The Dungeon Masters (2008)

Director:

Keven McAlester

Genre:

Documentary | Drama

Tagline:

This is how they roll.

Plot:

An evil drow-elf is displaced by Hurricane Katrina. A sanitation worker lures friends into a Sphere of Annihilation...

Plot Keywords:

Dungeons And Dragons | Role Playing

Directed by
Keven McAlester

Produced by
Brian Gerber	....	producer
Phil Hay	....	executive producer
Takeo Hori	....	co-producer
Jeffrey Levy-Hinte	....	producer
Alicia Loving	....	in-house producer
Matt Manfredi	....	executive producer
Kel Symons	....	producer

Original Music by
Blonde Redhead

Cinematography by
Lee Daniel

Film Editing by
Christine Khalafian

Production Management
James Debbs	....	post-production supervisor

Sound Department
Leslie Bloom	....	foley artist
Jason Boswell	....	sound
Mike Budzik	....	sound
Mike Curtiss	....	sound
Tom Efinger	....	sound supervisor
Eric Gitelson	....	foley engineer
Robert Hearn	....	sound mixer
Robert Hearn	....	sound (as Rob Hearn)
John Moros	....	sound editor
Matt Oliva	....	additional sound mixer
Chad Robertson	....	sound
Bill Ruth	....	sound
Brian Scibinico	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeff Seelye	....	assistant sound editor
Penny Smith	....	sound
Dan Taylor	....	sound
Sam Watson	....	sound
Russell White	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
John Bush	....	additional photographer
Matthew Buzzell	....	additional photographer
Patrice Lucien Cochet	....	additional photographer (as Patrice Cochet)
Ronnie Dennis	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Chad Eshbaugh	....	motion-control camera
Nikk Hearn-Sutton	....	Steadicam operator (as Nikk Sutton)
Adam McDaid	....	additional cinematographer
Declan Ryan	....	additional cinematographer
Lisa Wiegand	....	additional cinematographer

Editorial Department
Doug Fox	....	digital intermediate producer
Victor Livingston	....	supervising editor
Leandro Marini	....	digital intermediate producer
Alicia Martinez	....	on-line editor
Sean McQueeney	....	additional editor
Blake Norelius	....	digital intermediate colorist
Eric Potter	....	additional editor
Adrian Scherger	....	on-line editor
Mary Liz Thomson	....	digital intermediate supervisor

Music Department
Ryan Barnes	....	music coordinator
Joe Rudge	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Natasha Atalla	....	production assistant
Tabatha Conrad	....	production assistant
Andy Goldman	....	title designer
Derrick Goulet	....	production accountant
Rob Howland	....	production assistant
Gerry Kim	....	office manager
Jeff Lock	....	production assistant
Thorn Michaels	....	production assistant
Skyler Ng	....	production assistant
Kathie J. Pomposo	....	production assistant
Lissette Schuster	....	production assistant
Shannon Simonsen	....	production assistant

Thanks
Eve Epstein	....	special thanks
Jacques Vroom III	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Saving Throw Productions
• Standard Pictures
• Antidote Films (I)

Distributors

• FilmBuff (2010) (USA) (all media)

Other Companies

• Local Hero  post-production facilities

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:87 min | Argentina:93 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Company:

Saving Throw Productions

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Community: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (#2.14)" (2011)

Soundtrack:

Folios

Painting portraits of nerds and the socially challenged...

I have been playing role-playing games (mostly Dungeons & Dragons) for about 26 years, give or take, and I can nod agreeably to some of the things in this documentary, but wow it really, and I do mean really, puts a derogatory light on role-players as people, as it showcases some of the more extremes of people. This movie really makes role-players (or gamers) stand out like social inadequate misfits.

I love Dungeons & Dragons, otherwise I wouldn't have played for this many years, obviously, but this movie was just a tad too much. It was all about hanging people out to dry. There were times when I was thinking that this is so staged and fake, because no one could seriously have that sad existences.

How about if the director had opted to show people who weren't socially challenged, overweight, nerdy and alienated from the 'normal' world around them? During my 26 years of gaming and having had multiple people in and out of the gaming groups, I can honestly say that the way these people were portrayed, I can only name on in my experience of gaming that would qualify to be part of the ensemble in this movie.

I don't believe that this documentary does justice to the role-playing game, or the people that play these games, one bit.

And as for the LARPing (Live Action Role-Playing), then I am at a loss here. I can't take that serious. Full-grown people dressing up in costumes and armor, brandishing latex weapons and throwing paper at one another to symbolize magic. What the... It is acceptable when children or young teens do it, but when people in their thirties with a house and family start doing it, you might as well just turn the key and admit to the ultimate defeat. LARPing is lame on an epic scale. And the way that it was portrayed in this movie, really didn't help to improve on that faltering image that it is.

What was good about the documentary was that you got to see the aspects of these people's obsession with role-playing and got to delve a little bit into their mindsets, who they were and what drove them on. But I have to say, again, that it was all painted out in a grotesque way to make role-playing gamers stand in a bad light.

At the end I was sort of disappointed by this movie, and it didn't really prove to have any entertainment value. If you want to be entertained by something from the role-playing milieu, then perhaps the 2002 movie "The Gamers" is a better choice.