Grand Theft Auto is arguably the most cinematic video game series ever made. Over the past three decades, the games have studied and stolen the themes, conventions and visual dynamism of great gangster and action movies, applying them to open worlds filled with low-life characters and grand set-piece possibilities. Here then are the movies (and TV show) that have shaped the GTA experience, from the 1996 original to this year’s inescapable instalment.
Jan de Bont’s ludicrous bus bomb action flick? Well yes, according to Paul Farley, a game designer who worked on the original GTA, Speed was a huge influence, no doubt due to its fast pace, quip-filled dialogue and wanton vehicular destruction. Farley and his co-designers also took inspiration from 1980s Saturday afternoon TV classics Knight Rider and The A-Team.
Basically, anything with a lot of car chases and things exploding. A Coney Island street gang must make it back to their own territory after a midnight summit in the Bronx, facing multiple attacks from rival crews en route. Directed by Walter Hill, the revered 1979 cult classic remains a stylish depiction of a city in crisis – and a major influence on Rockstar.
Brian De Palma’s explosive, neon-splattered examination of life and bloody death in the Miami drug underworld set the bar for sleaze, style and anarchy that every GTA instalment has aimed at. Seductive and unstoppable, Tony Montana is the ultimate action protagonist, while the film’s footsoldier-to-king narrative – a staple of the Hollywood gangster picture – is fundamental to Rockstar’s series. The film’s synth-laden soundtrack was also hugely influential on the sound of the games.
Five of its songs were featured in GTA 3. The ultra stylish 1980s TV crime series kickstarted the career of its producer Michael Mann, while capturing the glitz, glamour and simmering drug-fuelled violence of the city. It was a major tonal reference for GTA Vice City, and no doubt a lingering inspiration on GTA 6.
He’s also an expert in the use of weapons, and we met all of the weapons experts who worked on Miami Vice. We got into the details in a hardcore way.” The energy of Martin Scorsese’s movies absolutely fills the GTA series – not just all the violence and chaos, but also the emphasis on the immigrant experience in America and on the connected themes of male identity, brotherhood and betrayal. Goodfellas is so seminal to the series, Rockstar even employed Ray Liotta to voice Tommy Vercetti, the main character in GTA: Vice City.
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