The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
Encyclopedia
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is a 2007 American documentary film
that follows Steve Wiebe
as he tries to take the world high score for the arcade game
Donkey Kong
from reigning champion Billy Mitchell
. The film premiered January 22, 2007, at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival
and has been shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival
, the Seattle International Film Festival
, the SXSW Film Festival, the TriBeCa Film Festival
, the True/False Film Festival
, the Aspen Comedy Festival, and the Fantasia Festival
. The film opened in limited release
in the United States
on August 17, 2007, in 5 theaters, and by September 9, 2007, the film had expanded to 39 theaters in the U.S. Later in 2007, it appeared on the cable network G4
.
The film's original title was simply The King of Kong but later received the subtitle A Fistful of Quarters. A scripted film adaptation is already in the works. Director Seth Gordon
has said that the movie might be a sequel instead of a remake, telling the story of how the documentary changed both men's lives, as well as their continuing rivalry. The film's DVD
release was on January 29, 2008.
founded Twin Galaxies
, an organization formed to keep track of high scores achieved on arcade games in the United States. Billy Mitchell, having achieved the highest ever recorded scores on Donkey Kong
and Centipede
in the 1980s, remains a video game legend in 2005. Twin Galaxies has now become a global organization. Mitchell is unabashedly cocky and fond of self promotion, proclaiming himself the "Sauce King" of Florida for his successful line of homemade hot sauce
s. Next to his family, Mitchell considers his arcade scores his greatest achievements in life.
On the other side of the country, in Redmond, Washington
, Boeing
employee Steve Wiebe
has been laid off as a Boeing engineer, and now spends his time as a science teacher. His friends and his wife, Nicole, describe him as an unfortunate figure who always comes up short, despite being proficient at music, sports, art, and mathematics. He was a star baseball pitcher but was injured and unable to pitch in the state championship. He is a gifted drummer yet does not care to perform. Preparing to get back into the workforce, Wiebe begins going to night school to get a masters degree and obtains a Donkey Kong
machine to play in his garage as a pastime. After reading of Mitchell's world record of 874,300 on the internet, Wiebe focuses on Donkey Kong, and is able to master the game and achieve a score of 1,006,600 points. Wiebe submits the tape to Twin Galaxies, and for a few weeks, Wiebe is a local celebrity and news topic as the new world record holder.
However, Mitchell sends his self-styled protege, retired banker turned pro-gamer Brian Kuh
, to investigate Wiebe's machine. Kuh finds that the machine's circuit board was provided by Roy Shildt, a self-styled fitness
guru
and pickup artist
who claims to hold the high score for Missile Command
. Unbeknown to Wiebe, Shildt and Mitchell have been nemeses for years ever since Mitchell caused Shildt's high score to be brought under scrutiny, preventing him from receiving official recognition from Twin Galaxies. Ever since, Shildt has been looking for a way to exact clandestine revenge on Mitchell. Based on Wiebe's association with Shildt, the staff of Twin Galaxies suspects that Wiebe's board might have been tampered with and as such, he may have achieved his score dishonestly.
In order to prove his gaming skills, Wiebe travels to Funspot Arcade
in Laconia, New Hampshire
, to perform a high score live for Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day
and other high-ranking members of Twin Galaxies, hoping to confront Mitchell and play head-to-head. Although Mitchell does not show, he sends Kuh to observe Wiebe's play. Just prior to the kill screen
, Kuh is seen gathering a large crowd to witness. Wiebe reaches it and also achieves a new world record of 985,600 points. However, Mitchell immediately sends a low-quality VHS to Funspot, depicting himself achieving a higher score of 1,047,200 points - a stark contrast to his opinion throughout the film, in which he repeatedly asserts that live scores are the only ones credible. Despite Wiebe's protests that his own first score was disqualified for being submitted via unsupervised videotape, Twin Galaxies accepts Mitchell's score over Wiebe's and proclaims that Mitchell is still the record holder.
Nine months later, Wiebe learns that Guinness World Records
wants to publish several of Twin Galaxies' records — including Mitchell's latest score. Wiebe and his family travel to Hollywood, Florida
, near Mitchell's home, to challenge him in a public competition, but Mitchell refuses to accept the challenge, and Wiebe fails to surpass a million points. Nevertheless, Day, on behalf of Twin Galaxies, finally acknowledges Wiebe's integrity and credibility.
In a coda
to the film, Wiebe achieves the world record of 1,049,100 in his garage.
based on 23 reviews. Rotten Tomatoes
reported that 97% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 92 reviews.
