Chasing Ghosts (the documentary) is now on Netflix Instant Play [Archive]

Frankie_Says_Relax

03-03-2012, 12:58 PM

treismac

03-03-2012, 02:10 PM

Good stuff, Frankie! Thanks!

kedawa

03-04-2012, 03:11 PM

I don't imagine they ever got the rights to the music used in the original cut, but I don't know what else is different about the later version(s).

treismac

03-04-2012, 03:28 PM

goatdan

03-04-2012, 09:38 PM

Have any of you seen The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters? I'd be interested in seeing that after watching this. From what I've read it seems like the documentary casts Billy Mitchell as a bad guy, which would be entertaining to watch, regardless of if he fits the role or not.

King of Kong is a very nicely done documentary, as long as you go into it not really expecting it to be true.

I just recently saw Chasing Ghosts after being interested in it for a long time, and I feel like the directors didn't really know what to make of it. I'm not sure if the story was that Walter, Billy, the ref guy and the guy in Florida (I'm not remembering anyone's names now) were all stuck in the past, and everyone else moved on, or that anyone who plays old games is stuck in the past and should move on, or ??? At times, it painted everyone really sympathetic, and then it would flip and paint them as pathetic instead. Without a core storyline to keep it all together, it was more or less an interesting peek at a small part of a hobby that I enjoy.

King of Kong has a very strong narrative wove throughout it to make it more than just another documentary, and it definitely goes places because of that narrative that make it a really interesting watch. Knowing just a bit of the background of that movie though makes it so you watch it without believing what it is selling -- the main point in that movie is that Billy Mitchell was the Donkey Kong record holder during the majority of it's filming and that he refused to play publicly, but in the middle of that filming in 2004, Billy Mitchell came to the Midwest Gaming Classic and played Donkey Kong there. I remember that he set what was called the "public record" since the other guy in the movie owned the real world record the entire time.

If I hadn't been running the MGC in 2004, I would have known none of that, but when I started watching the movie, I was like, "Oh, I wonder what they're going to say about the MGC!" and then when those dates went by and they were claiming that Billy was the record holder the whole time, I was like wait a minute, I remember posting something on the MGC site afterwards that he wasn't...

Oh, the other guy was. For like, the entire movie.

So, it's a GREAT story, but it's not exactly a truthful one.

JSoup

03-04-2012, 10:08 PM

I saw Chasing Ghosts a few months ago and found it to be a downer. The point of the film seemed to be to show that Billy Mitchel is king of the douche bags and the rest of these 'gaming legends' are now old, fat and pathetic.

Woo, go gaming. :roll:

Edit: Looking back on the 'last movie watched' topic, my exact words were: "You know, I'm thinking these guys, along with the King of Kong people, don't really know how to make documentaries. King of Kong may as well have been called "Billy Mitchell is an Asshole: The Movie". Chasing Ghosts rehashed information presented in King of Kong, but went on to show how all but two of these people are sad fucks now."

InsaneDavid

03-04-2012, 10:31 PM

(I had hoped to bump an old thread on this film to post this news but there were like 10.)

I see that Chasing Ghosts has been added to the new release section of Netflix Instant Play.

For those of you who haven't seen the 2007 documentary from director Lincoln Ruchti that centers around the rise of classic arcade culture and personalities, here's an opportunity to check it out outside of Showtime (where it airs fairly regularly) or torrenting a copy of it.

I hear that there are one or two cuts of this film, so anybody who has seen both and has Netflix Instant Play I'd be interested to know which one this is and if it's the superior version.

http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Chasing-Ghosts-Beyond-the-Arcade/70066334

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479879/

http://chasingghoststhemovie.com/

Version on Netflix is the Showtime "final" version. The music from the pre-release screener has all been replaced with more generic stuff. Robert Mruczek's art collection scene has been removed additionally. On the other hand the "final" cut flows better and has a few little nips and tucks here and there.

Let's also get one thing straight, while entertaining, The King of Kong is in no way shape or form a documentary. "Docudrama" is a better classification for that film. People that diss those in these films (except for Brian Kuh - he deserves it) are usually the ones living in their parent's basements who do nothing but sit on their computers all day.

Frankie_Says_Relax

03-04-2012, 11:32 PM

Version on Netflix is the Showtime "final" version. The music from the pre-release screener has all been replaced with more generic stuff. Robert Mruczek's art collection scene has been removed additionally. On the other hand the "final" cut flows better and has a few little nips and tucks here and there.

