The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
2007
****
Director: Seth Gordon
Cast:
In 1982 Billy Mitchell set a high score in Donkey Kong that was deemed out of this world. More than 20 years later an unemployed Boeing engineer Steve Wiebe set out to break the record. This fascinating documentary looks back at the birth of the arcade gaming culture and the history of Twin Galaxies, an organisation which keeps track of the official high scores. Mostly, however, this is a story about two obsessive gamers, Mitchell and Wiebe. The first one is portrayed as a cocky and petty champion, the latter one as a sympathetic and mistreated challenger. This may not be fair, but it makes for very entertaining viewing. Their rivalry doesn't actually end here, the men have both reclaimed and lost the high score since the film came out.