Robert Wilonsky of the Village Voice called the film a "miniature masterpiece" and in August 2007 said it was "[his] favorite movie of the year" up to that point. Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat
gave the film 5 stars and said "It’s not just one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen, it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Period." Keith Phipps of The Onion
AV Club
gave the film an "A-" and said at one point it "turns into a film about what it takes to make it in America." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone
gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, wondering "Who would have guessed that a documentary about gamers obsessed with scoring a world record at Donkey Kong would not only be roaringly funny but serve as a metaphor for the decline of Western civilization?" Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
similarly gave the film 3 stars and called it "a documentary that is beyond strange."
Among critics who gave the film negative reviews, Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post
said "Is there anything more tiresome than watching people play video games?" and "The competition is so vicious because the stakes are so low." Stephen Garrett of Time Out New York called it "moderately entertaining and ultimately kind of pathetic" and said that the early-1980s arcade subculture is explored better in the documentary Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade
.
Film critic Richard Roeper
stated that the film "deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary" in 2007 on At The Movies
. The Boston Society of Film Critics
named it the runner-up for Best Documentary Feature of 2007. The film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature of 2007 by the Broadcast Film Critics Association
. The film was also nominated for Best Documentary Feature by the Chicago Film Critics Association
, but lost to Sicko
.
claim that there are inaccuracies in the film. Day believes that the documentary is dishonest in its portrayal of the actual events. In posts on a Twin Galaxies forum entitled "The King of Kong — Official Statement" he contends, among other things, that:
Gordon has claimed to have painted Billy Mitchell as a more light-hearted character than his real life persona concerning the movie. Gordon also claims that Billy Mitchell is "so much worse than we painted him out to be," but he chose to only include scenes that were necessary to tell the story, because the movie would have been "darker" had he not played with the facts.
episode, "My Name is Alias", a tribal person references the movie by saying "Hey, there's about to be a Donkey Kong kill screen in the game tent... if you're interested."
In the video game Donkey Kong Country Returns
, a necktie resembling the one Billy Mitchell wore in the movie appears in the background of one of the game's levels.
In the Regular Show
episode, "High Score", a giant floating head with a mullet closely resembling Billy Mitchell holds the record for an arcade game called Broken Bonz. He tries to cheat to win but is ultimately defeated by the show's protagonists.
The Fox TV series Bones season 5 episode 9 "The Gamer in the Grease" is focused around the dispute over a video submitted high score for the arcade game Punky Pong by Steve Riften and Billy Gabel (in an American-flag tie, similar to the one often worn by Billy Mitchell).
In the eleventh season of South Park
, the episode More Crap
tells the story of Randy Marsh
submitting to the European Faecal Standards and Measurements Institute what he believes to be the largest recorded BM. Later in the episode, the previous record holder, Bono
, submits a video tape claiming to have beaten this record, which is accepted by the institute.
On August 7, 2010, Twin Galaxies once again certified Billy Mitchell as the record holder with 1,062,800 points. This coincided with the first induction ceremony for the International Video Game Hall of Fame. Mitchell set the new record playing at the Boomers-Grand Prix Arcade in Dania, Fla. where he played for two hours and forty two minutes before quitting once he topped Chien's score. When asked why he quit early, Mitchell said "Some say I'm being cocky. Some say I'm being lazy. I say, I'm being Billy Mitchell." He also once again set the record in Donkey Kong, Jr but on September 9, 2010 he again lost the title, this time to Mark L. Kiehl.
Steve Wiebe once again regained the world record in September 2010, with a score of 1,064,500. This was broken by Hank Chien in January 2011, with a score of 1,068,000. Hank beat his own record a month later with a score of 1,090,400.
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...
that follows Steve Wiebe
Steve Wiebe
Steven J. "Steve" Wiebe is a two-time world champion of the video game Donkey Kong, most recently holding the title from the 20th of September, 2010 to the 10th of January, 2011 with a high score of 1,064,500 points. Wiebe was the first person to achieve over a million points in the game, with a...
as he tries to take the world high score for the arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong (video game)
is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. It is an early example of the platform game genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In the game, Jumpman must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady, from a...
from reigning champion Billy Mitchell
Billy Mitchell (gamer)
Billy L. Mitchell, born July 16, 1965, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, is best known for recording high scores in classic video games from the Golden Age of Arcade Games. He has been claimed by some as the "greatest arcade-video-game player of all time". His achievements include the first perfect score...
