Some of you might remember « le Prix du danger » – « The Prize of Peril » – based on a novel by Robert Sheckley and co-starring Gérard LANVIN and Michel PICCOLI in its 1983 Yves Boisset adaptation.
Synopsis. In a very near future, François Jacquemard agrees to participate to a reality show based on a real man hunt. Live on CTV, he is chased down by gangland killers and has to rally a secret place if he wants to survive. Progressively, the audience take side for François. As he becomes the hero of the show the host decides to change the rules to captivate more audience.
At the age of Survivor and The Amazing Race and Fear Factor, Sheckley’s preposterous exaggeration seems like cool prescience. « The Prize of Peril » has it all-—the unctuous TV host, the real-life contestant chosen because he’s handsome and not too smart, the engaged and participating audience, the vicarious thrills edging toward obscenity. A populace glued to their televisions whose dazzlement by the celebrity culture is so complete that the chance to be famous is worth any risk.
Imagine. Could such a game scenario based on reality happen tomorrow where avatars from around the world would combat to be the one to pay or gain « The Prize of Peril » — in a virtual but live televised reality.
This chart invite us to think forward the relationships between film and gaming, experience and technology, interaction and action, for the best and the worst of entertainment.
