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The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters |  | Director: Seth Gordon
Actors: Billy Mitchell, Steve Wiebe
Studio: New Line Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy Used: $4.90
as of 7/29/2010 19:53 CDT details
You Save: $15.08 (75%)
New (31) Used (19) from $4.90
Seller: The Premium Companies
Rating:  97 reviews
Sales Rank: 5693
Format: AC-3, Dolby, Subtitled, Anamorphic
Languages: English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Running Time: 79 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: TRNDN11234D
UPC: 794043112348
EAN: 0794043112348
ASIN: B000XQ4HR8
Release Date: January 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Movie DVD
Amazon.com
The stuff of gladiatorial battle is here: good versus evil, right versus wrong, nerd versus... super-nerd? At any rate, it's a more entertaining showdown than most fictional movies can muster. The King of Kong is the saga of Steve Wiebe, a Redmond, Washington dweeb who sets a new record in the video game Donkey Kong, only to see his accomplishment challenged by the grand poobahs of the gaming establishment. And if you don't know how pernickety the grand poobahs of the gaming establishment can be, well, one of the pleasures of this movie is finding out about this collection of oddballs. It seems Wiebe has toppled a score that has stood since 1982, when eminent "Gamer of the Century" Billy Mitchell set it, and Mitchell isn't too happy about being overthrown. A black-mulleted showboat, Mitchell provides the perfect counterpoint to Wiebe's mild-mannered family man, and the smaller fish around him are no less colorful. This is one of those movies you watch in delighted disbelief, marveling that such people exist--and that they gladly allowed themselves to be filmed. Director Seth Gordon does an important thing in presenting this world of eccentrics: he doesn't mock them, or provide editorial nudging; he simply lets them be. The result is an ingratiating classic. --Robert Horton
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 97
 King of Garbage July 20, 2010
Edward Michael Mullen
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I hated this CD. What a waste of time.
Save your money.
 Karma is a "Billy Bitch" June 21, 2010
Randy Kurtz (Colorado)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Want to watch a good movie reference video days gone by? Here you go. Back in the day I was Donkey Kong freak also, and now it's on my laptop.
Be prepared for a very good video with twists n turns in reference to scores, and scorekeeping(s). First of all Billy Mitchell learn to be a sportsman, and then enter the game. Billy the reason you didn't win the world title is because of karma-you are no better than anybody else-but you think you are. Get over yourself, and get onto a tournament with BOTH of you (Steve Weibie) in a LIVE tournament arena. None of this taped crap. By the way, the taping was you only downfall; had you been present at the contests your image would be alot more upstanding. Oh well.
The honest player came out with the record, and won this game. Congrats Steve!
 Painful but very funny. March 24, 2010
Mr. Eddie (New York, NY)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Mastering these old video games is TOUGH. It deserves some respect, and I think this was not just a goofy idea for a movie but worthwhile subject matter. What the director was very fortunate to discover, and exploited to the hilt, is that the egos and reputations in high level gaming are immense -- which makes for good drama. Yes, there is irony in the fact that it's in the end all done for a video game, but then again, what is the intrinsic worth of being able to do a slam dunk either? If anything, these video gamers could come in mighty handy if we ever had a "war against the machines" Terminator scenario (!)...but I digress.
While this is a fascinating story about the underdog, and it is put together quite well, in the end it does not go into much detail about the fundamental methods or fascination of beating these games. Instead, it plays fast n' loose with the facts, exploiting the fragile nerd world in a way Jimmy Kimmel or another comedian might. In the end, we're all supposed to look at these guys as vindictive, somewhat pathetic outcasts.
Most of the film derives its dramatic gravitas from the character of legendary gamer Billy Mitchell. He really is quite a fascinating man, truly insecure and villainous at times -- but obviously quite brilliant, insightful, and understandably protective of his reputation. This is one of those examples where everybody likes to pick on the guy, but in the end, he's the reason they came. He's a brutal competitor. At the same time, he is also the biggest spoiled brat in the world -- who learned video games playing endlessly in his Dad's restaurant and then had the whole franchise waiting for him when he became of age. Billy now fancies himself a peerless entrepreneur. To me, it seems as though he has only shamelessly exploited his god-given talents and inherited position in life. Whereas his competitor, the dogged and unassuming Steve Wiebe, has fought tooth and nail to get just an ounce of respect for all of his abilities in various endeavors. It's actually a pretty amazing story, the kind of thing great novelists have written about.
