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Post by Piper on Oct 17, 2020 0:52:55 GMT -6
An interesting bit of trivia from the IMDb page for same: The fourth Dungeons and Dragons film and also a reboot.
Supposedly filming has been delayed by the plague so I guess the project is a bit more real than merely rumors. I'm not a big fan of reboots but the original was seen by so few I doubt anyone will realize it is one.
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Post by DungeonDevil on Oct 17, 2020 7:44:03 GMT -6
I thought Stranger Things was the reboot.  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2020 10:28:20 GMT -6
The AD&D duology from Community is my canonical D&D film.
"I won Dungeons and Dragons. And it was Advanced!"
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Post by Punkrabbitt on Oct 17, 2020 11:58:03 GMT -6
I thought Stranger Things was the reboot. While I am sure this is in jest, Stranger Things could be. for all intents and purposes, a passable live action version of the cartoon in any event. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2020 12:52:23 GMT -6
"Mazes and Monsters is a far out game."
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Post by asaki on Oct 18, 2020 13:22:38 GMT -6
There was a third movie??
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Post by Piper on Oct 18, 2020 18:47:42 GMT -6
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Post by DungeonDevil on Oct 20, 2020 7:57:06 GMT -6
"Mazes and Monsters is a far out game." I love that cheesy, awful movie far more than it deserves. Time for a rewatch. |
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Post by asaki on Oct 20, 2020 13:55:02 GMT -6
Yes. And just like the second one, it was a direct to video release. It features an evil party and has some soft-R moments. Ah. I thought the second movie was almost okay, in a "made-for-TV" way. Might have to check out the third one. I have another movie that's animated, I think it's Dragonlance? Wasn't sure if you meant that one or not. |
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Post by Piper on Oct 20, 2020 17:03:06 GMT -6
[...] have another movie that's animated, I think it's Dragonlance? Wasn't sure if you meant that one or not. If we're talking animated films then I think it likely you're speaking of the Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight (2008) animated feature. The three live-action D&D films are: D&D: The Movie (2000) ... EGG described the first as a "dog log" and worse. D&D: Wrath of the Dragon God (2005) ... released on Sci-Fi D&D: The Book of Vile Darkness (2012) ... thank goodness I speak German, I had to go to Amazon's German site to order a copy of this one (dialog is in English but CC is only in German). IMO Wrath of the Dragon God was the best of the lot but that's faint praise. None of the films were that great, though all had a good story that could have made for a great experience with the good budget and a more (shall we say) A-List cast. Fun fact about the first one? Dave Arneson film a cameo as a wizard. Though he didn't appear in the released film, you could see him against a green screen set in the extras on the DVD. The first film suffered most because of the freshman efforts of Courtney Solomon. It seems his reach exceeded his grasp, I attribute this to him being raised in a film-making household (both his parents are professional filmmakers). He managed to throw together a pretty talented cast, but he couldn't decide a tone for the story. Is it a slapstick comedy, love story, drama, action adventure? The film never settled into a directorial direction, it meandered. It's biggest sin from my POV is a D&D movie with barely any dungeons and CGI dragons that looked awful. Keep in mind, I saw this one on the big screen when it came out. Before the film started the nerdy audience (the theatre was about a third full) was excited and chattering. Afterward? We all left in silence, barely looking at each other. The next I think are best summed up by "made-for-TV." The third was IMO the least entertaining of the lot. It featured an evil party. Though the "fallen paladin" main lead was rather interesting, I like my fantasy heroic.* But that isn't the worst thing about the movie. D&D III's biggest sins are it's community little theatre level of acting and the VCR video tape appearance of the filming.
There you go. That's a quick rundown of the three. ---- *let me head off any criticism "but evil games are mature" crowd right here. I've received a lot of flak about this and I'm not changing my stance. As with art, "fun" is in the eye of the beholder and I enjoy playing and running heroic fantasy campaigns. This isn't an implied criticism of evil D&D games, I'm simply simply isn't my cup of tea. Get over it. |
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Post by DungeonDevil on Oct 20, 2020 18:01:03 GMT -6
That guy should never be allowed around a camera. Period.
