From Bedrooms to Billions

As you can see from my score, this movie is not just perfect, it is mind blowing. (I give it 9.5 but the rating system doesn't do .5). Compared to the AVGN movie you may have seen put about these days, this movie is actually AWESOME. Let me explain.

In order to get an idea of the history of retro machines, first you must present the story from the eyes of the kids and teens who made the games, and why they made them. Then you must bring in the story of the UK games industry, moving through the BBC and ZX spectrum range, and the frontier of Memory Vs the imagination. Then the Commodore C64, and the frontier of audio. Finally the Amiga, as the final frontier of game-play and graphics. Then 'the console gap' which lead to the modern day; where games are now versions of revisions. In short, this documentary covers it all, from the eyes of the makers who made it happen. Rather than an emotional roller-coaster, instead this is a soft and gentle deep thread of fascination from end to end. Everything about Crash and Zzap64! is in there; which was written by young adults of my own age-group (something I didn't realise at the time!), and even though every topic is here, we as an audience get the feeling of only just skimming the surface.

The games are far and wide (I recognised about half), and include many hits from the three big machines, ZX, C64, Amiga. (NES and SEGA also feature, as well as PS4). In the Amiga section they feature many 3D games: such as Stunt Car Racer, Midwinter and Mercenary III. I thought the Amiga content flew by quite quickly, but there were a lot of Amiga guys throughout the whole movie, talking about the general idea and logistics of producing games.

The whole production feels like it was produced with so much love and affection, the homage to the period so vivid it's almost as though its still here with us. A time when we could all be friends, together as gamers, having fun, living a dream. If you are reading this message, YOU were there; now you can relive those times again and again forever.

The extra material in the Special Edition is also worth a look for C64 and Amiga fans, with Jon Hare on Sensi Soccer (5mins), Mike Montgomtery on creating Speedball 2 (almost 6mins). The making of Shadow of the Beast (8mins), Peter Molyneux on Populous (15mins). David Braben talks about the original Elite (31mins), plus there are a rake of C64 related materials, including 17mins of Geoff Crammond talking about The Sentinel, and his time on the BBC Micro with games like Super Space Invaders and Revs. And even an extended interview with the legend Matthew Smith and his days with Manic Miner (6mins). Plus more! As you can tell, I think this is the most glorious tribute to that whole period, period! So gather all your friends around and make this a celebration. This one is definitely worth watching.

I love this film. Not only for its in-depth and fascinating recap on the UK game industry starting in the 80's, but because its edited as a true story.

The flow of the film starts at the introduction of computers in the home and works its way through the home programmer, the initial reselling and publishing of games into the more serious side of struggling business and eventually where we're going today. Its a fantastic journey that touches on a bit of everything and its one I can relate to having grown up in that whole era.

If you want one of the best documentaries about the early games industry, then this is the one you seriously should be watching. Immensely enjoyable and very much re-watchable... :)

This for me has to be one of the greatest, well made documentaries I've ever seen. For the best part of 2·5 hours I was glued to the TV. There are some great interviews with key people from the birth of the games industry in the UK, combined with game footage and a great soundtrack. For a retro gamer like me it took me back to my childhood and great memories. However, you don't need to be a gamer to enjoy this, it is simply an excellent documentary. Check out the bonus disc too, some extended interviews and insights not in the main film! The highlight for me was seeing the great Matthew Smith, most famous as the man behind Manic Miner.

Pros: a brilliant look at the early 80s British game industry. Cons: doubles as The Big Book of British Smiles.

What can I say about this film that has not already been said ?

I was lucky enough to grow up through this age, playing the games, becoming a computer geek, even being an Amiga 'scene' demo programmer in my late teens which led to a career as a computer programmer.

This film documented my childhood into my 20's, and any computer kid of the 70's included, as such I can't recommend it enough to people of our generation - but more importantly to those of the younger generation to see where it all began as to move forward you must always look back first.

Looking forward to the new 'Amiga years' film A lot.