Let's also get one thing straight, while entertaining, The King of Kong is in no way shape or form a documentary. "Docudrama" is a better classification for that film. People that diss those in these films (except for Brian Kuh - he deserves it) are usually the ones living in their parent's basements who do nothing but sit on their computers all day.

Cool. Thanks for the clarification. I had heard about the explicit art collection but had forgotten about it when I watched the Netflix version.

I enjoyed Chasing Ghosts, I didn't find it to frame anybody in any terrible light, and lets face it, it's tough for most of those guys not to come off like "characters" when you get a camera rolling in front of them.

Even in the case of Todd Rogers, who probably came off the most troubled (relatively speaking) it did give him an opportunity to go through the laundry list of situations which contributed to his lifestyle ... and he seemed to be pretty functional despite that.

King of Kong on the other hand goes out of its way to tell a story. I also enjoyed that but Chasing Ghosts was more of a retrospective "where are they now" type thing.

InsaneDavid

03-04-2012, 11:45 PM

I enjoyed Chasing Ghosts, I didn't find it to frame anybody in any terrible light, and lets face it, it's tough for most of those guys not to come off like "characters" when you get a camera rolling in front of them.

Even in the case of Todd Rogers, who probably came off the most troubled (relatively speaking) it did give him an opportunity to go through the laundry list of situations which contributed to his lifestyle ... and he seemed to be pretty functional despite that.

Agreed. I've always thought Todd Rogers would have a great career in stand-up comedy. LOL I met him very briefly at California Extreme a few years ago and he was pretty interesting.

Shulamana

03-04-2012, 11:59 PM

Well, at least most of these guys seem to actually have lives, unlike a lot of the pinball addicts on "Special When Lit".

treismac

03-05-2012, 01:02 AM

Hitler is no fan of Billy Mitchell either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35ur3tZ7Z2U&list=UUd1jEiMibCjvYmaxa3Nq_Pw&index=5&feature=plcp

digitpress Jim

03-05-2012, 01:40 AM

Thanks for the heads up, I look forward to watching Chasing Ghosts!

kedawa

03-05-2012, 01:28 PM

The first time I saw this, I didn't know about that old guy(he played Robotron or Berzerk or something)being a pedophile.

Collector_Gaming

03-05-2012, 06:57 PM

Really interesting historical documentary on what was going on in the golden years of Arcade gaming.
I found it historically pleasing :)

but i do agree billy Mitchell is such a tool sometimes.

Frankie_Says_Relax

03-05-2012, 07:21 PM

The first time I saw this, I didn't know about that old guy(he played Robotron or Berzerk or something)being a pedophile.

Yikes! Now THAT would have been a downer if they brought that up during the film.

Greg2600

03-05-2012, 07:24 PM

The Showtime version wasn't as good due to the musical track changes. The original cut also had the goofball in Brooklyn who spent hundreds of thousands on nude art. And yes, the pedophile is in both cuts.

treismac

03-05-2012, 09:34 PM

Are there any other worthwhile video game documentaries out there?

Eh, nevermind...

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?153123-Complete-List-of-Video-Game-Documentaries

hellraiser

03-05-2012, 11:13 PM

Hey thanks fir pointing this out Frankie. I watched and enjoyed it last night. I really liked king of kong and this was pretty good too.

JSoup

03-05-2012, 11:14 PM

but i do agree billy Mitchell is such a tool sometimes.

That hot sauce he peddles isn't bad, though.

goatdan

03-06-2012, 12:07 AM

Well, at least most of these guys seem to actually have lives, unlike a lot of the pinball addicts on "Special When Lit".

I just saw that recently too, and that was the weirdest documentary. It was like, "Hey, pinball collectors are normal people! NO! Wait! Pinball collectors are weird hoarders! Hey, no one gives a crap about pinball tournaments and no one has any idea they are going on. Hey, wow, this is actually cool to see what a pinball tournament looks like!" sprinkled in with other stupid crap throughout. That movie had even less direction than Chasing Ghosts, and it couldn't decide what to do with it's subjects -- ridicule them or celebrate them.

For the other comments, from knowing Billy a little from the '04 MGC and limited interactions with him other than that, he is smart enough to know that if he presents himself as a character, it is more interesting for other people to find out more about him. And if you're interested, you can go to his restaurant and meet him. It's all rather deliberate by him to try to make the competitive video game playing world a little bit more interesting, and potentially spread to more people. Having said that, he is actually a really great guy, who has always been willing to do stuff for the MGC even though he hasn't made it back since '04. But being a calm, unidentifiable nice guy is way less of a gimmick than being a cocky guy who makes you *want* to beat him...