. The film premiered January 22, 2007, at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival
2007 Slamdance Film Festival
The 2007 Slamdance Film Festival took place in Park City, Utah from January 18 to January 27, 2007. It was the 13th iteration of the Slamdance Film Festival, an alternative to the more mainstream Sundance Film Festival...
and has been shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival
Newport Beach Film Festival
The Newport Beach Film Festival is a film festival in the United States held in Newport Beach, California, that showcases more than 350 films to more than 30,000 attendees annually....
, the Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
, the SXSW Film Festival, the TriBeCa Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
, the True/False Film Festival
True/False Film Festival
The True/False Film Festival is an annual documentary film festival that takes place in Columbia, Missouri. The festival usually happens on a weekend toward the end of February or the beginning of March, with films being shown from Thursday night to Sunday night...
, the Aspen Comedy Festival, and the Fantasia Festival
Fantasia Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival is a genre film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996...
. The film opened in limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on August 17, 2007, in 5 theaters, and by September 9, 2007, the film had expanded to 39 theaters in the U.S. Later in 2007, it appeared on the cable network G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
.
The film's original title was simply The King of Kong but later received the subtitle A Fistful of Quarters. A scripted film adaptation is already in the works. Director Seth Gordon
Seth Gordon
Seth Gordon is an American film director, producer, and film editor. He has produced and directed both film and TV for various film and television studios, including PBS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Nations 1% For Development Fund...
has said that the movie might be a sequel instead of a remake, telling the story of how the documentary changed both men's lives, as well as their continuing rivalry. The film's DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release was on January 29, 2008.
Cast
- Steve WiebeSteve WiebeSteven J. "Steve" Wiebe is a two-time world champion of the video game Donkey Kong, most recently holding the title from the 20th of September, 2010 to the 10th of January, 2011 with a high score of 1,064,500 points. Wiebe was the first person to achieve over a million points in the game, with a...
, the challenger - Billy MitchellBilly Mitchell (gamer)Billy L. Mitchell, born July 16, 1965, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, is best known for recording high scores in classic video games from the Golden Age of Arcade Games. He has been claimed by some as the "greatest arcade-video-game player of all time". His achievements include the first perfect score...
- Walter DayWalter DayWalter Aldro Day, Jr. is the founder of Twin Galaxies, an international organization based in Fairfield, Iowa, that tracks high score statistics for the worldwide electronic video gaming hobby...
, the founder of Twin GalaxiesTwin GalaxiesTwin Galaxies is an American organization that tracks video game world records and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. It operates the Twin Galaxies website and publishes the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, with the Arcade Volume released on June... - Robert Mruczek, the chief referee
- Brian KuhBrian KuhBrian Kuh is a competitive gamer and video game world record holder. He was interviewed in the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters...
- Steve Sanders
- Roy Shildt
- Todd RogersTodd Rogers (gamer)Todd Rogers is an American video game competitor living in Brooksville, Florida who gained fame in the early 1980s for his many world record high scores and for his expertise on Activision games...
- Doris SelfDoris SelfDoris Self was a video game competitor who gained recognition back in the 1980s as "the world's oldest video game champion." In the 2007 Guinness World Records Book, Doris was recognized as the world's oldest video game competitor...
Plot
In Ottumwa, Iowa, Walter DayWalter Day
Walter Aldro Day, Jr. is the founder of Twin Galaxies, an international organization based in Fairfield, Iowa, that tracks high score statistics for the worldwide electronic video gaming hobby...
founded Twin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies is an American organization that tracks video game world records and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. It operates the Twin Galaxies website and publishes the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, with the Arcade Volume released on June...
, an organization formed to keep track of high scores achieved on arcade games in the United States. Billy Mitchell, having achieved the highest ever recorded scores on Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong (video game)
is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. It is an early example of the platform game genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In the game, Jumpman must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady, from a...
and Centipede
Centipede (video game)
Centipede is a vertically-oriented shoot 'em up arcade game produced by Atari, Inc. in 1980. The game was designed by Ed Logg along with Dona Bailey, one of the few female game programmers in the industry at this time. It was also the first arcade coin-operated game to have a significant female...
in the 1980s, remains a video game legend in 2005. Twin Galaxies has now become a global organization. Mitchell is unabashedly cocky and fond of self promotion, proclaiming himself the "Sauce King" of Florida for his successful line of homemade hot sauce
Hot sauce
Hot sauce, chili sauce or pepper sauce refers to any spicy sauce made from chili peppers and other ingredients.-Ingredients:There are many recipes for hot sauces - the common ingredient being any kind of peppers. A group of chemicals called capsaicinoids are responsible for the heat in chili peppers...
s. Next to his family, Mitchell considers his arcade scores his greatest achievements in life.
