Aline Kominsky, Charles Crumb, Maxon Crumb

A fascinating, funny and finally troubling documentary about the prolific, iconoclastic underground cartoonist Robert Crumb.

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90% liked it

6,988 ratings

Critics

94% liked it

35 critics

R, 1 hr. 59 min.

Directed by: Terry Zwigoff

Release Date: May 19, 1995

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DVD Release Date: March 9, 1999

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Flixster Reviews (524)


  • July 5, 2009
    I have a hard time recommending this. The film is a typical talking head doc about comics artist Robert Crumb, with all the traits you'd expect -- childhood, interviews with family and friends, examples of his work. It's definitely interesting, and the guy is a talented artist to...( read more) be sure. But his style of art, his subject matter and just his general oddball personality make me uncomfortable. This is a man I would not like being stuck in an elevator with.
  • January 23, 2009
    You have probably seen Robert Crumb's images somewhere, be it on a comic book, a set of mud flaps, or in your mind at night. Crumb's documentary is an examination of what led him to what could have been a lucrative existence as a 1960's icon that he shunned. Yes, Crumb is one of ...( read more)the few people with a little artistic credibility. What's interesting about the life of Crumb is how much of an influence his brothers were on his career and the fact they both appeared to have derailed in their lives with his older brother Cahrles committing suicide when the
  • January 17, 2009
    Robert Crumb was the founder of an underground comics movement started in the 1960's, and his "Keep on Truckin'" logo became a national phenomenon. He also created the comic strip "Fritz the Cat", which later became a film that Crumb himself had nothing to do with. Since the earl...( read more)y nineties, however, Crumb has completely distanced himself from his work. Now residing in France with his wife and daughter, Crumb has only left behind his peculiar, often disturbing images that depict things most people would desperately try to repress.

    Terry Zwigoff, who would go on to direct the wonderful "Ghost World", chronicled the lives of Robert Crumb and his family in a film released in 1994, which would go down as one of the most fascinating character studies ever presented in this medium. Zwigoff, an acquaintance of Crumb who shared a passion for 1920's and 30's records, literally gave up everything in order to complete the documentary. In an infamous story told by Roger Ebert, Zwigoff slept with a gun on his pillow - just waiting for the night he'd have the courage to pull the trigger.

    You may have never heard the name Robert Crumb, which isn't surprising. I had only heard of him due to his depiction in the wonderful film about fellow underground comic artist Harvey Pekar, "American Splendor". He's a man who did his best to reject fame. He turned down offers to license slogans like "Keep on Truckin'", as well as countless offers for talk shows and even Saturday Night Live. When he speaks of the animated film version of "Felix the Cat", he does so with disgust and disappointment. There's a scene at a comic shop where an acquaintance tells Crumb that he's responsible for every comic that sits before him, and Crumb can't do anything but laugh and try to deny it. In this same comic shop, he turns down a man who asks for an autograph, claiming to be a huge fan, because Robert "doesn't believe in autographs". Crumb himself is a peculiar subject for a documentary, indeed, as you have to imagine it's the last thing he ever wanted. Perhaps this, combined with the painful memories of home, is why Crumb would ultimately head for France. The film, which has become a cult hit of a documentary, is exactly what Crumb had avoided his entire life.

    Crumb's drawings are bound to offend many people. Many of his drawings depict women being raped, sometimes women without their heads. He also has startling controversial images of African-American's with the classical caricatured large lips eating watermelon. To Crumb, drawing is a desire that satisfies his deepest fetishes. It has been said that Crumb does get off to his own works (some of them inspired by a trip on LSD), and the film reveals that Crumb masturbated to Bugs Bunny as a child.

    The film isn't all about Robert, as his two brothers are equally colorful and tragic. Charles Crumb, who would commit suicide before this documentary's release, was the one who started drawing comic books in the very beginning. He seemed to be the one destined for success, in fact, but at the time this was filmed he spent his life sitting in his room and reading. He was a virgin whose only revealed sexual fantasy was a young boy in "Treasure Island", and he was a complete recluse for his entire life. We imagine that Robert would end up like Charles without the comic book medium to keep him on his feet. His other brother is Max, a sex offender, who now is a sort of practicing monk. Everyday, he meditates on a bed of nails and passes a 30 foot cloth through his body. The three boys had two sisters, who refused participation in the film.

    What makes "Crumb" so successful as a film is how open it's subjects are to reveal everything about their lives. Rarely in life do you see people admitting such dark fantasies, and Crumb tells you these really disturbing anecdotes while smiling and chuckling. But the film doesn't make you disturbed by Robert the man at all, nor his family. Instead, you almost form a deep admiration and respect for the family, as tragic as they might be. "Crumb" helps you understand minds that seem completely unsolvable on the surface, and due to it's fascinating subjects it makes for an extraordinarily involving documentary. A documentary, by the way, which is perhaps the best i've ever seen. Subscribers can watch it on NetFlix Instant View.
  • September 29, 2008
    A bold and unflinching examination of an (socially edgy) artist and his equally talented but more troubled male siblings. Deserved its Grandy Jury Prize at Sundance
  • May 8, 2008
    Crumb is Terry Zwigoff's quintessential documentary about legendary underground artist Robert Crumb, famous for his unique, highly strange and sexualized style, and for revolutionizing the comic and art world with it. I was vaguely familiar with the man before seeing this, but no...( read more)t as much with his art, but luckily Crumb is a very good introduction to the man, as well as a wonderfully constructed, very entertaining examination of Robert and also his more troubled but also talented brothers. Zwigoff leaves no stone unturned and really gets to the root of the matter, and by the end one has gained a great understanding and appreciation for the subject matter, which is generally the purpose for a documentary of this nature (about an artist or a particular body of work). To my understanding, this was a very well received film critically and won an award at is premiere at Sundance or some major festival, and I can see why. I would put this on a list of essential documentaries.
  • November 23, 2009
    Een van de beste documentaires ooit.
  • November 17, 2009
    This is the true story of a truly broken artist. He is the most functional of his family, the rest of which seems to be holding on to sanity by a thread. This documentary is enlightening but at the same time terrifying. The man is incredibly talented but has an intense disdain fo...( read more)r humanity and sets out to isolate himself from everything and everyone he does not approve of. This bleeds through into his comics, which are funny and dark and controversial.

    This movie is a difficult one to watch. He and his family are painful to listen to. He himself has a perpetual nervous, awkward smile on his face, laughing at the most inappropriate moments in his brothers' interviews as they talk candidly about wanting to kill each other and molesting women on the street. If you want a fascinating insight into the mind of... well, something of a mad genius, this is worth watching. As far as I'm concerned, it is too painfully awkward for me to ever want to watch again. And I'd be very careful who I recommended it to.
  • October 27, 2009
    Extremely twisted and deeply bizarre, but it's a serious must-see!
  • October 3, 2009
    i think it is very good
  • July 23, 2009
    I'm glad I saw this. I really am because I knew nothing of Crumb except for his comics and knowing him "better" wasn't as much of a delight as I thought it was going to be. I don't think he's a strange guy, but he is. So, why the one star? Because I don't really care to see it ag...( read more)ain. This is the kind of documentary which is about a guy who suffered a traumatic childhood and in that used drawing comics as his only outlet as well as his revenge to the world. I'm glad I saw it because I don't never want to see it again.

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  • MorpheusOne
    January 13, 2008
    Seeing this movie explained, well, .... A LOT about the man who did so much for comic books at a time when we probably needed it most.

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