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Crumb (film)
Encyclopedia
Crumb is a 1994 documentary film
about the noted underground comic artist Robert Crumb
(R. Crumb) and his family. Directed by Terry Zwigoff
and produced by Lynn O'Donnell
and David Lynch
, it won widespread acclaim, including both the Grand Jury Prize and best cinematography prize at the Sundance Film Festival
. The late critic Gene Siskel
hailed Crumb as the best film of the year, as did critic Jeffrey M. Anderson, who writes for the San Francisco Examiner. It was released in the USA
on April 28, 1995, having been screened at film festivals the previous year.
Crumb is considered a moving film about the experiences and characters of the Crumb family, particularly Robert Crumb's brothers, Maxon
and Charles
, his wife and children (his sisters declined to be interviewed). Though Zwigoff had the consent of the Crumb brothers, some questioned the ability of the more disturbed brothers to provide that consent.
Robert Crumb initially did not want to make the film, but eventually agreed. There was a rumor, accidentally created by Roger Ebert
, that Terry Zwigoff made Crumb cooperate by threatening to shoot himself. Ebert has clarified this in the commentary of the film's recent Criterion Collection re-release. Ebert notes that “it may be true that Zwigoff’s life was saved because he did make the film.”
During the nine years that it took to make the documentary Zwigoff said he was “averaging an income of about $200 a month and living with back pain so intense that I spent three years with a loaded gun on the pillow next to my bed, trying to get up the nerve to kill myself.”
Despite strong reviews, Crumb was not nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (the nominating committee reportedly stopped watching the film after only twenty minutes). The Oscar snub of Crumb, and the same year's equally acclaimed Hoop Dreams
, caused a media furor which forced the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
to revamp its documentary nomination process. Zwigoff stated in an interview that: “The Academy Award thing had much more to do with the fact that at the time, a lot of the documentary membership was made up of distributors of documentary films. The rules have changed since then. But they would just vote for the films they distributed because it was in their financial interest to do so.” He continued: “I just assumed they were disgusted with the film."
In 2008, Entertainment Weekly
named Crumb the 14th best film of the last 25 years.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the noted underground comic artist Robert Crumb
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
(R. Crumb) and his family. Directed by Terry Zwigoff
Terry Zwigoff
Terry Zwigoff is an American filmmaker whose work often deals with misfits, antiheros, and themes of alienation. His fiction films are the features Ghost World , Bad Santa , and Art School Confidential...
and produced by Lynn O'Donnell
Lynn O'Donnell
Lynn O'Donnell was an independent film producer, whose works included the award-winning Crumb, Living on Tokyo Time, and a number of specials made for America public television, including films on Nobel Laureate Czesław Miłosz and Argentinian tango superstar Carlos Gardel...
and David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
, it won widespread acclaim, including both the Grand Jury Prize and best cinematography prize at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
. The late critic Gene Siskel
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
hailed Crumb as the best film of the year, as did critic Jeffrey M. Anderson, who writes for the San Francisco Examiner. It was released in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on April 28, 1995, having been screened at film festivals the previous year.
Crumb is considered a moving film about the experiences and characters of the Crumb family, particularly Robert Crumb's brothers, Maxon
Maxon Crumb
Maxon Crumb is an American artist and the younger brother of underground cartoonist Robert Crumb. He currently lives at the Windsor Hotel on Sixth Street in San Francisco and has lived there since about 1980....
and Charles
Charles Crumb
Charles Vincent Crumb, Jr. was an American artist closely associated with his famous younger brother, the cartoonist Robert Crumb....
, his wife and children (his sisters declined to be interviewed). Though Zwigoff had the consent of the Crumb brothers, some questioned the ability of the more disturbed brothers to provide that consent.
Robert Crumb initially did not want to make the film, but eventually agreed. There was a rumor, accidentally created by Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, that Terry Zwigoff made Crumb cooperate by threatening to shoot himself. Ebert has clarified this in the commentary of the film's recent Criterion Collection re-release. Ebert notes that “it may be true that Zwigoff’s life was saved because he did make the film.”
During the nine years that it took to make the documentary Zwigoff said he was “averaging an income of about $200 a month and living with back pain so intense that I spent three years with a loaded gun on the pillow next to my bed, trying to get up the nerve to kill myself.”
Despite strong reviews, Crumb was not nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (the nominating committee reportedly stopped watching the film after only twenty minutes). The Oscar snub of Crumb, and the same year's equally acclaimed Hoop Dreams
Hoop Dreams
Hoop Dreams is a 1994 documentary film directed by Steve James, with Kartemquin Films. It follows the story of two African-American high school students in Chicago and their dream of becoming professional basketball players....
, caused a media furor which forced the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
to revamp its documentary nomination process. Zwigoff stated in an interview that: “The Academy Award thing had much more to do with the fact that at the time, a lot of the documentary membership was made up of distributors of documentary films. The rules have changed since then. But they would just vote for the films they distributed because it was in their financial interest to do so.” He continued: “I just assumed they were disgusted with the film."
In 2008, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
named Crumb the 14th best film of the last 25 years.
External links
- Official site
- Crumb review. The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
.