Critic Reviews
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Mike Clark, USA Today
Crumb's sense of humor is his saving personal grace and the movie's insurance policy against total immersion into the morbid. But just so you know, Crumb fully earns its most revealing screen credit: 'David Lynch Presents.'
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R. L. Shaffer, IGN DVD
Crumb may be rough around the edges, even occasionally tedious, but what Zwigoff manages to uncover is honest, captivating and strangely visceral.
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Sean Axmaker, MSN.com
(An) offbeat and often uncomfortably revealing portrait of the legendary underground comic book artist Robert Crumb and his brothers, Maxon and Charles...
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John Lingan, Slant Magazine
A balanced and insightful portrait of a fascinating artist, a wrenching and unvarnished depiction of a tragic family, an incredible statement of friendship, and one of the most inspired depictions of the creative process I've ever seen.
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James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
an absolutely disarming documentary and one of the very best of its kind
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Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis
Filled with haunting images, only a few of which are created by the hand of R. Crumb.
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Stan Hall, Oregonian
Among the all-time great American documentaries.
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Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is
interesting
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
This brilliant docu is not just a portrait of a compulsive artist, but also a deep inquiry into the mysteries of art, creativity, mental illness and family bind.
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David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
Sporadically intriguing but ultimately overrated...
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Thomas Delapa, Boulder Weekly
Zwigoff's biography of Crumb is both absorbing and repellent, and it may be one of the best documentaries to make the connection between creativity and craziness.
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James Plath, Movie Metropolis
As biographical documentaries go, this one holds our attention from start to finish. It ropes in obviously reluctant participants, it offers a nice balance between private and public moments, and it provides plenty of the cartoonist's illustrations.
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Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Geek coolness abounds.
Read all 13 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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I have a love hate relationship with Crumb's work. Most of it I love but the part I hate is explained as the main topic in this documentary. Indeed, everything becomes clear when you learn of his upbringing and to be honest out of the three brothers, it sounds like he got it… More
I have a love hate relationship with Crumb's work. Most of it I love but the part I hate is explained as the main topic in this documentary. Indeed, everything becomes clear when you learn of his upbringing and to be honest out of the three brothers, it sounds like he got it good. It is shockingly and disturbingly honest, at one point Crumb's brother Charles admits to having paedophilic feelings and no one seems to blink an eyelid. We are told at the end of the documentary he went on to commit suicide just a year later. It is a fascinating documentary, I can't say it made me warm to Crumb much, it's still love/hate as far as his work goes and there is only so much you can blame on your childhood. I believe all three brothers are dysfunctional geniuses but Crumb is the only hypocrite. Selling out is matter of opinion. Brilliant documentary.
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Odd and wonderful study about Robert Crumb and underground comics with a dark view of America, sex and family.
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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… More
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 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.
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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… More
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 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
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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
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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… More
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 not 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.
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Does anyone else find Crumb's brothers terrifying?
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Robert Crumb has to be one of the weirdest people that I have ever encountered and it makes for a good film. It is sort of one of the cliched train wreck moments.
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R.Crumb is a great subject. Must see documentary!
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This film is a real conundrum; it's an absolutely superior documentary about a controversial and markedly uncomfortable subject. Zwigoff does a fantastic job with this film, and utilizes a practically-unheard-of intimacy with its subject (that of famous/ infamous underground… More
This film is a real conundrum; it's an absolutely superior documentary about a controversial and markedly uncomfortable subject. Zwigoff does a fantastic job with this film, and utilizes a practically-unheard-of intimacy with its subject (that of famous/ infamous underground comic artist Robert Crumb, whose meticulous artwork is often simultaneously lauded and hated) to create a documentary like no other. However, it is problematic to recommend this movie on a wide scale due to the rather scandalous nature of both Crumb (and especially his bizarre family) and his collected works, which is rife with callipygian women, misogyny, racism, and fetishistic depictions many claim are tantamount to pornography. But however you feel about his artwork, you are certainly likely to gain some insight as to why Crumb developed his talent in the manner that he did, i.e. as a coping mechanism for dealing with his highly unusual familial situation (and unusual it truly is). If Crumb's work disturbs and/ or angers you to a high degree, you may wish to stay clear of this film. Otherwise, if you'd like to see an expert documentarian practice at the height of his craft about a subject for which it is almost impossible not to have strong feelings, and/ or are curious as to what could possibly make this profoundly unique artist tick, then do yourself a favor and check this movie out.
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Fascinating doc. I thought the film was going to be about underground comic book artist Crumb's work and how it revolutionized the comic world, so I think everyone was shocked when viewing the life of his very disfunctional family. Robert Crumb art itself is a great subject… More
Fascinating doc. I thought the film was going to be about underground comic book artist Crumb's work and how it revolutionized the comic world, so I think everyone was shocked when viewing the life of his very disfunctional family. Robert Crumb art itself is a great subject matter but when his whole background and family are added it becomes a classic documentary far outdoing what could have been a fan film. One of the best documentaries ever.
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It really is funny and fascinating.
Read all 12 featured audience ratings
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