On the other side of the country, in Redmond, Washington
Redmond, Washington
Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 54,144 at the 2010 census,up from 45,256 in 2000....
, Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
employee Steve Wiebe
Steve Wiebe
Steven J. "Steve" Wiebe is a two-time world champion of the video game Donkey Kong, most recently holding the title from the 20th of September, 2010 to the 10th of January, 2011 with a high score of 1,064,500 points. Wiebe was the first person to achieve over a million points in the game, with a...
has been laid off as a Boeing engineer, and now spends his time as a science teacher. His friends and his wife, Nicole, describe him as an unfortunate figure who always comes up short, despite being proficient at music, sports, art, and mathematics. He was a star baseball pitcher but was injured and unable to pitch in the state championship. He is a gifted drummer yet does not care to perform. Preparing to get back into the workforce, Wiebe begins going to night school to get a masters degree and obtains a Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong (video game)
is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. It is an early example of the platform game genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In the game, Jumpman must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady, from a...
machine to play in his garage as a pastime. After reading of Mitchell's world record of 874,300 on the internet, Wiebe focuses on Donkey Kong, and is able to master the game and achieve a score of 1,006,600 points. Wiebe submits the tape to Twin Galaxies, and for a few weeks, Wiebe is a local celebrity and news topic as the new world record holder.
However, Mitchell sends his self-styled protege, retired banker turned pro-gamer Brian Kuh
Brian Kuh
Brian Kuh is a competitive gamer and video game world record holder. He was interviewed in the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters...
, to investigate Wiebe's machine. Kuh finds that the machine's circuit board was provided by Roy Shildt, a self-styled fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
and pickup artist
Pickup artist
Pickup artist describes a man who considers himself to be skilled, or who tries to be skilled at meeting, attracting, and seducing women.The use of pickup in this context, slang for making a casual acquaintance with a stranger in anticipation of sexual relations, dates from at least the World War,...
who claims to hold the high score for Missile Command
Missile Command
Missile Command is a 1980 arcade game by Atari, Inc. that was also licensed to Sega for European release. It is considered one of the most notable games from the Golden Age of Video Arcade Games...
. Unbeknown to Wiebe, Shildt and Mitchell have been nemeses for years ever since Mitchell caused Shildt's high score to be brought under scrutiny, preventing him from receiving official recognition from Twin Galaxies. Ever since, Shildt has been looking for a way to exact clandestine revenge on Mitchell. Based on Wiebe's association with Shildt, the staff of Twin Galaxies suspects that Wiebe's board might have been tampered with and as such, he may have achieved his score dishonestly.
In order to prove his gaming skills, Wiebe travels to Funspot Arcade
Funspot Family Fun Center
Funspot Family Fun Center is a video arcade and self-declared "classic gaming museum" founded in 1952 by Bob Lawton, and located in the village of Weirs Beach in Laconia, New Hampshire, USA. It includes over 500 games, an indoor golf center, a 20-lane ten-pin and candlepin bowling center, cash...
in Laconia, New Hampshire
Laconia, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,411 people, 6,724 households, and 4,168 families residing in the city. The population density was 809.3 people per square mile . There were 8,554 housing units at an average density of 421.8 per square mile...
, to perform a high score live for Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day
Walter Day
Walter Aldro Day, Jr. is the founder of Twin Galaxies, an international organization based in Fairfield, Iowa, that tracks high score statistics for the worldwide electronic video gaming hobby...
and other high-ranking members of Twin Galaxies, hoping to confront Mitchell and play head-to-head. Although Mitchell does not show, he sends Kuh to observe Wiebe's play. Just prior to the kill screen
Kill screen
A kill screen is a stage or level in a video game that stops the player's progress due to a programming error or design oversight. Rather than "ending" in a traditional sense, the game will crash, freeze, or behave so erratically that further play is impossible.Video games, like any other computer...
