Crumb (1994)
Superior Pictures

Description

David Lynch (Blue Velvet) presents one of the most critically acclaimed films ever made. A hilarious and mysterious journey through artistic genius and sexual obsession, CRUMB is a wild ride through the mind of Robert Crumb; creator of "Zap Comix," "Mr. Natural" and "Fritz the Cat." CRUMB enters a territory as spooky as it is fascinating... a portrait of the artist as misanthrope, as bad-boy visionary,as a joker and sex maniac and, finally, as hero. One of those rare film experiences that has the giddy effect of being a nightmare and a party at the same time.

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Collected reviews and ratings

10 Variety | Todd McCarthy

A frank, intimate look at a phenomenal popular artist and his extraordinarily dysfunctional family, "Crumb" is an excellent countercultural documentary.
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10 ReelViews | James Berardinelli

This is the sort of movie capable of prompting a viewer to question and evaluate a great deal more than the inner workings of a single man. In addition to presenting one of the most compelling filmed documentary character studies of all time, Crumb asks a lot of pointed questions about life and art that no one can possibly answer, least of all the misanthropic genius at the center of the portrait.
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10 Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

"Crumb," which is one of the most remarkable and haunting documentaries ever made, tells the story of Robert Crumb, his brothers Max and Charles, and an American childhood that looks normal in old family photographs but conceals deep wounds and secrets.
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10 Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

When you look at the work of the legendary underground cartoonist R. Crumb, you get the ticklish sensation that you're seeing the world in all its tawdry grunge and desire-and that it's dissolving to madness right before your eyes. That's the feeling you get, as well, from CRUMB, the extraordinary new documentary that turns Robert Crumb's twisted life story into a disturbing, exhilarating work of biographical art.
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10 Time | Richard Corliss

With all due respect to Hoop Dreams, and with none to the inbred documentary-screening-committee clan of the Motion Picture Academy, which handed this year's Oscar to a former chair of that committee, Crumb is the one that should've won.
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10 Washington Post | Desson Howe

A complex mixture of user, egotist, misogynist, pessimist and sex fiend, he lives in a constant state of self-irony, disgust at mall-culture America and gleeful inspiration. But no one is more aware of the beast within than Crumb. And no one has transformed that monster more successfully into popular art. Zwigoff's documentary, which shows all this and more, is truly one of the most extraordinary films of the year.
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10 digitallyobsessed.com | Jeff Wilson

An enthralling documentary about a legendary artist, Crumb presents a warts and all portrait of Crumb, his family and his work. Not for all tastes, given Crumb's general subject matter and brutal frankness regarding just about everything, but certainly worth watching for those looking for something more offbeat.
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9.0 Amazon user reviews

This documentary can definitely be considered a masterpiece for the cult crowd, and as for the rest of us, it's sure to make us feel a little better about our own lives!
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9.0 New York Times | Stephen Holden

It succeeds at showing how one man's psychic wounds contributed to an art that transmutes personal pain into garish visual satire.
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8.8 Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

Through frank interviews with Crumb, his friends, lovers, wives, children, colleagues, critics and the dysfunctional Catholic family that spawned him, Zwigoff crafts a film of raucous humor and shocking gravity. You often laugh to keep from crying.
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8.2 DVD Verdict | Steve Evans

For those who know in advance what they're in for, this would make a fascinating double-bill with Titicutt Follies. Crumb, truly, is one who flew over the cuckoo's nest.
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8.0 Empire | Ian Nathan

No ordinary biopic, or documentary for that matter, this is a rare glimpse into the twisted mind of a visionary artist.
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