The Art of War could work too.

Hell, Rising Sun could kinda work, as you've got political intruigue, monolithic Japanacorps, gangs, love hotels, corrupt cops, and even a datasteal involving the use of an SR-level edit program.

I've been playing/using Rick since the late 90's

See. OK I feel smug.

Second that, ish. My girlfriend's a diehard Hellsing fangirl - me I like it but can take it or leave it (and Alucard and Integra annoy the crap outta me). That said I did have Alucard stated up as a free blood guardian spirit for a crossover game that never happened

Anyway, on another topic, can someone please explain to me why I get a "Shadowrun" vibe from Ice Road Truckers of all things??? I just don't understand that at all.

Watched this again last night and can't agree more.

When she lets rip with that Barrett... Awesome.

And when the three neo-nazis come out of that elevator. Chainsaws and Mowhawks, how much more Shadowrun can you get?

The free spirit in my game is basically an Alucard wanna be down to the outfit...

There's one good SR movie that seems to be missing from everybody's lists...

Layer Cake

Lots of good double-crossing involved!

By the way I'm becoming increasingly amazed at what you can find online for free as far as TV shows goes. Not just hulu and animewin, but if you type in <show name> online in google you'd be suprised what comes up.

On that note. Elfen Lied. It's relation to Shadowrun is a little weak, but the anime is good enough you should just watch it anyway.

Gotta love the Tremor Brothers.

This may sound weird, but the television show that I've managed to get the most SR inspiration from is The Rockford Files. Jim Rockford came off like a very real person who didn't always make the right decisions. Most of all, he was a freelance private detective and some of the plots were intricate and Shadowrunny at times. No, it's not futuristic, but the storylines are full of good stuff that can be easily swiped for your games.

Since we're talking about movies as well, I would suggest that most films noir can be plummed for inspiration.

Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner! Oh, and welcome to Dumpshock.

I'll throw in The Spanish Prisoner. The best Rated G con-game drama ever made. Thank you David Mamet for making Steve Martin a believable bad guy.

Love it !!

And some more on my website here - well, some of the ones that inspire me, anyway.

The brazilian movie City of God could be a good inspiration for a run in that 'Metropolis' of Amazonia... Slums, violence, gangs....

Same for Carandiru, apparently based on a real 1992 event in an infernal prison....

I completely agree on both counts. Rockford is a PI show in the same vein as the Marlow and Hammet novels. Since many of those same novels were the core of the film noir filmography, the overlap is understandable. Most early cyberpunk authors referenced (or aped) those same novels to create the same feeling of the city as a living breathing thing, with the protagonist as an amoral everyman with only a limited grip on the true nature of the events unfolding around him.

While I have played one-offs like "Smoking Aces" I wouldn't want my regular game to play like that. I'd much rather something like "Ronin" or "Spartan" (or almost anything David Mamet has done in or near this genre). It's not necessarily more "realistic", but it is more the style I like.

So "Reservior Dogs" anyone?

Only when the game goes horribly wrong.

Just imagine the horror of taking the teams Drone Rigger aside before the game starts and letting him know that he's actually a deep cover cop, or worse a patsy for an Aztech recruiter. Once the Rigger has gathered enough 'evidence' Aztechnology has the whole team by the balls...

Or said Drone Rigger could have had a post-hypnotic command implanted in him by Aztechnology. To be triggered at just... the right... time.

Hmmm, scurries off to look up Psychotropic IC....

Thank you for the welcome.

It's always good to see someone from the mothership.

If you haven't seen it yet, the new Fox show "Fringe" has all kinds of cyberpunk goodness. In the pilot we get a cyberarm, proto-hacking another person's mind, and bioware/nanotech, as well as other hints of strange or "magical" occurances.

It's not much of a movie, but very much in the SR genre is Foolproof.

Fox's Dark Angel TV series. Interesting premise and start but it fell apart. Sort of a Barrens-lite post-apocalyptic Seattle set-up.

I just watched "Big Trouble in Little China" again. It's one of my favorite movies, but I never really thought about it in relation to Shadowrun. After tonight's viewing though, it's got everything but the high technology. Magic, monsters and critters, warring asian gangs and 80s music and fashion out the wazoo. Not to forget that there is logical progression through their "run" as Jack and Wang infiltrate various places using cons and fight their way out from the inside when plans fail. This one should be a must watch for the feel and spirit of the 80s that needs to permeate any kind of cyberpunk work.

EDIT:

I forgot to mention all of the tacky neon at the end. LOVE IT.

Truly, one of the best films of all time

It's all in the reflexes.

You know what Jack Burton says...

Another good movie for the great 80's style and feel for Shadowrun would be "The Last Dragon." It's got ridiculous street gangs, twisted executives, glam club scenes and a synth/hip hop soundtrack from Motown that could be easily be background to any 1st or 2nd edition club scene. The entire movie plays out like an evolving run with the executive progressively retaliating and taking bigger shots at his enemies, especially by employing said street gang to take out the main character.

I can’t believe no one has brought up Cowboy Bebop. I mean come on they live job to job. They are on the fringe if not off the edge of society. Also it shows how a team should work together to do leg work. I mean you know Ed is going to cover the hacking for the team, Jet is going to press his cop contacts for info, Spike has a wide array of contacts to go to depending on where they are, and what info is needed. Also it is a good way to show the power of underworld syndicates, because they are everywhere. Now this might just be me, but in the episode Bohemian Rhapsody the Gate-Corp gives off a kind of Mega-Corp vibe by hiring all the Bounty Hunters to got after chess master hex instead of going to the cops. I mean they have the money to be a Mega-Corp since they have a monopoly on gate technology, and everyone has to use it to travel long distances. Also there is cyberware in the fact Jet has a cyber arm, and others seem to have cyberware.

Hehe... just because it has to be said again and again.... Ghost in the Shell has the whole cyberpunk angle down (minus the magic).

And also as stated... Black Lagoon has that dystopic thing down pat w/ the roanapur (sp?) barrens compared to the Jap zaibutsu arcology and the organized mafias w/ their turf fights and everybody farming out work to the locals. No real 'magic' though if Revi isn't a gunslinger adept I don't know what else qualifies! (and lets face it the gunrunning nun & church is just priceless!)

Both of those are really good examples too. I haven't watched too much of Black Lagoon, but from what I have seen, it is a runner team doing dangerous shit for a living, and that qualifies as either mercenary or runner in my book. I just finished watching Mezzo DSA, and that was a ho-hum anime series with a Shadowrun feel. The three-man team had a wicked combat and gun fighter (wrapped into a small girl package), a tech wiz who built androids, and an ex cop who milked the system with his old cop contacts and doubled as the team's fixer. There are ghosts and other mystic happenings in addition to androids and AIs. Not distant enough in the future to be Shadowrun, but enough to be a little sci-fi.

Even though Mezzo, Black Lagoon and Cowboy Bebop are all really good "runner" or fringe series, the real reason I mentioned Big Trouble in Little China and The Last Dragon is for the feel and mentality of the movies.

Nothing says cyberpunk like a good dose of the eighties.

For dystopian feel (I ffor nothing else):

Terry Gilliam's Brazil: showing the corp side of things.
Fritz Lang's Metropolis
(Forgot His Name:Alex-Something)Dark City: Could also illustrate Matrix Metaphores

Alex Proyas. He did I Robot and The Crow.

Let's see...

Point of No Return

And what about....

The A-Team... bunch of criminals... hired by people to do things outside the law.... guns... face character, two riggers..

Mohawks...

i could have sworn i spotted someone sporting a mohawk today...

Do you mean
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049515/plotsummary

What?