...so maybe you try your hand at playing those old games to find out if you can.

It's actually a great way to go about promoting what he does, even if the majority of people who hear about him go, "What's with that ass?"

treismac

03-06-2012, 12:08 AM

Say what you will, but I think Billy Mitchell is a brilliant character for the world of competitive video game playing! The man has so much swagger, hubris, and mullet that he is almost straight out of a movie. People might say he's a "d-bag" and cast this and that aspersion on his character, and there might be some truth to the claims, but what they cannot say, however, is that the man is boring. Who could possibly claim that King of Kong would have been what it was apart from Billy being such an awesome anti-Steve Weibe?

Just for the record: I think Billy might be a fine fellow who just talks "mad shit" when it's game time.

hellraiser

03-06-2012, 12:44 AM

treismac

03-06-2012, 12:55 AM

Billy, is that you? Lol!!! Just kiddin.

What? You want an autograph?

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/422605_10151379553310294_516975293_23507200_133435 3560_n.jpg

There ya go, kid. Put that up on your wall.

InsaneDavid

03-06-2012, 01:36 AM

Yikes! Now THAT would have been a downer if they brought that up during the film.

That's correct, Ron Bailey had a problem and was convicted a couple years ago (http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=145792).

treismac

03-06-2012, 02:07 AM

That's correct, Ron Bailey had a problem and was convicted a couple years ago (http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=145792).

And to think, I thought that the ham radio hobby was weird.

InsaneDavid

03-06-2012, 02:26 AM

And to think, I thought that the ham radio hobby was weird.

There's nothing wrong with being a licensed amateur radio operator. The non-profit amateur radio organizations in Silicon Valley also host what's arguably the best grass-roots electronics component flea market in California. :)

treismac

03-06-2012, 02:52 AM

There's nothing wrong with being a licensed amateur radio operator. The non-profit amateur radio organizations in Silicon Valley also host what's arguably the best grass-roots electronics component flea market in California. :)

Of course there's nothing "wrong" nor "weird" about it. ;) I just took notice of the huge tower and all the radio equipment and said "hmmm..." to myself when I was watching the film. The appeal just doesn't quite click with me, but then many people could look at my retro video game collection and say the same thing. My uncle had a ham radio that I played with a few times, and I just didn't get a kick out of talking awkwardly to strangers across the country. To be honest, I dislike having conversations even over the telephone, too- only doing it out of necessity with friends who are far away- so there is little chance that I could have ever taken to ham radio. I like to see people when I talk with them. Writing, on the other hand, is a different form of communication, to which I am more than fine with not seeing anybody that I communicate with.

Ryudo

03-08-2012, 07:05 PM

InsaneDavid

03-08-2012, 08:43 PM

This was the most pathetic thing I ever seen. 45 year old douchebag loser trying to tell how it's a bullshit religious experience and trying to live like it's 1982 still and still shows how biased Twin Galaxies is.

When I read comments like this it reminds me just how vast the rift between arcade and console collectors can be.

Having everything fall together during an arcade gaming session is one of the most satisfying rushes you can get in this form of entertainment. Knocking out near perfect laps in Pole Position is the best example that comes to mind. When everything is clicking, it's almost like you're not even having to try.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJRmY9VXf1g

Ryudo

03-08-2012, 10:06 PM

When I read comments like this it reminds me just how vast the rift between arcade and console collectors can be.

Having everything fall together during an arcade gaming session is one of the most satisfying rushes you can get in this form of entertainment. Knocking out near perfect laps in Pole Position is the best example that comes to mind. When everything is clicking, it's almost like you're not even having to try.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJRmY9VXf1g

Look I love The Last Starfighter loved it since the 80's. A show I loved back then was called Starcade.

I played arcades back then and I miss arcades. But what I said I feel is true about this horrible documentary.
It doesn't help when one of them is arrested for being a pedophile. King of Kong was great. Even if itself was a bit biased. This thing is just plain sad and full of douchebags. It's one of the worst Gaming docs I have seen in a while and it's hard for me NOT to lie something Gaming related. I fucking live gaming. But this doc came out very sad and creepy.

Griking

03-09-2012, 12:52 AM

I'm all for people being proud of an accomplishment but I left thinking that they all took themselves way way too serious.