, Kuh is seen gathering a large crowd to witness. Wiebe reaches it and also achieves a new world record of 985,600 points. However, Mitchell immediately sends a low-quality VHS to Funspot, depicting himself achieving a higher score of 1,047,200 points - a stark contrast to his opinion throughout the film, in which he repeatedly asserts that live scores are the only ones credible. Despite Wiebe's protests that his own first score was disqualified for being submitted via unsupervised videotape, Twin Galaxies accepts Mitchell's score over Wiebe's and proclaims that Mitchell is still the record holder.
Nine months later, Wiebe learns that Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
wants to publish several of Twin Galaxies' records — including Mitchell's latest score. Wiebe and his family travel to Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood, Florida
-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
, near Mitchell's home, to challenge him in a public competition, but Mitchell refuses to accept the challenge, and Wiebe fails to surpass a million points. Nevertheless, Day, on behalf of Twin Galaxies, finally acknowledges Wiebe's integrity and credibility.
In a coda
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
to the film, Wiebe achieves the world record of 1,049,100 in his garage.
Reception
The film was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. As of December 7, 2007, the film had an average score of 83 out of 100 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
based on 23 reviews. Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 97% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 92 reviews.
Robert Wilonsky of the Village Voice called the film a "miniature masterpiece" and in August 2007 said it was "[his] favorite movie of the year" up to that point. Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat
Film Threat
Film Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
gave the film 5 stars and said "It’s not just one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen, it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Period." Keith Phipps of The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
AV Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
gave the film an "A-" and said at one point it "turns into a film about what it takes to make it in America." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, wondering "Who would have guessed that a documentary about gamers obsessed with scoring a world record at Donkey Kong would not only be roaringly funny but serve as a metaphor for the decline of Western civilization?" 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...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
similarly gave the film 3 stars and called it "a documentary that is beyond strange."
Among critics who gave the film negative reviews, Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The 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...
said "Is there anything more tiresome than watching people play video games?" and "The competition is so vicious because the stakes are so low." Stephen Garrett of Time Out New York called it "moderately entertaining and ultimately kind of pathetic" and said that the early-1980s arcade subculture is explored better in the documentary Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade
Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade
Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade is a documentary film directed by Lincoln Ruchti about the golden age of video arcade games. The film premiered January 22, 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival and has also been shown at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival, as well as other film...
.
Film critic Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
stated that the film "deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary" in 2007 on At The Movies
At the Movies
At the Movies is an Australian television program on ABC1 hosted by film critics Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton, in which they discuss the films opening in theatres that week.-History:...
. The Boston Society of Film Critics
Boston Society of Film Critics
The Boston Society of Film Critics is an organization of film reviewers from Boston, Massachusetts, United States, based publications.The BSFC was formed in 1981 to make "Boston's unique critical perspective heard on a national and international level by awarding commendations to the best of the...
named it the runner-up for Best Documentary Feature of 2007. The film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature of 2007 by the Broadcast Film Critics Association
Broadcast Film Critics Association
The Broadcast Film Critics Association is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada , representing approximately 250 television, radio and online critics....
. The film was also nominated for Best Documentary Feature by the Chicago Film Critics Association
Chicago Film Critics Association
The Chicago Film Critics Association is an American film critic association.-Members:Current members include:*Sarah Knight Adamson*Zbigniew Banas*Shelley Cameron*Dave Canfield*Vittorio Carli*Erik Childress*Camerin Courtney*Bonnie DeShong...
, but lost to Sicko
Sicko
Sicko is a 2007 documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Moore. The film investigates health care in the United States, focusing on its health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. The movie compares the for-profit, non-universal U.S...
.
Top ten lists
The film appeared on a few critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.- 4th - Dennis Harvey, VarietyVariety (magazine)Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
(tied with Gone Baby GoneGone Baby GoneGone Baby Gone is a 2007 American crime drama-mystery film directed by Ben Affleck and starring his brother Casey Affleck. The screenplay by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard is based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River and Shutter Island...
) - 5th - EmpireEmpire (magazine)Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
- 6th - Noel Murray, The A.V. ClubThe A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
- 7th - Mike Russell, The OregonianThe OregonianThe Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
- 10th - Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
Disputed facts
Both Walter Day of Twin Galaxies and director Seth GordonSeth Gordon
Seth Gordon is an American film director, producer, and film editor. He has produced and directed both film and TV for various film and television studios, including PBS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Nations 1% For Development Fund...
claim that there are inaccuracies in the film. Day believes that the documentary is dishonest in its portrayal of the actual events. In posts on a Twin Galaxies forum entitled "The King of Kong — Official Statement" he contends, among other things, that:
- In 2000, Tim Sczerby claimed to have reached a high score of 879,200 points. Steve Wiebe beat both this score and Billy Mitchell's 1982 score. (In response, the film's producers claim that "Tim Sczerby's consistently disputed record was impossible to verify and did not merit inclusion in the film.")
