Movies and series with the best civ-like feeling

[The_J]

This trailer is for a new series on AppleTV, called "Time Bandits". The trailer has Vikings, Stonehenge, Mansa Musa, the Trojan Horse and Aztecs (I think). And I thought... that's like if Civ was a series .
So, I wondered, what's movies or series which give you a civ-like feeling, and what do they need to have?
I guess a historical time-travel plot makes something very suitable for the civ-feeling, or having either big monuments or mutiple historical personalities.
The BBC series "Timeless", which is mostly focused on American history gives me the same feeling.
Alternative history could also be very suitable, although things which don't make it clear that it's alternative and not real (or are badly researched) make me more annoyed. The recent Gladiator 2 trailer fall into that, as well as "10.000 BC".

But now, tell me: What movies/series give you the civ-feeling?

 

[Kyriakos]

Mmmm, but why post it in humor (and not, say, art)?

 

[The_J]

Well, that was just me being stupid and clicking on the wrong forum . Moved.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

This trailer is for a new series on AppleTV, called "Time Bandits". The trailer has Vikings, Stonehenge, Mansa Musa, the Trojan Horse and Aztecs (I think). And I thought... that's like if Civ was a series .
So, I wondered, what's movies or series which give you a civ-like feeling, and what do they need to have?
I guess a historical time-travel plot makes something very suitable for the civ-feeling, or having either big monuments or mutiple historical personalities.
The BBC series "Timeless", which is mostly focused on American history gives me the same feeling.
Alternative history could also be very suitable, although things which don't make it clear that it's alternative and not real (or are badly researched) make me more annoyed. The recent Gladiator 2 trailer fall into that, as well as "10.000 BC".

But now, tell me: What movies/series give you the civ-feeling?

Looks like a Sliders ripoff, without the more serious themes that series tackled.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Interesting thought. There's one central aspect of the game that specifically makes it unlike a movie or a series: Civ games don't feature characters, they're just about events. So that's gonna make it tough, but not impossible.

I think for a movie or a series to evoke something like a game of Civ...

• It could feature people from multiple cultures interacting. But it shouldn't focus on politics, per se, because Civ actually doesn't do that. For example, Thirteen Days, about the Cuban Missile Crisis, isn't a Civ-like movie. Civ doesn't do events like that.
• I would be inclined to look for something that focuses on a period of history before the industrial revolution, because Civ is the most interesting to me in those earlier eras.
• I'd also like if it included something of the exploration phase of Civ, which is another part of the game I like, the exploration and discovery.
• It would also be fun if it was ahistorical, because again, that's one of the things I like about Civ.
• Something that features a "sweep of history"-type of story could also work, but this is going to be more difficult to find, because it would either have to put its story right on the fulcrum of a moment of tremendous transformation, or it would have to minimize the importance of individual characters in order to tell a story that takes place over a long period of time. I'm thinking of Kim Stanley Robinson's novel The Years of Rice and Salt. Imagine trying to turn that into a movie or a series.
• Finally, something that features a society or people that don't get a lot of attention. A story about a people we don't see much of would, almost necessarily, have to spend a lot of time world-building, to familiarize its audience with the setting.

Some things that a movie or series should not be: A war shouldn't be the central focus of the story. For one thing, war movies are their own robust genre. Second, warfare is something the Civ games don't excel at. Civ is not a wargame, it's a game in which war can happen. Also, rebuilding society after an apocalypse doesn't evoke Civ for me, in part because post-apocalyptic fiction is so common. The Road Warrior is not a Civ-like movie.

Some ideas (YouTube trailers in the spoiler tags):

Vikings

Spoiler :

Apocalypto

Spoiler :

For All Mankind

Spoiler :

 

[Kyriakos]

Many years ago - actually, 24 years ago... - I had that discussion with some person from our old highschool. We concluded that for a movie to really be like civ, it should go on for 6000 years and in your lifetime you'd only watch the first couple of turns

 

[Clubber Lang]

 

[The_J]

Interesting thought. There's one central aspect of the game that specifically makes it unlike a movie or a series: Civ games don't feature characters, they're just about events. So that's gonna make it tough, but not impossible.