There is a sad, pathetic irony of how cutthroat the world of supposed "escapist" hobbies can be. I've encountered some of the most vicious backstabbing and arrogance with movie geeks and comic nerds. These worlds are created by legions of outcasts in an attempt to have something to call their own -- kind of like a big WASPy gang. In that way, this documentary serves as a fascinating sociological study of groups, their terms of acceptance, and merciless treatment of outsiders.
Engrossing, Uplifting, and Pathetic March 15, 2010
Music Lover (United States)
What price will one pay to be the best? More interestingly, what price will one pay to make everyone else believe that he is the best? "The King of Kong" follows the adventure of Steve Wiebe, a self-proclaimed loser (and more sadly proclaimed as such by loved ones like his mother, wife, and best friend), who wants to do something to show that he is more than the sum of his failures. His method of demonstration; becoming the world's best Donkey Kong player (what!!??!). After finding out the high score, held by a supercilious reprobate named Billy Mitchell, Wiebe sets off to conquer the score. This is when things start getting really weird.
We are introduced to the very strange underworld of competitive classic arcade gaming, where Billy Mitchell is cult leader to a group of sniveling sycophants masquerading as neutral spectators and referees. At one point early in the movie, Wiebe destroys the top score on his home arcade machine and a couple of Mitchell underlings go to Wiebe's home and take pictures of the computer running the game in an attempt to discredit the score. They make the case that Mitchell's enemy somehow planted a false computer into the machine and that the score is invalid (I reiterate: what!!??!). So Wiebe goes to a "sanctioned" arcade on the East Coast (despite living in Washington) and beats Michell's high score in front of a live audience (including Mitchell's most reprehensible follower who phones Mitchell throughout to keep him updated). While this is going on, Mitchell, who was too chicken to meet Wiebe head on despite his macho posturing, has sent a very suspect tape showing a new high score in Donkey Kong. Despite the questions surrounding both the quality and the timing of the tape, the cult of Mitchell accepts the tape as valid (but won't let Wiebe watch it) and Mitchell regains the record. Almost a year later, Wiebe goes to Hollywood, Florida (Mitchell's home town) to attempt the record for the Guinness Book of World Records and again, Mitchell cowers from the challenge (yet continues to posture despite his own wife's admission that she had never seen him even play a game).
On the one hand, I root for Wiebe. He is an everyman. He works hard, supports his family, and doesn't appear to cause trouble. He clearly has a void in his heart that he somehow thinks Donkey Kong can fill (or perhaps simply being the best at something can fill). On the other hand, I fail to understand why someone like Wiebe would waste his time trying to capture Mitchell's crown when there are so many more noble endeavors one with Wiebe's abilities and advantages could undertake. He fails to see or chooses to ignore the stunted maturity of the competitive gaming community. His is blinded by his mission; to put his past behind him. The movie implies that gaining acceptance from this pathetic group of men was a validating experience for him. I doubt the veracity of that implication and if that is what he gained from this experience, than his odyssey was all for naught.
I hope Wiebe is at peace with himself. I hope he has exorcised his demons and accepted that despite not being the world's greatest pitcher, musician, basketball player, etc..., that he has a life worth not only living, but cherishing. But I think the deeper message of this movie is that we live in a culture where the prevailing zeitgeist is that anything short of the best is not only a failure for that particular endeavor, but also makes the person who failed a failure. Mitchell knows this better than Wiebe and hides his fear of being a failure behind a thin veneer of arrogance. He knows he cannot live with being a failure at something he used to dominate so he dodges every challenge by Wiebe.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I think most people will enjoy this movie. The director does not hide his disdain for Mitchell and some of his cronies. I think he could have explored their point of view a little more instead of simply labeling them obsequious nerds. This is, however, a minor complaint in an otherwise very enjoyable story that I would otherwise never known about.
Excellent Doc! March 4, 2010
A. Kelling (Ohio)
Loved this movie.
I have to say they made Billy look like such a jerk he really is not that way.
With that said I have watched this movie over and over.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 97
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