I caught this film back at South by Southwest and called it "...a perfect documentary," and I will still gladly stand by that statement. This was by far my favorite doc of 2007 and possibly the decade. Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe's battle is so classic, I honestly can't imagine the way they plan on remaking this piece as a narrative. I mean, how can you improve on something so excellent?
For those of you who have heard nothing about this wonderful film, it chronicles the battle for the title of World Champion at Donkey Kong. Two men fight a battle for the ages going back and forth over the world-record high score on this classic. What ensues is a perfect mixture of narcissism, honesty, lies, alliances and arcades.
The feature film is presented in beautiful quality on the DVD. Everything you'd expect out of a film made here in the past year or so. The bonus features on the disc are what really make it stand out though.
Commentaries
I love me some good audio commentaries. I've listened to tons of them from what is perhaps the best commentary ever (the drunken commentary on Cannibal! The Musical) to some of the worst (R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet). The commentaries on King of Kong are an excellent addition.
The first commentary is with director Seth Gordon, producer Ed Cunningham and associate producers Luis Lopez and J. Clay Tweel. The majority of the dialog is between Gordon and Cunningham talking about their story behind the making of the movie. And their stories are fantastic. This is about as great a commentary as you can ask for.
There isn't a lot of ego stroking being done here, in fact most of the commentary goes in to detail about how they stumbled into this story and they lucked into some excellent filming opportunities. There are some insanely awesome nuggets of story dropped in the commentary; for example, the tape that Billy gives to Doris Self, the elderly Q-Bert player, in the airport...well, everyone assumes by the movie that the tape she had was Billy's million point Kong score, well in reality it was a tape of WWF. Of course, who would have ever imagined a mullet like that would be a wrastlin' fan.
It is totally worth it to watch the movie over again with this commentary, give it a shot.
The second commentary comes from Jon M. Gibson, the founder of i am 8-bit, and Chris Carle, the Entertainment Editorial Director for IGN.
In interest of full disclosure, Jon Gibson and I are the ones responsible for The Wizard reunion at the Alamo Drafthouse next week. For what it's worth, Gibson's other project, NERDCORE is sponsoring this insanely awesome event.
The commentary between Carle and Gibson is very different and I'm sure some people won't like it. To me it's a lot like sitting in a room with two of my buddies that happen to know a lot about the subject matter at hand, but don't have direct involvement with the piece.
Wikipedia is quoted here quite often as Gibson rattles off the 9 signs of narcissism and how Billy Mitchell meets every single one to a T. These guys are true fans of the source material but they don't mind poking fun at the film when it needs to be poked.
I like the idea behind this commentary a lot...its interesting to get a perspective on a film from someone who didn't have their hand in making the film. I remember a commentary from Roger Ebert on one of the King Kong DVDs...same idea there. Really, any way to pack more stuff on to a DVD is a good idea in my book.
Bonus Materials
The bonus materials on this disc are fantastic as well. There is an absolute wealth of material here.
There is a slew of bonus footage including some festival Q&A stuff, extended interviews with damn near everyone involved in the project. A great piece on Billy Mitchell's hair stylings, music from Steve Wiebe and MORE FOOTAGE OF MR. AWESOME!!
There is a cool feature showing off art inspired by Donkey Kong that was collected by i am 8-bit and set to some kick-ass tunes. It'd be perfect to set up on a TV for a retro 80s themed party. (No, I've never held a retro-themed 80s party.)
There is an update entitled "The Saga Continues" that picks up some story where the movie leaves off. It goes on to explain the current state of the high score on Donkey Kong and the attempts that have been made to reclaim it. (I won't spoil that for you.)
A Really, Really Brief History of Donkey Kong is just that. A quick bite-sized animated history of Donkey Kong that would have fit in perfectly with the documentary to explain a bit more history behind the game itself.
There is so much more here including a glossary of commonly used arcade terms and an excellent side-by-side comparison of how Wiebe and Mitchell play Donkey Kong differently.
Final Thoughts
If you call yourself a fan of documentaries, you need to own this DVD. If you are a fan of classic video games, make this the one DVD you buy this year. It is seriously great. I couldn't have asked for more on a single disc.
Oh, and the menus are all done as if it was a video game! How freakin' fantastic is that? (Check the small details too, like the head reflection in the glass.)
So, what else can I say aside from BUY THIS DISC and support this excellent film that was completely snubbed by the Oscars.
That's all I have for you now! Until next time, back up the tree I go!
