4. Shadow of the Colossus
Huh?Shadow of the Colossus is a perhaps the single-most important example when it comes to that polarizing "video games as art" thing. Back when late film critic Roger Ebert announced that there was no way in that a video game could ever be considered to be a piece of art, it was pretty obvious that he has never played this game. That's to say,
Shadow of the Colossus is a masterpiece: beautiful, original, and as emotionally resonant as any great movie. The story, which had players navigating a wide, breathtaking landscape in search of the "Colossi" - huge towering giants, taking a variety of forms - was slight, and perfectly matched to the gaming format. Would it work as movie, given that there's no no dialogue whatsoever, and no major story cues? You'll have to ask
Chronicle director Josh Trank, who has signed on with Sony to adapt this wondrous beast.
Could It Work? Adapted closely, I don't think
Shadow of the Colossus would function particularly well as a movie. For any kind of cinematic representation to work, I think certain liberties would have to be taken, 'less Trank produces a silent movie consisting purely of epic battles. And hey, maybe that could work - it'd be an experiment worth conducting, at least. But would you find a studio willing to put up the cash to just "see what happens"? Uh-uh. Let's see how
Pacific Rim turns out, and ponder whether a movie like that might work with an arthouse sensibility.