FILMS ABOUT RPG's

Non-fiction

The Dungeons & Dragons Experience. Dir. Jesse Spiro. Spiro Graphics, 2003. www.thedungeonsanddragonsexperience.com

A 60-minute documentary film about D&D play, concentrating on private groups rather than conventions.

 

Life With the Dice Bag. Dir. Mason Booker. 2004. www.maysun.org

A documentary film about role-playing games and those who play them. Shot between 2002-2003, it is constructed almost entirely of interviews with actual game players, clumped together topically to give a rough overview of the hobby.

 

Uber Goober. Dir. Steve Metze. 2003. ubergoobermovie.com

A 90 minute documentary film about wargames, tabletop role-playing games, and LARPs, with featured interviews including Dungeons and Dragons creator E. Gary Gygax, televangelist Bob Larson, author Mike Stackpole, and cartoonist John Kovalic. Shot primarily in Austin, Texas, this has a tone of gentle self-mockery.

Fiction

Cloak & Dagger. Dir. Richard Franklin. Perf. Henry Thomas, Dabney Coleman. 1984. www.imdb.com/title/tt0087065/

A thriller about a young boy who is immersed in playing what is portrayed as both a video game and tabletop RPG, and then becomes embroiled in real espionage. He has an imaginary friend which is his character, Jack Flack, played by the same actor as his father.

 

El Corazón del Guerrero. Dir. Daniel Monzón. Perf. Fernando Ramallo, Neus Asensi, Joel Joan. CARTEL, 2000. www.imdb.com/title/tt0205843/

A Spanish film about a set of D&D gamers, one of whom starts to hallucinate parts of the game which begin to intrude on reality.

 

The Gamers. Dir. Matt Vancil. Dead Gentlemen Productions, 2003. www.deadgentlemen.com/gamers/

A 40-minute independent film which intercuts gamers playing the game with their characters (played by the same actors) having their fantasy adventure. A gentle parody of RPGs and RPG gamers.

 

Mazes and Monsters. Screenplay by Rona Jaffe and Tom Lazarus. Dir. Steven Hilliard Stern. Perf. Tom Hanks, Wendy Crewson, David Wallace. 1982. www.imdb.com/title/tt0084314/

A TV movie about a role-playing gamer who becomes lost in the fantasy and dangerously insane -- a rather overblown anti-RPG drama.

 

Dungeon Majesty. www.dungeonmajesty.com

A tongue-in-cheek amateur film series about a set of female players and their fantasy alter-egos.

More minorly, role-playing appears in the films E.T. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, and Gotcha!. However, though there are significant scenes attached to it, role-playing is not tied to the plot.