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Tuesday 22 December 2009

Wargames on film and TV: The Oxford Murders

Whilst I was writing the most recent blog entry about Callan the Wargamer, I remembered that last year I watched a film entitled THE OXFORD MURDERS. The film starred Elijah Woods and John Hurt, and at one point in the film they play a wargame. This forms the backdrop to a conversation they are having with a senior police officer, and has little or nothing to do with the film's plot except to reinforce the point that both of them are intellectuals who are interested in mathematics, codes, and strategy.

The wargame sequence is quite short, and is not particularly well lit but ...

Martin (Elijah Wood) and Professor Arthur Seldom (John Hurt) contemplate their next moves.
The battle appears to be one from the Napoleonic era and the terrain is constructed from Geo-Hex.
Martin (Elijah Wood) in a classic wargamer's pose - bent over moving figures across the tabletop. It is a wonder that more wargamers don't suffer from bad backs!

6 comments:

  1. Uh, how can I say this? . . . I have chronic back problems . . . hmmmm.


    -- Jeff

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  2. Bluebeard Jeff,

    I am sorry to hear that.

    I am sure that it was not due to too much wargaming when you were young or carrying round a metal toolbox full of lead 25mm figures.

    Have a good Christmas,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  3. I must see if I can find that someday.. One suggestion though, I don't think that's geohex - it looks like the TSS offering to me...

    http://totalsystemscenic.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_55

    By the way, Merry Christmas to you and yours...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Steve-the-Wargamer,

    It is interesting to watch how they turned the book (which I had previously read) into a film. It also makes an interesting contrast with the 'Morse' stories that are set in the same locations.

    I read somewhere that the terrain was Geo-Hex, but I am quite willing to believe that it was made by TSS.

    A Merry Christmas to you as well,

    Bob

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  5. Never seen TSS terrain but have played many a game on Geo-hex and my immediate reaction on seeing this was "Ah look at that, Geo-hex!) But since I've never seen TSS, it may well be virtually identical.

    An enjoyable set of pictures either way, I'd never heard of the movie. I see they got the ears off the young fella.
    -Ross

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  6. Ross Mac,

    I am very pleased that you enjoyed the pictures.

    I have never used either Geo-Hex or TSS hexes (I am very much in the Hexon II camp myself) and was going by what I had read somewhere.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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