Atari: Game Over

Cast View all

	Zak Penn	Self - Narrator
	Joe Lewandowski	Self - Waste Disposal Expert & Historian
	Robert Rentschler	Self - Former Mayor / Alamogordo
	Paul Sanchez	Self - Mayoral Candidate / Alamogordo
	Manny Gerard	Self - Co-Chief Operating Officer / Warner Communications Inc.
	Nolan Bushnell	Self - Co-Founder / Atari
	Seamus Blackley	Self - Co-Creator / Xbox
	Howard Scott Warshaw	Self - Game Engineer / Atari Inc.
	Son Huffmon	Self - Construction Division Manager / Mese Verde Enterprises
	Pat Magill	Self - Director of Engineering / Mese Verde Enterprises
	Mike Mika	Self - Game Designer & Preservationist
	Susie Galea	Self - Mayor / Alamogordo
	Andrew Reinhard	Self - Archaeologist / American School of Classical Studies at Athens
	Raiford Guins	Self - Associate Professor of Culture & Technology / Stony Brook University
	Ernest Cline	Self - Screenwriter & Novelist
	George R.R. Martin	Self - Writer / Game of Thrones
	Gary Whitta	Self - Screenwriter & Former Game Journalist
	Deb Lewandowski	Self
	Riley Rayburn	Self - Riley Rayburn
	Austin Adamson	Self
	Chris Bores	Irate Gamer
	Harrison Ford	Indiana Jones
	James Rolfe	The Angry Video Game Nerd
	Steven Spielberg	Self

Crew View all

Director	Zak Penn
Producer	Mike A. Burns, Jonathan Chinn, Simon Chinn, Francis Gasparini, Colin K. Gray, Ari Mark, Jada Miranda, Catherine Pasciak, Rick Qualliotine, Megan Raney, Gerhard Runken, Daniel Schechter, Stuart Schwartz
Musician	Stephen Endelman
Photography	Eric Zimmerman

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Notes

My quick rating - 7.0/10. This documentary chronicles the fall of the Atari Corporation through the lens of one of the biggest mysteries of all time, dubbed “The Great Video Game Burial of 1983.” Rumor claims that millions of returned and unsold E.T. cartridges were buried in the desert, but what really happened there? I personally remember reading about this when I was a teen and always thought it was nonsense. However, it is quite interesting to see what this actually does dig up. As far as the documentary goes, there is some quality interviews with founder Nolan Bushnell and the fact they had the game engineer Howard Scott Warshaw on site for the reveal was pretty captivating. This does give some insight into Warshaw and his involvement in the making of E.T. which I did actually own back then and it was garbage. BUT in my opinion, there were TONS of games far worse for that system. Atari just kept churning out cartridge after cartridge of dribble. For the nostalgia of anyone who grew up with the console as their first gaming system, it is a must-see type of thing. Enlightening information about how the company was to be employed along with some great on-site scenes to give you a feel for the location. This and the actual dig site being excavated to find the supposed "millions" of E.T. cartridges that had nowhere else to go but into the ground was intriguing.

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