to punch through a drivers side window, and have the impact of the knife rip the passenger door off it's hinges and pin the door to the next car. He then tears the drivers side door off with his bare hands.

He also stops a car from ramming him in the face a second time by grabbing the bumper as it comes at him and lifting it so the front drive wheels leave the ground. Presumably because getting his face rammed hard enough to embed his head into anoher car annoyed him the first time.

And all this not because he has superpowers or anything. No. He can do this 'cos he's just that badass.

If Bean isn't a poster child for a physical adept I don't know what is.

His car is pretty sweet too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llYCopWMkhA


-np

[CanadianWolverin...]

Watching a movie tonight that is simply titled Ninja http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182921/ and it has some Shadowrun-ish stuff going on here, as things about ninjas seems apt to do.

[SleepIncarnate]

You missed a great one for Matrix peoples.... Serial Experiments Lain

[Mikado]

Watching a movie tonight that is simply titled Ninja http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182921/ and it has some Shadowrun-ish stuff going on here, as things about ninjas seems apt to do.

I had to turn that movie off after my eyes started to bleed when the "evil" ninja starts killing people in the police station... You know... the part when his sword starts looking like a lightsaber. That movie is up there with Dragonball Z live action movie for the worst movies ever made.

[CanadianWolverin...]

I had to turn that movie off after my eyes started to bleed when the "evil" ninja starts killing people in the police station... You know... the part when his sword starts looking like a lightsaber. That movie is up there with Dragonball Z live action movie for the worst movies ever made.

Huh, I've seen some pretty terrible movies and it was no where near that bad as the others I have seen. Haven't seen Dragonball Z live action but I did watch Death Warrior http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1144797/ a few months ago, so my standards are pretty low after that. Even despite plenty of soft core porn and titties, I just couldn't sit through the thing and fully recommend anyone considering it for a rental DON'T. My eyes can not unsee what they have seen (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

Oh well, I didn't exactly go into watching it expecting some amazing piece of cinema anyways, I just thought some of the fight choreography, gadgetry, and methodology was an entertaining few minutes. That light saber thing? I thought that was just related to that the dude had just thrown a smoke/flash bomb, thus fucking with others' vision. Oh well, I suppose if you didn't like those special fx, a lot of straight to dvd B/C/D movies are going to disappoint you these days, virtual (pc generated graphics) sets are becoming more and more common, the 90s tech must have reached their price point now or something.

[SleepIncarnate]

I had to turn that movie off after my eyes started to bleed when the "evil" ninja starts killing people in the police station... You know... the part when his sword starts looking like a lightsaber. That movie is up there with Dragonball Z live action movie for the worst movies ever made.

Hehe, a group of us used to run a site called crappyfilm.com and it was just for reviewing horrible movies. Trust me, Ninja and the DBZ movie have nothing on some of these. There's one I remember called either Pro-Life or Pro-Choice, I forget which, and it's about this girl who becomes pregnant with the child of the devil, and she goes to a clinic to try and get it aborted, but her dad's this radical pro-life person, guns start firing, things go nuts, the baby is born, the devil shows up, someone kills the baby, and the devil looks sad before leaving. It's a HORRIBLE movie. And there were reviews for tons of em.

[Mikado]

Oh well, I didn't exactly go into watching it expecting some amazing piece of cinema anyways, I just thought some of the fight choreography, gadgetry, and methodology was an entertaining few minutes. That light saber thing? I thought that was just related to that the dude had just thrown a smoke/flash bomb, thus fucking with others' vision. Oh well, I suppose if you didn't like those special fx, a lot of straight to dvd B/C/D movies are going to disappoint you these days, virtual (pc generated graphics) sets are becoming more and more common, the 90s tech must have reached their price point now or something.

Hehe, a group of us used to run a site called crappyfilm.com and it was just for reviewing horrible movies. Trust me, Ninja and the DBZ movie have nothing on some of these. There's one I remember called either Pro-Life or Pro-Choice, I forget which, and it's about this girl who becomes pregnant with the child of the devil, and she goes to a clinic to try and get it aborted, but her dad's this radical pro-life person, guns start firing, things go nuts, the baby is born, the devil shows up, someone kills the baby, and the devil looks sad before leaving. It's a HORRIBLE movie. And there were reviews for tons of em.

Yes, ninja is not the worst movie ever made. Nor is DBZ. I was exaggerating for dramatic effect. I will say that they are some of the worst I have seen because I tend to trust my friends when they say that a movie sucks. And have avoided many craptastic movies as a result.
As for the lightsaber effect on the bad guys sword. I know they where trying to do a blur effect so the sword looks wider because it is moving so fast. All it looked like to me was (with the smoke and light) a lightsaber. If they wanted to have a good effect they should of created a wind effect in the smoke (complete with eddies) for the effect.

[Mantis]

I would suggest the anime series Black Lagoon. It has adept like gun slingers, SR type smuggling, wetwork, courier and other jobs. Also interactions with Yakuza, Triads, Vory and other criminal elements.

[Kumo]

Definitely "Dogs of war". The plot is 200% Shadowrun, just like in "Black Lagoon".

I'd also put anime "Cyber city Oedo 808" on the list.

And "Cyberzone"... No. No, no, no. It's a BAD movie. Z-class, I'd say. Something like homemade cyberpunk with topless women in nearly every scene. The only good thing about this film: it's quite funny (IMG:style_emoticons/default/spin.gif) .

"Gene Generation" is better. Oh, in one scene You can see what could happen when a glitch is rolled at Intimidation test (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Wesley Street]

"Gene Generation" is better.

It gets the "tone" right but it's still an awful, awful movie. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

[Kazuhiro]

War Games?

It has an AI and a hacker/decker played by a very young Matthew Broderick.

[Wesley Street]

Hasn't been updated in three years, but Cyberpunk Review is a handy little gem.

From i09.com: Maybe cyberpunk is less of a fad than it used to be. Or maybe because we're now living in a cyberpunk era with virtual worlds, nonstop cybersex and evil corporations, we no longer view those things as elements of science fiction.

[Daddy's Litt...]

From my husband's netflix shopping list I would add:
Smoking aces - what happens when a run gets completely hosed up.
St. Trinians- yes it's a commedy about a girls school gone wrong but they plan a heist to rob the National Gallery. That is pretty much a run.

[Method]

I just watched "The Gene Generation" and it is absolutely terrible (and I mean really terrible). However, the sets, costumes, etc are very cyberpunk(ish) and it was a great example of how having dependents can complicate a character's life. A devious GM could port this story to SR and make his PC's earn those extra BP. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/devil.gif)

It also has some ridiculous firearms that knock people off their feet, but thats a topic for another thread...