- Steve Wiebe actually held the high score record for almost 3 years, and when his videotaped score of 1,006,600 points was rejected, the record actually reverted to Wiebe's own previous record reached in 2003 — it did not revert to Billy Mitchell's 1982 score as implied by the film. However, there is evidence that Wiebe's 2003 score was reclassified to a different category months after its submission, leaving the earlier record in place.
- Mitchell's videotaped record sent to the Funspot event was actually discarded after the event, and Walter Day apologized "for the mistake of approving this videotape without the benefit of a complete verification process." The score was reverted to Wiebe's score achieved at Funspot.
Gordon has claimed to have painted Billy Mitchell as a more light-hearted character than his real life persona concerning the movie. Gordon also claims that Billy Mitchell is "so much worse than we painted him out to be," but he chose to only include scenes that were necessary to tell the story, because the movie would have been "darker" had he not played with the facts.
Influence
In the My Name Is EarlMy Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
episode, "My Name is Alias", a tribal person references the movie by saying "Hey, there's about to be a Donkey Kong kill screen in the game tent... if you're interested."
In the video game Donkey Kong Country Returns
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Donkey Kong Country Returns, known as in Japan, is a side-scrolling 2.5D platform game developed by Retro Studios and released by Nintendo for the Wii console on November 21, 2010, in North America, December 3, 2010, in Europe, and on December 9, 2010, in Japan...
, a necktie resembling the one Billy Mitchell wore in the movie appears in the background of one of the game's levels.
In the Regular Show
Regular Show
Regular Show is an American animated television series created by J. G. Quintel...
episode, "High Score", a giant floating head with a mullet closely resembling Billy Mitchell holds the record for an arcade game called Broken Bonz. He tries to cheat to win but is ultimately defeated by the show's protagonists.
The Fox TV series Bones season 5 episode 9 "The Gamer in the Grease" is focused around the dispute over a video submitted high score for the arcade game Punky Pong by Steve Riften and Billy Gabel (in an American-flag tie, similar to the one often worn by Billy Mitchell).
In the eleventh season of South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, the episode More Crap
More Crap
"More Crap" is the 9th episode of the eleventh season of the animated television series South Park. It was originally broadcast on Comedy Central in the United State on October 10, 2007, and is rated TV-MA...
tells the story of Randy Marsh
Randy Marsh
Randall Gilbert Marsh is a former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1981 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues from 2000-2009. Marsh wore the uniform number 30...
submitting to the European Faecal Standards and Measurements Institute what he believes to be the largest recorded BM. Later in the episode, the previous record holder, Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
, submits a video tape claiming to have beaten this record, which is accepted by the institute.
World Record status since the film's release
On July 13, 2007, in celebration of the film's release and the 25th anniversary of Mitchell's first record-setting performance, Mitchell again played and retook the Donkey Kong record with a score of 1,050,200. Inspired to attempt the record because of the movie, a new King of Kong was crowned on February 26, 2010 when Queens NY plastic surgeon Hank Chien surpassed Mitchell's high score by scoring 1,061,700.On August 7, 2010, Twin Galaxies once again certified Billy Mitchell as the record holder with 1,062,800 points. This coincided with the first induction ceremony for the International Video Game Hall of Fame. Mitchell set the new record playing at the Boomers-Grand Prix Arcade in Dania, Fla. where he played for two hours and forty two minutes before quitting once he topped Chien's score. When asked why he quit early, Mitchell said "Some say I'm being cocky. Some say I'm being lazy. I say, I'm being Billy Mitchell." He also once again set the record in Donkey Kong, Jr but on September 9, 2010 he again lost the title, this time to Mark L. Kiehl.
Steve Wiebe once again regained the world record in September 2010, with a score of 1,064,500. This was broken by Hank Chien in January 2011, with a score of 1,068,000. Hank beat his own record a month later with a score of 1,090,400.
External links
- Official website
- Twin Galaxies official website
- The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters at slamdance.com
- Trailer at Apple.com
- King of Kong at DVDtalk.com
- Steve Wiebe tells movie goers not to talk during the movie at YouTube
- In depth article/interview from Ignore Magazine
- Lee's Peek n Poke DVD review of The King of Kong
- The American Classic Arcade Museum