Still though it was fun to watch for the nostalgia of seeing the games and the arcades.

JSoup

03-09-2012, 06:20 AM

When I read comments like this it reminds me just how vast the rift between arcade and console collectors can be.

Having everything fall together during an arcade gaming session is one of the most satisfying rushes you can get in this form of entertainment. Knocking out near perfect laps in Pole Position is the best example that comes to mind. When everything is clicking, it's almost like you're not even having to try.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJRmY9VXf1g

You know, this documentary left me with a bad taste in my mouth with how pathetic is showed gamers to be. But now, thanks to you, I realized something I completely missed. It's not showing gamers as a whole as pathetic, just arcade gamers. It's rather uplifting to know this.

Frankie_Says_Relax

03-09-2012, 08:39 AM

You know, this documentary left me with a bad taste in my mouth with how pathetic is showed gamers to be. But now, thanks to you, I realized something I completely missed. It's not showing gamers as a whole as pathetic, just arcade gamers. It's rather uplifting to know this.

"pathetic" is a relative term ... and with the unfortunate and reprehensible pedophile who happens to be featured in the film aside, as long as everybody else in that film is happy/satisfied with their respective lives and not actively hurting anybody else through their pursuits, I personally see absolutely no reason to look down on any of them.

8bitgamer

03-09-2012, 11:11 AM

Another thing to look for on
Netflix instant streaming is Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. I think it was episode seven that was arcade-related. Cheesy, but fun.

treismac

03-09-2012, 11:35 AM

"pathetic" is a relative term ... and with the unfortunate and reprehensible pedophile who happens to be featured in the film aside, as long as everybody else in that film is happy/satisfied with their respective lives and not actively hurting anybody else through their pursuits, I personally see absolutely no reason to look down on any of them.

I concur. Pedophilia aside, I saw no reason to look down upon any of them.

There were a handful of eccentric characters who might have taken their gaming achievements a bit too seriously, but who bats an eyelash when a baseball or football star spills out hubris when they are on camera? This is purely a societal view: Video games are a waste of time but professional sports is the realm of gods. They are both games, neither one having any inherent value greater than the other. Babe Ruth or Billy Mitchell- they're the same to me.

Perhaps some of them had not achieved great success by the standards of our materialistic and superficial society, and were living "pathetic" lives, but who gives a damn? I guarantee that the coffin of, say, Bill Gates won't be that much nicer than the coffin of Todd Rodgers.

Greg2600

03-09-2012, 07:02 PM

Personally when I first saw the movie several years ago, I found that old guy to be a complete jack ass. And unfortunately I was proved right. The only guy who you really look at and just marvel at the craziness again is the guy in Brooklyn with the cat and the ridiculous expenditures on erotic art. He was the guy who was interviewed in the Brooklyn Barcade, and for several years spent all his time watching Twin Galaxy VHS tape submissions. However, due to the naked art, he was cut from the Netflix/Showtime version, and only remains in the copy floating around in torrents.

8bit4life

03-09-2012, 11:05 PM

For me, I wonder what it�s going to be like after Walter and the other old guards hang it up. Who else is going to take on the selfless challenge of trying to play scorekeeper when almost no one else gives a damn.

I always had my issues with TG, but you have to give them credit for what they have accomplished. Granted, there is probably a much more efficient way to do their jobs now, but who else could give it as much love and attention as they did?

It's a win/lose scenario for me. They were the forerunners for everything we know now as game reviews, yet on the other hand, they absolutely sucked at media portrayal and presented themselves as the absolute stereotype of gamers the way they are always thought to be by the mainstream media.

We need documentaries like this, and we need to recognize the original heroes of gaming and the glory days of arcade competition, But for every documentary like this, we also need those that gives credit to the console gamers, the ones that were pushing the retail market - if we didn�t have them we wouldn�t have a trace of what we know as gaming today.

kedawa

03-10-2012, 02:23 PM

JSoup

03-10-2012, 05:17 PM

The only guy that really irked me was the one who was talking trash about fighting games.
Maybe he's just fixated on beating the machine rather than a human opponent, but if he thinks mastering fighting games doesn't take skill, I'd like to see him try and compete against even an intermediate player.
He just struck me as a bitter old man.

Reminds me of when a bunch of people on GFAQs almost got CJayC to change the category 'fighting games' to 'button masher'. it was done solely to troll, but it was so crazy that CJayC was actually taking seriously and asking for detailed reasons as to why the change was needed.

