Customer Reviews

King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

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I had the good fortune to attend a press screening for "The King of Kong" yesterday evening and wanted to comment on the soundtrack. The film, about the world record holder for the highest score in the video game "Donkey Kong" and a person trying to beat that record, is a delightful and surprisingly affecting film. This is due in large part to the music selections that play throughout.

The film, without ever condescending, chronicles a whole sub-culture of people who take video gaming very seriously. The term this group uses is "competitive gaming." Instead of games being something light and fun, they treat it as something serious and significant, perhaps to a fault. The film is full of over the top statements about gaming (some of which are collected on the soundtrack) and the music choices come off as both ironic of the circumstance and reflective of the group's perceptions. For example, Grieg's "In The Hall of the Mountain King" starts us off (and Peer Gynt himself would have found kinship amongst some of the people in this movie).

"The King of Kong" soundtrack works on two levels. As a strange brew of retro tracks, original pieces, and goofy quotes, it is a quirky and enjoyable addition to any soundtrack collection. It works more effectively, though, if you have already seen the film - a kind of audio record of your own experience. Some of the juiciest quotes from the film are absent, but the ones present are each great in their own right and combined with the music invoke all the highs and lows of the story.

This is an inspired companion piece to the film and a decent, off-beat compilation in its own right. There is a distinct lack of any actual "Donkey Kong" effects on the soundtrack, unsurprising considering the probable licensing costs from Nintendo. This works to the soundtrack's advantage in its own way, though. As anyone who has seen the film would probably tell you, at the end of the day, "The King of Kong" is not really about "Donkey Kong" at all. Well worth a few fistfuls of quarters to pick up.

An enjoyable collection that both fondly recalls and sucessfully stands apart from the documentary, with a balanced selection of songs (working on a level beyond mere nostalgia), source music, score and dialogue. Conspicuously absent, however, is Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows," one of the film's licensed centerpieces. Also unfortunate is the inclusion in the middle of the album of a ten-minute drum solo performed by 'Kong' contender Steve Wiebe that touts Wiebe's hand-eye virtuosity but serves little other purpose.

After seeing the movie I was wanting to get my hands on the funky 80's track that is in the background of the trailer for the movie and runs during the introduction of the classic games that ruled the 80's. Its called Gummy Substance and I'm ashamed to say that it runs on repeat for hours at a time while I hack away on my computer. Only problem is the track is only a couple minutes long so it starts driving me insane eventually. The soundtrack is filled with many other great songs from the 80's, and some stuff that will bring back memories of the funnier parts of the documentary. Try to watch the movie first for maximum enjoyment of this purchase.