Donkey Kong documentary nets high score on DVD
"The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" -- Being a child of the 1980s, I knew that at the very least, "The King of Kong" would provide me with a sweet dose of nostalgia. It's a documentary about two champion players of Donkey Kong, the classic video game that mesmerized and frustrated a generation. I must have taken thousands of trips to nearby pizza places and convenience stores, my pockets bulging with quarters (most of which I likely lifted from my mom's purse), to play that game back in the day. "The King of Kong" turned out to be more than a trip back to my childhood, however. It's a hilarious, exciting and occasionally heart-breaking drama that ranks as one of the best movies of 2007.
The story revolves around a clash of Donkey Kong titans. In one corner is Billy Mitchell. As part of a 1982 Life Magazine feature about champion gamers, Billy scored an unheard-of 874,300 points on Donkey Kong. For 20 years after that, no one came anywhere close to that record, and fans started to talk about Billy the way baseball fans discuss Babe Ruth. Then in 2003, a middle-school teacher named Steve Wiebe scored 1 million points on the game. His score sent the video game world into a frenzy, and it inspired Billy to come out of "retirement" to reclaim his record.
The Donkey Kong battle itself probably wouldn't support a full-length documentary, so director Seth Gordon wisely focuses on his two fascinating leads, instead. Billy is one of those characters that even the most creative fiction writer would have trouble making up. Brash and smart, standing tall with a mane of long black hair and his trademark black clothes (often accented by a red-white-and-blue tie), he strides through the video game subculture like royalty. Steve is the opposite. Soft-spoken and shy, he's a well-meaning family man who's blessed with talent but never quite managed to be the best at anything, until Donkey Kong came along. Gordon does a fantastic job telling both men's stories while also giving time to a rogue's gallery of wonderfully odd characters from deep within the world of competitive gaming. There are plenty of laughs in "The King of Kong," but it's the surprising emotional human drama at the center of the film that makes it special.
The DVD comes with some great bonus material, including two commentaries, nearly an hour of additional footage and some fantastic new interviews with many of the movie's main players. (Billy Mitchell is reportedly upset about his portrayal in the movie, and he's not included.) All in all, this DVD release of "The King of Kong" gets my highest rating -- four joysticks. (PG-13; New Line, $27.98)
"The Invasion" -- A lot of high-wattage star power is wasted in this surprisingly bland take on the classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" story. Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig play doctors who slowly realize that an alien virus is turning the human race into a collection of cold, lifeless automatons.
Like previous "Body Snatchers" flicks, this one uses the story as a political allegory, with our violent, post-911 world the backdrop. There are some creepy moments in the film, but the story is muddled and confusing; even actors as strong as Kidman and Craig can't breathe life into it. The DVD includes an interesting documentary about the history of the "Body Snatchers" story in movies -- this is the fourth film adaptation of the original 1950s novel -- and a series of short featurettes about the production. (PG-13; Warner Home Video, $28.98)
In case you missed it: "In the Heat of the Night," one of the best American films of all time, recently appeared on DVD in a 40th anniversary release. This 1967 film brings together two great actors, Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, in a racially charged story of murder in a small Mississippi town. The acting is top-notch (Steiger won an Oscar) and the story remains fresh and gripping. This new DVD includes a great video transfer, a commentary with director Norman Jewison and new featurettes that put the film in context. It's a great DVD release for a great film. (NR; MGM, $19.98)