Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project

Play trailer 1:54 Poster for Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project 2019 1h 27m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
95% Tomatometer 40 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Marion Stokes tapes television 24 hours a day for over 30 years to create an archive.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Story uses one person's singular quest to illuminate the blurred line between brilliance and obsession.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Simran Hans Observer (UK) 11/07/2020
4/5
Stokes is a fascinating, elusive protagonist - she was a recluse who enjoyed daily martinis and felt a kinship with Steve Jobs. Yet Wolf treats her archive with reverence, rather than writing her off as an eccentric. Go to Full Review
Rogan Graham Little White Lies 11/05/2020
3/5
Dips in the second half but well worth your time. Go to Full Review
Danny Leigh Financial Times 11/04/2020
3/5
Obsession, intellect, consumerism, conspiracy, all are here - and encompassing them is the white noise of the mass media, the bedlam hum of 24-hour television news. Go to Full Review
Christopher Machell CineVue 11/09/2020
4/5
It is, of course, of immense archival value, but the effect of the sheer weight of such a vast store of media, layered upon itself like an enormous cake of pure information, is far more metaphysical than mere archival utility. Go to Full Review
Carla Hay Culture Mix 07/12/2020
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project, which is skillfully directed by Matt Wolf, is an example of the type of documentary that can be a true hidden gem. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
David F @dfulmer Dec 30 This is a fascinating documentary about a woman who recorded multiple TV channels around the clock for years and years. Through interviews with friends, family, and employees, the filmmakers explore this woman’s amazing project and follow along as her tapes are donated to the Internet Archive. There is a montage showing the way 9/11 unfolded on four different TV channels which really vividly illustrates the great value of this woman’s collection. This will be of interest to anyone fascinated by hoarders, interested in TV, or just with a curiosity about eccentric human behaviour. See more LeslieJean A 06/27/2024 Marion Stokes was a remarkable human being that clearly and without a doubt,unstood her assignment while on this rock we kick around called Earth. I am changed by her endurance in preserving the truth, not Facts in the field of journalism and humbled by the opportunity to see myself in her.Thank you. Never,judge a book by its cover and you can not think for even a second,one could ever stop the spirit of truth. See more Sarah W 08/07/2023 Marion Stokes was a public intellectual and an activist who also tape recorded television new shows for 35 years. Starting with the Iran hostage crisis and ending with Sandy Hook, Stokes showed how new stories evolve over time. Her pre-Internet prescience is worth considering in today's information ecosystem, complete with curated news feeds for social media users. Stokes understood television news in ways most people have never even considered, with one possible exception: Donald Trump. See more Graham G 01/03/2021 There's very little story here Don't expect any third act reveals or anything interesting about the character. The archive footage of historic events is interesting to watch. See more dave d 06/23/2020 Marion Stokes was a complicated woman who in the last 30 years of her life taped at least one channel of television for 24 hours and usually many more than that. She accumulated tens of thousands of hours of television that are now archived on the internet. The story of how we got there is fascinating and the result was a satisfied hubby and wife date night documentary. Credit to Matt Wolf on another outstanding film. Hubby: 8.0/Wife: 7.0 Average: 7.5/10 See more Read all reviews
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Film About a Father Who 100% % Film About a Father Who Watchlist TRAILER for Film About a Father Who The Opera House 71% % The Opera House Watchlist Love, Gilda 89% 81% Love, Gilda Watchlist TRAILER for Love, Gilda Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story 100% 85% Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story Watchlist Adrienne 100% 86% Adrienne Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Marion Stokes tapes television 24 hours a day for over 30 years to create an archive.
Director
Matt Wolf
Producer
Andrew Kortschak, Kyle Martin
Distributor
Zeitgeist Films
Production Co
Electric Chinoland, End Cue, C41 Media
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 15, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 10, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA)
$55.1K
Runtime
1h 27m
Most Popular at Home Now