Monopoly: A game without mercy
Monopoly is the best-known board game in the world. Almost everyone has haggled over roads and train stations. Monopoly brought capitalism to the game board and has always been loved and hated in equal measure.
There is no doubt that Monopoly has become an integral part of Western pop culture. But the game is above all a commercial success. History has played a big part in this: from the very beginning, Monopoly has also sold the American dream, conquering first the USA and then the world country by country.
Monopoly even found its way behind the wall. Although it was banned from import, it became one of the most popular games in the GDR. The citizens got creative themselves: they made their own artistic copies based on the famous model. Martin Böttger went one step further: he developed the socially critical game “Bürokratopoly” – to the displeasure of the State Security.
But a look into the past also reveals a fraud that has shaken the myth of Monopoly – as it has been told, marketed and played for decades. In a patent dispute over his game “Anti-Monopoly”, Ralph Anspach brought the truth to light: the idea of Monopoly was stolen – by a woman. It was Lizzie Magie who once laid the foundations for the game’s success of the century with her “Landlord’s Game”.
The film tells the story of the legendary board game Monopoly, which teaches us about capitalism, clever marketing and the changing zeitgeist – and not least about ourselves.
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY STEPHEN IVES
EDITED BY JOSH MELROD
MUSIC BY DEANDRE JAMES ALLEN-TOOLE
PRODUCED BY AMANDA POLLAK, STEPHEN IVES
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER DOMINIC LOUNDS
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR KATIE MCHALE
ARCHIVAL PRODUCER SAOIRSE HAHN
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW L. YOUNG
SOUND RECORDING JOHN ZECCA
FOR AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION VANESSA RUIZ DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS & FINANCE NANCY SHERMAN SENIOR SERIES PRODUCER SUSAN BELLOWS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER CAMEO GEORGE
AN INSIGNIA FILMS PRODUCTION FOR AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN ASSOCIATION WITH ARTE © 2024
ARTE FASSNG
BUCH & REGIE MAREIKE MÜLLER
KAMERA KNUT SCHMITZ
MONTAGE GABRIELE BIASIZZO
TON LUCA PONTOW, SVEN KLÖPPER
SPRECHERIN MAI HORLEMANN
REDAKTIONELLE MITARBEIT STEFANIE KAISER
HERSTELLUNGSLEITUNG KO MIKLIK
PRODUZENTIN DOCDAYS ANTJE BOEHMERT
PRODUKTION ZDF KATHARINA KROHMANN
REDAKTIONELLE MITARBEIT ZDF MARIE SCHMITT
REDAKTION ZDF LINDE DEHNER
Eine Produktion von DOCDAYS Productions in Koproduktion mit dem ZDF in Zusammenarbeit mit ARTE
A film by Stephen Ives
ARTE Version:
Written & Directed by: Mareike Müller
Camera: Knut Schmitz
Editor: Gabriele Biasizzo
Sound: Luca Pontow, Sven Klöpper
Line Producer: Ko Miklik
Commissioning Editor: Linde Dehner
Executive Producer: Antje Boehmert
DOCDAYS in coproduction with ZDF in association with ARTE.
Length: 52 min
Year of Production: 2024
Monopoly is the best-known board game in the world. Almost everyone has haggled over roads and train stations. Monopoly brought capitalism to the game board and has always been loved and hated in equal measure.
There is no doubt that Monopoly has become an integral part of Western pop culture. But the game is above all a commercial success. History has played a big part in this: from the very beginning, Monopoly has also sold the American dream, conquering first the USA and then the world country by country.
Monopoly even found its way behind the wall. Although it was banned from import, it became one of the most popular games in the GDR. The citizens got creative themselves: they made their own artistic copies based on the famous model. Martin Böttger went one step further: he developed the socially critical game “Bürokratopoly” – to the displeasure of the State Security.
But a look into the past also reveals a fraud that has shaken the myth of Monopoly – as it has been told, marketed and played for decades. In a patent dispute over his game “Anti-Monopoly”, Ralph Anspach brought the truth to light: the idea of Monopoly was stolen – by a woman. It was Lizzie Magie who once laid the foundations for the game’s success of the century with her “Landlord’s Game”.
The film tells the story of the legendary board game Monopoly, which teaches us about capitalism, clever marketing and the changing zeitgeist – and not least about ourselves.
A film by Stephen Ives
ARTE Version:
Written & Directed by: Mareike Müller
Camera: Knut Schmitz
Editor: Gabriele Biasizzo
Sound: Luca Pontow, Sven Klöpper
Line Producer: Ko Miklik
Commissioning Editor: Linde Dehner
Executive Producer: Antje Boehmert
DOCDAYS in coproduction with ZDF in association with ARTE.
Length: 52 min
Year of Production: 2024