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TheReelTodd
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The King of Kong

on Tuesday, June, 17, 2008 3:15 PM
Seems like every (classic) gamer has seen this documentary already, but I just watched it for the first time.

Wow.

What an excellent documentary - superbly produced and covering subject matter that is very meaningful to me and many other gamers. I think it probably appeals most to the classic gamers and those experienced the video game arcade heyday of the early 80's and those who find themselves fascinated with that period. I also think many modern gamers probably find it worthy of their time to watch and enjoy.

Long have I known about the man named Billy Mitchell - one of the highest-scoring classic gamers alive, actually, he's at the top of the list according to most official records. I didn't know much about a man named Steve Wiebe though. This guy worked his ass off in an effort to become the recognized world champion of Donkey Kong and really had to fight an uphill battle all the way.

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

At the end of the documentary, Steve Wiebe was not able to beat Billy Mitchell's official Donkey Kong high score record. I was really pulling for him and cheering him on. I wanted him to be able to achieve the record. Unfortunately, he was unable to do it, and the credits started rolling.

Then the credits stopped rolling and it was announced that Steve Wiebe was indeed able to break the standing record of Billy Mitchell after the main shooting of the documentary. There I was, sitting in my living room by myself, clapping and cheering.

Is this what sports-lovers experience when they watch their favorite teams play or the underdog in the Olympics win? I don't know because I care as much about sporting events as I do about dried gum on a sidewalk. But I believe this is as close as I'll ever come to understanding it.

Many times I've heard gamers say how great this documentary is. They're all right. Absolutely fantastic!

Being someone who's dabbled in video production myself and studying reality vs. what's reported on the news and other media outlets, I understand that the documentary was likely edited in a way to elicit the maximum sense of rivalry and drama between the two contenders for the world Donkey Kong record. How close to the reality of the rivalry and emotions of all involved this was, I have no way of knowing. But for what it was, the documentary was simply an awesome presentation. I even found myself inspired by the whole thing. I love when things have that affect on me.

I'd love to hear what others thought of the documentary, as I'm probably a late viewer of it myself. Did you find yourself clapping at the end? Do you wish that professional competitive video gaming was accepted as an official sport and something that was recognized as such by the powers that be in the entertainment industry? Were you a Donkey Kong fan back in the day (or today, if you weren't around then)?

To be honest, I really didn't care for Donkey Kong in the early 80's. I like it much more now than I ever did then... but I still suck at it.


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Auric
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Re: The King of Kong

on Tuesday, June, 17, 2008 4:02 PM
Todd,

This movie was what got me off my butt and up to FunSpot. And yes, I was clapping and cheering when they showed that.

I'm glad you finally got to see it.where to buy abortion pill http://blog.bitimpulse.com/template/default.aspx?abortion-types buy abortion pill online


Dave "Auric" Hernly
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TRON.dll
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Re: The King of Kong

on Tuesday, June, 17, 2008 4:07 PM
I think the critics all agreed on one big problem with it, and that's the way Billy Mitchell was portrayed. Auric mentioned that he talked to him (Mitchell) on the phone when he set the record for After Burner. Auric said he was nothing like the way he was portrayed in King of Kong. Billy Mitchell was pretty upset about how he was about his depiction in the film.

Other than that, this is a perfect movie! It's my favorite movie, next to of course. order abortion pill morning after pill price where to buy abortion pillabortion pills online abortion questions cytotec abortion


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TheReelTodd
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Re: The King of Kong

on Tuesday, June, 17, 2008 4:45 PM
Auric Wrote:Todd,

This movie was what got me off my butt and up to FunSpot. And yes, I was clapping and cheering when they showed that.

I'm glad you finally got to see it.

Yes, definitely an enjoyable documentary.

One of these days, I'd like to make my way there - with a fist full of quarters. I doubt I can even come close to any records, but the experience of playing on the classic machines in such a cool environment would be worth every quarter and then some.



TRON.dll Wrote:I think the critics all agreed on one big problem with it, and that's the way Billy Mitchell was portrayed. Auric mentioned that he talked to him (Mitchell) on the phone when he set the record for After Burner. Auric said he was nothing like the way he was portrayed in King of Kong. Billy Mitchell was pretty upset about how he was about his depiction in the film.

Other than that, this is a perfect movie! It's my favorite movie, next to of course.

I remember reading what Auric said in the Fun Zone thread. Even without having first read his comments, I would have questioned his (Billy's) portrayal in the documentary. Like I said in my first post here, I know all about the editing tricks used to beef up the drama in things. It makes for a more dramatic presentation and is more likely to bring out emotion in the viewers. I understand the practice, but don't like it. Billy Mitchell is not the first to be inaccurately portrayed in a documentary or media story and he won't be the last. The local (and network) news does it all the time as do most documentaries.

Even so, I don't think his portrayal in the film was all that negative - at least he did not rub off on me as a bad person because of the documentary. Perhaps it is because I can't help but pick up on the intended angle via editing, but even with the way it was edited, there was nothing he said or did that made him seem like a bad person. It's all about context and presentation.

I still think the documentary, as a whole, was a very enjoyable one. It's personal portrayal of people involved may not be highly accurate, but it was a good "show" and the subject matter was of much interest to me.







 
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