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Arts & Culture

Under The Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story

2009 U.S. MONOPOLY Championship.
Courtesy of Michael J. Maloney
2009 U.S. MONOPOLY Championship.

Airs Monday, March 11, 2013 at 9:30 p.m. on KPBS TV

Mr. Monopoly
Courtesy of Michael J. Maloney
Mr. Monopoly
Rolling the dice at MONOPOLY in the Park.
Courtesy of Under the Boardwalk, LLC.
Rolling the dice at MONOPOLY in the Park.

Host Your Own Screening

While our main theatrical run of "Under The Boardwalk" has mostly come to a close, we still get requests from all over the U.S. from folks like you who want to put on a screening for your board game group, your local film club, or your fundraising organization. While the film definitely works on laptops and television screens, we shot the film intending for it to be viewed on the big screen with a large audience. It's also the best way for you to be able to take in all the details of every Monopoly game and really get to examine the interesting boards from all over the world featured in the film. Get the details

Connect

"Under the Boardwalk" is on Facebook, and you can follow @MonopolyDoc on Twitter.

Give at the $150 level and receive the "Under The Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story" Limited Edition Blu-ray or Limited Edition DVD plus either a MONOPOLY®: Las Vegas Edition or MONOPOLY®: National Parks Edition. Each Limited Edition DVD is autographed by the director & producer and contain an exclusive Director's Chair MONOPOLY token made for the film plus over 2 hours of bonus features. This gift also includes enrollment in the myKPBS Savers Club plus additional online access to more than 130,000 merchant offers and printable coupons, as well as a KPBS License Plate Frame (if you're a new member).
Courtesy of Under the Boardwalk, LLC.
Give at the $150 level and receive the "Under The Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story" Limited Edition Blu-ray or Limited Edition DVD plus either a MONOPOLY®: Las Vegas Edition or MONOPOLY®: National Parks Edition. Each Limited Edition DVD is autographed by the director & producer and contain an exclusive Director's Chair MONOPOLY token made for the film plus over 2 hours of bonus features. This gift also includes enrollment in the myKPBS Savers Club plus additional online access to more than 130,000 merchant offers and printable coupons, as well as a KPBS License Plate Frame (if you're a new member).

The classic board game that has been played by over a billion people in the last 75 years, MONOPOLY® is a worldwide cultural phenomenon.

“Under The Boardwalk: The MONOPOLY Story” is a feature-length documentary that captures fascinating stories about the game and those who play it, with narration provided by Zachary Levi, star of NBC’s “Chuck” and the recent Disney animated film, “Tangled.”

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"Under the Boardwalk" focuses on the MONOPOLY national and world championships that are held around the world every four years. Leading up to the exciting coronation of a new champion at the most recent World Championship in Las Vegas, the filmmakers follow some of the most colorful players in the game, including:

Matt, the defending U.S. champion, who tries to earn another trip to the World Championship, along with his girlfriend, a Las Vegas showgirl.

Dominic, who won the Rhode Island state championship in 1995 as a 14-year-old, and has always dreamed of becoming world champion.

Rick, a lawyer from Buffalo who wants to win the prize money so he and his fiancé can buy their first house.

Ken, who trained for 12 hours a day during his summers in college in the 70s, and has been trying to win a national championship ever since.

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Tim, a teacher in California who has used the math skills learned from MONOPOLY to help his sixth-graders achieve record test scores. Bjørn, a 19-year-old student from Norway out to prove that a teenager can beat the seasoned veterans.

Geoff, a banker from New Zealand whose nickname is The Nimble Thimble (TNT for short, because TNT goes boom!).

In addition to the competitive arena, the game of MONOPOLY provides a wealth of other interesting stories. Few people realize that the game began as an anti-capitalist political platform thirty years before it evolved into a game about getting rich and took the world by storm in the depths of the Great Depression.

This documentary looks at how MONOPOLY was transformed and why it has become so popular. The game is now sold in over 110 countries around the world in 40 different languages. The filmmakers investigate the psychology of the game, and game experts let viewers in on the best strategies for winning.

As a cultural phenomenon, MONOPOLY has a colorful history, including secretly helping WWII POWs escape, influencing movies and television since its inception, and being part of all kinds of interesting world records and trivia. (The longest underwater game is over 72 hours, and the longest continuous game lasted 70 straight days.)

And no film about this classic board game would be complete without meeting a few of the quirky collectors of all things MONOPOLY.

MONOPOLY began by bringing friends and families together, and now, through its universal language and World Championships, helps bring the whole world together. Filming locations included the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Norway, Japan, Singapore and Australia. Anchoring the film is Phil Orbanes, a former Sr. VP at Parker Brothers, author of three MONOPOLY books, and current Chief MONOPOLY Judge.

This program is part of our TV Membership Campaign. Support quality programming you depend on from KPBS. Join or renew today!

Under The Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story Trailer