8-Bit Video Blast From the Past

Quick! Do you know what the video game capital of the world is? New York? L.A.? Dubai? Well you'll never guess in a million years because that place is Ottumwa, Iowa, U.S.A., population 25,023 and you've probably never been there unless you're Tom Arnold or some kind of confused Gary Burghoff fan. But yes, it's true and there's a movie out there to prove it called Chasing Ghosts, directed by Lincoln Ruchti. This surprisingly entertaining documentary tells the story of the meteoric rise (which is a weird phrase because meteors more or less come down, not go up) of the greatest classic video game competitors of the early 1980s and the sub-culture that grew from a little video arcade in Iowa called Twin Galaxies (OK, makes sense now).

Ottumwa, Iowa 1982 Copyright Enrico Ferorelli 2007

Back-stabbing lies, delusions of grandeur, sleezy groupies, this flick's got it all! Oh and Pac-Man, there's lots of Pac-Man in there too. You can pick the flick up from iTunes or Amazon, but if you have Netflix, you can watch it streaming on your computer, phone or tablet right now. Check out the preview below.