Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)

A young programmer starts to question reality when he adapts a mad writer's fantasy novel into a video game.

Director:

David Slade

Writer:

Charlie Brooker

Stars:

Fionn Whitehead, Craig Parkinson, Alice Lowe

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 4 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fionn Whitehead	...	Stefan Butler
Craig Parkinson	...	Peter Butler
Alice Lowe	...	Dr. Haynes
Asim Chaudhry	...	Mohan Thakur
Will Poulter	...	Colin Ritman
Tallulah Haddon	...	Kitty
Catriona Knox	...	Leslie
Paul Michael Bradley	...	Robin (as Paul Bradley)
Jonathan Aris	...	Crispin
A.J. Houghton	...	Young Stefan
Fleur Keith	...	Mum
Laura Evelyn	...	Pearl Ritman
Alan Asaad	...	Satpal
Suzanne Burden	...	Judith Mulligan
Jeff Minter	...	Jerome F. Davies

Storyline

1984. Stefan is developing a computer game based on the book 'Bandersnatch', a novel where you get to make choices and this determines the story. He has an opportunity to take his game to Tuckersoft, a software company, and have them release it. However, the more he works on the game the more his life emulates the game, with choices being made that are out of his control. Stefan appears to be going insane

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Plot Keywords:

interactive movie | 1980s | computer | gamebook | interactive | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 'fax' sounds you hear at the end of Bandersnatch on Stefan's headphone translates to a QR code. That leads you to a website where you will find one of the games shown in the movie. In fact, these sounds are the actual loading tones of a ZX Spectrum program. The sequence of a carrier tone followed by a data tone is repeated twice; the first to load the BASIC program, the second to load the machine code to display the QR code.

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Goofs

In many shots, Craig Parkinson's character, Peter Butler is seen wearing eyeglasses with an anti-reflective coating applied to the lens. Whilst this technology was available, it was not available for consumer use in eyeglasses in 1984.

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Quotes

Dr. Haynes: The past is immutable, Stefan. No matter how painful it is, we can't change things. We can't choose differently with hindsight. We all have to learn to accept that.

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Crazy Credits

In a few endings, once you finish the credits, a post-credits scene will play. Stefan would be seen on the same bus from the beginning, and plays a cassette called "BANDERSNATCH DEMO". The audio would just be some beeps and bleeps, but when translated using a ZX Spectrum Emulator, it gives you a QR code leading to the Tuckersoft website, found here: https://www.tuckersoft.net/ealing20541/

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Alternate Versions

There is no single narrative or version. There are five different endings, each with multiple pathways to them.

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Connections

Follows Black Mirror (2011)

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Soundtracks

Too Shy
Written by Steve Askew, Limahl, Nick Beggs, Stuart Neale and Jez Strode
Performed by Kajagoogoo

User Reviews

A new experience, but that's about it

It never occurred to me that something like this would someday be tried. Kudos to Netflix for trying to push the boundaries of what is possible through this medium. That said, the whole thing felt like a game. A fascinating game because of the novelty, but I felt none of what usually a good film would elicit. Yes, there was a lot of anticipation of what would happen next, but overall, due to the frequent pauses to choose, there was no continuity or involvement in the story per se. Some of the choices too felt pretty childish. The idea that the character was actually feeling like he had no free will and felt compelled to do things as though someone (the viewer) was controlling him - well, it brings a smile the first time, but later, feels like something that perhaps a smoked-up teen would find mind boggling. Overall, yes, definitely something that people would be thrilled to watch and try, but I sincerely hope we do not have a lot of this type of interactive films - at least not at the expense of "normal" films.

Details

Official Sites:

Official page on Netflix

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 December 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

Filming Locations:

St. George's Walk, Croydon, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

House Of Tomorrow, Netflix

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1