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Post by Piper on Oct 20, 2020 23:05:30 GMT -6
That guy should never be allowed around a camera. Period. LOL! Well in all fairness he was a new producer. I thought he had some good ideas. The long shot of tavern going through the common room and up a few levels to where our heroes were sitting was very nice, for example. D&D:TM was his first project. I looked him up on IMDb and I must admit I'm not familiar with most of his catalog of work. The only one I did know was D&D: Wrath of the Dragon God but he was exec producer on that one and IIRC that's Hollywood talk for "we had to include him because of contractual stuff but he can't really do anything." He is attached to D&D IV and the Red Sonja remake. So maybe he'll prove himself ... or perhaps D&D:TM was typical and not a fluke. |
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Post by captainjapan on Oct 21, 2020 22:13:56 GMT -6
  Maybe you remember Sam from Freaks and Geeks (he's the one on the right). He's attached to write and direct D&D 4. If you liked Spiderman Homecoming; he co-wrote that. He had nothing to do with the other films. From GamesRadar, back in May: ...but are we sure that Krull wasn't the best Dungeons & Dragons?. |
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Post by Piper on Oct 31, 2020 4:23:10 GMT -6
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Post by asaki on Oct 31, 2020 13:46:41 GMT -6
Maybe you remember Sam from Freaks and Geeks (he's the one on the right). He's attached to write and direct D&D 4. Oh nice, didn't know he was playing other fields. Unlike Bill there, I haven't seen Sam in front of the camera very much. |
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Post by Piper on Nov 2, 2020 3:26:37 GMT -6
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Post by DungeonDevil on Nov 2, 2020 22:32:46 GMT -6
Biggest understatement of the millennium.
I started a thread about something along these lines over on DF and it was promptly locked. :?
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Post by thegreyelf on Nov 16, 2020 14:02:21 GMT -6
I actually really enjoyed the second and third D&D movies (Wrath of the Dragon God and Book of Vile Darkness). I thought the third one was quite good, actually, and I have a copy on DVD. Really, though, there has been a series of five D&D movies, just not branded D&D, which despite rather low production values, are pretty excellent D&D films. They're the Mythica series: Mythica: A Quest for Heroes (Dec. 2013) Mythica: The Darkspore (June 2014) Mythica: The Necromancer (Dec. 2015) Mythica: The Iron Crown (May 2016) Mythica: The Godslayer (Nov. 2016) Last I checked, they were all available to view for free on Amazon Prime and Tubi (the latter with commercials). I own the 5-disc DVD collection. The way Necromancy works in them inspired the Soul Mage character archetypes I did in the 5e Player's Guide to Aihrde for TLG. [EDIT]Here's the official website for them: www.mythicamovie.com/They really are a legit D&D series: there's even a fighter, cleric, wizard, and thief as the core four members of the party. Also, Kevin Sorbo plays the Elminster/Gandalf character, which is entertaining. |
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Post by tdenmark on Nov 16, 2020 14:36:59 GMT -6
Last I checked, they were all available to view for free on Amazon Prime Yep, they're still on Amazon. I'm watching the first one now on your recommendation. It better be good. |
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Post by tdenmark on Nov 16, 2020 14:40:51 GMT -6
I hope they've learned from The Mandalorian to stay true to the canon and designs of the lore that the fans love while still delivering something fresh and new each episode. And it doesn't hurt to take a classic story that already works and skin it with IP art. IMHO what usually happens with these things is you get creatives and execs in charge who have no knowledge or love of the original IP and try to make something totally different and just put the IP's logo on it. Blech. |
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Post by tdenmark on Nov 16, 2020 18:05:17 GMT -6
Last I checked, they were all available to view for free on Amazon Prime Yep, they're still on Amazon. I'm watching the first one now on your recommendation. It better be good. I'm happy to report the first one: A Quest for Heroes is actually pretty good for what it is. I like how the adventuring party came together, and someone actually knows how to tell a story, edit, frame and light a scene. Special effects were...alright for the budget. Definitely for D&D nerds. |
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Post by Piper on Nov 16, 2020 19:23:19 GMT -6
Really, though, there has been a series of five D&D movies, just not branded D&D, which despite rather low production values, are pretty excellent D&D films. They're the Mythica series Another endorsement for the Mythica series of films. They presented a good story and is one of the rare cases the story overrode the low-budget and uneven acting and presented an entertaining package. |
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Post by Piper on Nov 16, 2020 19:36:58 GMT -6