NayusDante

03-10-2012, 06:27 PM

I watched it last night. It was okay, but I think it lacked a definite direction. It just meandered about, telling some neat arcade lore along the way. At the end, it all culminates with them meeting up again, but it didn't lead into it very well. King of Kong is definitely a better film, in my opinion.

Was the original opening theme song Flock of Seagulls' "Space Age Love Song"? I really dig the instrumental version in the edited cut...

8bitgamer

03-10-2012, 06:32 PM

I concur. Pedophilia aside, I saw no reason to look down upon any of them.

There were a handful of eccentric characters who might have taken their gaming achievements a bit too seriously, but who bats an eyelash when a baseball or football star spills out hubris when they are on camera? This is purely a societal view: Video games are a waste of time but professional sports is the realm of gods. They are both games, neither one having any inherent value greater than the other. Babe Ruth or Billy Mitchell- they're the same to me.

Perhaps some of them had not achieved great success by the standards of our materialistic and superficial society, and were living "pathetic" lives, but who gives a damn? I guarantee that the coffin of, say, Bill Gates won't be that much nicer than the coffin of Todd Rodgers.

Well said!

kedawa

03-10-2012, 07:32 PM

I don't approach documentaries expecting a cohesive story arc, so I really didn't mind the lack of direction. For me, the appeal of a doc like this is in the personalities of the subjects and capturing the zeitgeist of the arcade's golden age.

Gameguy

03-11-2012, 03:43 AM

It doesn't help when one of them is arrested for being a pedophile.
Which guy was it? I don't remember hearing that mentioned in the film and I really can't tell which one of them is the guy as most of them come off creepy in some way.

ChickenPotPie

03-11-2012, 04:14 AM

Hah! I just watched it. Billy Mitchell is the only guy who hasn't lost his hair.

Greg2600

03-11-2012, 11:32 AM

Which guy was it? I don't remember hearing that mentioned in the film and I really can't tell which one of them is the guy as most of them come off creepy in some way.

It's the old guy, who had the big antenna in his yard. He lived in NC, and played Berzerk as an adult back in the day. He was the one who the other guy was driving to see, and they tried to get a Berzerk machine to work and couldn't.

hellraiser

03-11-2012, 12:37 PM

What? You want an autograph?

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/422605_10151379553310294_516975293_23507200_133435 3560_n.jpg

There ya go, kid. Put that up on your wall.

Awww thanks Billy! I'm gonna put it over my consoles for luck ! Lol

Griking

03-11-2012, 01:23 PM

Hah! I just watched it. Billy Mitchell is the only guy who hasn't lost his hair.

Yeah but he's definitely seems like the kind of guy that would would wear a hair piece.

JSoup

03-11-2012, 07:16 PM

"pathetic" is a relative term ...

Here's another relative term: damage control.

Gameguy

03-11-2012, 10:08 PM

It's the old guy, who had the big antenna in his yard. He lived in NC, and played Berzerk as an adult back in the day. He was the one who the other guy was driving to see, and they tried to get a Berzerk machine to work and couldn't.
Wow, he didn't seem like the creepiest guy either. There was the guy who still lived with his parents, never sleeping, spending all his time watching gameplay VHS tapes. Plus that guy who looked like Carl from ATHF, who sounded like he possibly killed his wife.

These people make Keith Apicary seem normal, or at least like a real person.

goatdan

03-12-2012, 01:11 AM

It's a win/lose scenario for me. They were the forerunners for everything we know now as game reviews, yet on the other hand, they absolutely sucked at media portrayal and presented themselves as the absolute stereotype of gamers the way they are always thought to be by the mainstream media.

Wait a moment here -- if they absolutely sucked at media portrayal, how the hell did they end up in Life magazine with that photo shoot? How did they end up on That's Incredible? Hell, even now who does Guinness get their world records from?

I mean, maybe I'm *just* talking about Walter Day here, but if you ever get a chance to speak with him, he definitely knows how to get media attention for what he does, otherwise Twin Galaxies would have ceased to exist a long, long time ago.

A lot of the gamers themselves present themselves poorly, but those gamers would be the ones to end up in the documentary. Which gamer is more interesting, the one who blows $300,000 on nudie art, or the one who used to be really good, but doesn't really play any more except once in a while with his family? The one who has created his own comic book about how his Missile Command skills get him big breasted women, or the one who owns a few arcade games and loves playing them, but only does so a few times a month because he doesn't have time?