Seeing video games in a movie these days, or even a movie based on a video game, is nothing out of the ordinary. It’s expected. But during the 1970s, it was something to be marvelled at.
This clip collects cameo appearances on the silver screen by the arcade games and home consoles of the 70’s, with our cut-off point being the year 1980 (co-incidentally, the year I was born).
Those movies (and a TV series, Starsky & Hutch) are, in chronoligical order, below.
Soylent Green (1973)
The Parallax View (1974)
Ranchero Deluxe (1975)
Starsky and Hutch (1975)
L’Alpagueur (1976)
Dawn: Portrait Of A Teenage Runaway (1976)
Silent Movie (1976)
Airport ’77 (1977)
Piranha (1978)
The Fury (1978)
Dawn Of The Dead (1978)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
Beneath The Valley Of The Ultravixens (1979)
Of special note is that last one. Beneath The Valley Of the Ultravixens is a sexploitation flick directed by Russ Meter, and co-written by one Roger “games can’t be art” Ebert.
While you’re eventually seeing her play Pong for an eternity, just sitting there, what you miss as she switches the Magnavox off is that her lover is a Nazi. And that he’s just climbed into a coffin, puts a sheet over his head and wants her to come have sex with him.
If you haven’t seen it, it’s a pretty great movie.
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