I think for a movie or a series to evoke something like a game of Civ...

• It could feature people from multiple cultures interacting. But it shouldn't focus on politics, per se, because Civ actually doesn't do that. For example, Thirteen Days, about the Cuban Missile Crisis, isn't a Civ-like movie. Civ doesn't do events like that.
• I would be inclined to look for something that focuses on a period of history before the industrial revolution, because Civ is the most interesting to me in those earlier eras.
• I'd also like if it included something of the exploration phase of Civ, which is another part of the game I like, the exploration and discovery.
• It would also be fun if it was ahistorical, because again, that's one of the things I like about Civ.
• Something that features a "sweep of history"-type of story could also work, but this is going to be more difficult to find, because it would either have to put its story right on the fulcrum of a moment of tremendous transformation, or it would have to minimize the importance of individual characters in order to tell a story that takes place over a long period of time. I'm thinking of Kim Stanley Robinson's novel The Years of Rice and Salt. Imagine trying to turn that into a movie or a series.
• Finally, something that features a society or people that don't get a lot of attention. A story about a people we don't see much of would, almost necessarily, have to spend a lot of time world-building, to familiarize its audience with the setting.

Some things that a movie or series should not be: A war shouldn't be the central focus of the story. For one thing, war movies are their own robust genre. Second, warfare is something the Civ games don't excel at. Civ is not a wargame, it's a game in which war can happen. Also, rebuilding society after an apocalypse doesn't evoke Civ for me, in part because post-apocalyptic fiction is so common. The Road Warrior is not a Civ-like movie.

I'm not sure about the character part there. A big part of Civ is also the leaders, and while they are not prominent on the playing field, they have a critical position in the game.
It's in general also very hard to tell a story without a focus on characters.

Multiple cultures, and an earlier time in history, I am game with that, and also if it's ahistorical, but only if that is clear (see my annoyance above). War can be part of the movie, but not exclusively. Also in that case there'd be a lot more movies which would trigger the civ feeling, as there are many historical movies which somehow include war.
Although if the movie is really epic (IDK... Ben Hur or so), then I slightly get the feeling for civ.

Some ideas (YouTube trailers in the spoiler tags):

Vikings

Spoiler :

Apocalypto

Spoiler :

For All Mankind

Spoiler :

I was also thinking a bit about Apocalypto .
I'd rather put down "Barbarians" instead of Vikings, as there we definitely have the clash of cultures.


Totally different: Riverworld. Yeah, fantasy movie, but it starts with people from all different kind of eras.

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

No one mentioned the Night at the Museum movies yet?

 

[Plotinus]

This trailer is for a new series on AppleTV, called "Time Bandits". The trailer has Vikings, Stonehenge, Mansa Musa, the Trojan Horse and Aztecs (I think).

Because what the world really, really needs right now is yet another continuation/reboot/franchisation of a beloved IP from the 1980s...

 

[AnthonyBoscia]

Not holding out for a Voyagers! remake?

 

[Plotinus]

Well, if they can do it with Quantum Leap…

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Not holding out for a Voyagers! remake?

I really enjoyed that show. I still remember one of Bogg's catchphrases: "Smart kids give me a pain."

I have vague memories of writing some Voyagers! fanfiction at one point. It would have been a LONG time before I really got into writing as an every-day thing. It might have been a crossover with Doctor Who...

The Titanic episode they did was one of the better shows.

 

[Chukchi Husky]

There was an episode of Stargate: Atlantis called "The Game" where a game similar to Civilization is discovered on an ancient computer that two of the characters decide to play in their spare time, only to find out later when exploring a new planet that they were actually controlling two cultures on this planet.