I hope they've learned from The Mandalorian to stay true to the canon and designs of the lore that the fans love while still delivering something fresh and new each episode. And it doesn't hurt to take a classic story that already works and skin it with IP art. D&D carries a huge weight of expectations with it. Unfortunately, those expectations vary by player. Even back in the 1970's when the game was new, campaigns settings varied wildly. Is D&D heroic fantasy, Chthulhic horror, war and intrigue amongst the realms, conquering the wilderness ... I've seen all of these and more over the years. Making a film that can satisfy the varied tastes of the fanbase is a tall order. I'd love to see a fantasy film with D&D telling a self-contained story with no eye toward establishing a series of films. That way the filmmakers can concentrate on entertaining us rather than establishing a franchise. If the film does well at the box office, they'll figure out a way to continue telling stories in the same vein. ETA: And for a series? Concentrate on a small party so we can get to know the characters. I thought "Firefly" did a great job with this. You could have a core group and a few others rotating in and out on a regular or semi-regular basis. I'm okay with story arcs but hope they avoid the WB superhero thing of taking a whole season to tell a story. |
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Post by tdenmark on Nov 16, 2020 21:01:29 GMT -6
D&D carries a huge weight of expectations with it. Unfortunately, those expectations vary by player. Even back in the 1970's when the game was new, campaigns settings varied wildly. Is D&D heroic fantasy, Chthulhic horror, war and intrigue amongst the realms, conquering the wilderness ... I've seen all of these and more over the years. Making a film that can satisfy the varied tastes of the fanbase is a tall order. There are things that are very unique, memorable, and integral to D&D. For example many of the monster designs are iconic and specific to D&D such as dragons, many of the demons and devils (Lolth!), and other weird ones like umber hulks, bullette, and otyughs. Just focus on one great adventure: Temple of Elemental Evil Queen of the Demonweb pits series. Saltmarsh series Expedition to the Barrier Peaks! <--- that would be a great story that hasn't really been put on film before (I could be wrong, you'll probably point out a half dozen I didn't know about) Like MCU, weave those into a good story. This is too much to ask though, it would take an Executive Producer who is a lifelong fan and of the caliber of Kevin Feige or Jon Favreau. This is something Marvel Cinematic did well. The history of Marvel is wild all over the place, but they found a way to honor that history and still show us new stuff. |
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Post by Piper on Nov 16, 2020 22:18:32 GMT -6
Just focus on one great adventure: Temple of Elemental Evil I believe "The Village of Hommlet" would be an especially good choice for a big-budget D&D film. It has town intrigue, wilderness exploration, a dungeon, and the possibility for a mass battle. In my opinion these are elements to a great campaign. I also like it is for low-level adventurers because so many fantasy films seem to pivot upon saving the world/universe/reality from the BBEG or BEM. It would be nice to something a bit more down-to-earth and, if the film is a smashing success (I'm hopeful but wouldn't bet the house on it) you have room to grow the characters and situation upward ... rather than wondering how you think up a challenge to top Superman, Thor, Merlin, Conan, Gandalf, and the Gray Mouser saving the universe. It could easily segue right into your choice of Temple of Elemental Evil. |
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Post by tdenmark on Nov 17, 2020 15:14:23 GMT -6
I believe "The Village of Hommlet" would be an especially good choice for a big-budget D&D film. I would love to see a Village of Hommlet tv series (or movie) done to the level of quality of Game of Thrones, I just don't know if that kind of vanilla fantasy will attract a big enough audience. Something with a unique factor, like Expedition to the Barrier Peaks could grab some attention. I know, very untypical D&D material, but once you have characters an audience loves then you can explore other more typical D&D tropes. Another one that might be real attention grabber is White Plume Mountain. |
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Post by DungeonDevil on Nov 17, 2020 22:39:39 GMT -6
Eps 1-3: B1
Eps 4-6: B2
After that they can upshift to AD&D material.
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Post by Falconer on Nov 19, 2020 15:14:39 GMT -6
Your Highness is a great, underrated D&D movie.
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Post by countingwizard on Nov 19, 2020 17:41:37 GMT -6
I don't understand why D&D would be a movie and not a series.
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Post by asaki on Nov 19, 2020 21:50:43 GMT -6
Or just watch something like Harmon Quest  (which technically is Pathfinder and not D&D) |
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(which technically is Pathfinder and not D&D)