Crumb

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Jack G My personally favourite documentary. The tumult of genius, the power of art, and family abuse in all its surrealism. Just has straight balls. It exists outside of any label or genre. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/21/24 Full Review Bucky R An amazing doc about an amazing artist. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/29/24 Full Review david f This is pretty much a masterpiece as a documentary, getting at all the many motivations and inspirations of its title character, the comic artist, Robert Crumb. Lots of his work is on display here for the viewer to form their own opinion but there's also critics, boosters, and commentators galore to analyse it one way or another. I particularly loved Robert Hughes, the old Time Magazine art critic from Australia, who brings an articulate, funny, and brilliant eye to bear on the work of the artist (and his reaction when told that Crumb masturbates to his own work is priceless). I don't know what to say about the Crumb family other than to point out that this film shows them for who they are, warts and all, in a non-judgmental way that quite frankly is a model for documentary filmmaking. I may have cringed at times, and wanted the film to take a position, but on some level I'm glad it did not and I think that is part of what makes this film so great, so perfect. Crumb attributes his start to his older brother Charles, and the movie ends on a quote from Charles, and in between there is much of Charles and Robert together, showing off what is left of their dynamic together, and it's one of the keystones of the film. I remember watching this movie when it came out when I was a teenager-it made me run to Tower Records to start buying volumes of The Complete Crumb Comics. It's every bit as good now as it was then, a true American Original about a True American Original. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review William L After watching the opening credits, I was left wondering how David Lynch would tackle a documentary of an American underground cartoonist, only to find out later that his name was tacked on in post-production and that he had very little influence over the film itself. That's kind of a letdown. A documentary of an artist where the art itself, while certainly an influence on popular culture, is totally secondary. Zwigoff uses the work of R. Crumb, which ranges from well-regarded satire to highly controversial work that blurs the line between sincere biases and insightful commentary, as a means of tackling personal trauma. Crumb himself is not a good person, directly admitting a loathing of the opposite sex and dabbling in areas that some would find difficult to stomach. But as the film goes on, you're introduced to the context of his upbringing and how he was made into the cartoonist he became, featuring a mash-up of childhood trauma, cultural conflicts, and personal tragedies. While to the outside world he is at the most generous a particularly colorful character, in his family he is far and away the most well-adjusted individual. The contrast between these two worlds - the strange simmering cauldron where he was born and formed his personality, and the outside world that judges him through his work exclusively, is the film's clincher. (4/5) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/20/22 Full Review Audience Member it is a beautiful world, mr. crumb you're extremely talented - but all the talent that exists or has existed will never replace humanity and nobody gives a shit because you're probably dead by now and nobody fucking cares. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member It's very personal, hell I'd say intrusive, of the artist's personal life, but hey, it was made under Robert Crumb's permission.
 Zwigoff's careful direction gives us no bullshit as we learn the endearing highs and disturbing lows which colour the original comic life of "Crumb".
 This is a masterful example on how a documentary should protect its integrity without sacrificing entertainment quality. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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