mada88
06-05-2007, 11:24 PM
The Thirteenth Floor 1999. Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Vincent Donofrio, Armin Mueller-Stahl.
Douglas Hall (Bierko) and his colleague Whitney (Donofrio) have created a virtual reality world set in 1937 Los Angeles, although have yet to test it. When their project leader Hannon (Mueller-Stahl) is found dead, Douglas and Whitney discover that he had been entering the virtual reality world, unbeknownst to them, prior to his death. Douglas then decides to enter the program to find answers. But nothing compares to the shock of discovering that their own world is also a virtual reality world. !
The movie doesn’t sound like much, but it’s very good, under rated, and usually overlooked. It wound up being overshadowed by The Matrix, which came out the same year. “The Thirteenth Floor” is low key, but well done and acted. It draws you in, the characters are likable, and the twist is memorable, back when big “mind bending twists” were still a relatively new gimmick used in movies. ;)
Key elements
Virtual reality characters waking up to the truth. The “characters” in 1937 virtual reality Los Angeles are designed to look like their creator counterparts, but are not real, for all intents and purposes. They’re not supposed to be capable of independent thoughts and feelings. Yet somehow, it happens. Whitney’s virtual reality counterpart, Jerry Ashton, takes it upon himself to intercept a letter, of which gives him a tip to drive out to Arizona. And upon doing so, he encounters the literal “end of the world”...the point where mountains and scenery end abruptly, turning into digital landscape. This proves more than he can handle, and it sends him into an emotional tailspin with consequences. But none of this was even supposed to be possible.
Virtual reality within virtual reality. What’s really real? Is the reality you think you know just another layer in the program?
Summary: Analogous truth involves characters in an artificially created world having sentience, “waking up”, gaining independent sovereignty, and taking control of the wheel, as well as the concept of layers upon layers of reality on top of each other.
The players/Users download themselfs into a program that is similar to them, its a consciouness transfer. They "jack" in like in the matrix. "The mind jacks in while the body stays here and holds its consciousness of the program link unit" Could this be what possession is? The user only has a set amount of time to be in the virtual world. Is this life then death?
"I'm just like you, a bunch of electricity" - Doug
"Theres another world on top of this one?" - Whitney
"Its all smoke and mirrors, just like your world, Where nothing but a simulation on a computer screen, its like a machine, you have your players, al following pre-programmed movements generated by electricity" - Doug
Douglas Hall (Bierko) and his colleague Whitney (Donofrio) have created a virtual reality world set in 1937 Los Angeles, although have yet to test it. When their project leader Hannon (Mueller-Stahl) is found dead, Douglas and Whitney discover that he had been entering the virtual reality world, unbeknownst to them, prior to his death. Douglas then decides to enter the program to find answers. But nothing compares to the shock of discovering that their own world is also a virtual reality world. !
The movie doesn’t sound like much, but it’s very good, under rated, and usually overlooked. It wound up being overshadowed by The Matrix, which came out the same year. “The Thirteenth Floor” is low key, but well done and acted. It draws you in, the characters are likable, and the twist is memorable, back when big “mind bending twists” were still a relatively new gimmick used in movies. ;)
Key elements
Virtual reality characters waking up to the truth. The “characters” in 1937 virtual reality Los Angeles are designed to look like their creator counterparts, but are not real, for all intents and purposes. They’re not supposed to be capable of independent thoughts and feelings. Yet somehow, it happens. Whitney’s virtual reality counterpart, Jerry Ashton, takes it upon himself to intercept a letter, of which gives him a tip to drive out to Arizona. And upon doing so, he encounters the literal “end of the world”...the point where mountains and scenery end abruptly, turning into digital landscape. This proves more than he can handle, and it sends him into an emotional tailspin with consequences. But none of this was even supposed to be possible.
Virtual reality within virtual reality. What’s really real? Is the reality you think you know just another layer in the program?
Summary: Analogous truth involves characters in an artificially created world having sentience, “waking up”, gaining independent sovereignty, and taking control of the wheel, as well as the concept of layers upon layers of reality on top of each other.
The players/Users download themselfs into a program that is similar to them, its a consciouness transfer. They "jack" in like in the matrix. "The mind jacks in while the body stays here and holds its consciousness of the program link unit" Could this be what possession is? The user only has a set amount of time to be in the virtual world. Is this life then death?
"I'm just like you, a bunch of electricity" - Doug
"Theres another world on top of this one?" - Whitney
"Its all smoke and mirrors, just like your world, Where nothing but a simulation on a computer screen, its like a machine, you have your players, al following pre-programmed movements generated by electricity" - Doug