Product Details

• Actors: Gary Stern, Pat Lawlor, Steve Ritchie, Alvin Gottlieb, Wayne Neyens
• Directors: Beau B. Bellgraph, Bracken J. Batson
• Producers: Beau B. Bellgraph, Bracken J. Batson
• Format: NTSC
• Region: All Regions
• Studio: Playfield Productions
• DVD Release Date: September 29, 2008
• Run Time: 48 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001GVJZ26
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,091 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, August 22, 2009

By 

Jeremy Williams "Jeremy" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pinball Passion (DVD)

I picked up this DVD on a whim since I just purchased my first pinball table (Star Trek: The Next Generation, for the curious). I had low expectations, since it had no reviews and I'd never heard of it. I'd watched the "Tilt" documentary, which I liked. "Pinball Passion" is just as enjoyable. Its scope is broader, examining the intrinsic appeal of pinball as compared to video games; 3D physics-based gameplay, no digital patterns to memorize, etc. It also does a good job of conveying the mechanical complexity of a table's inner workings, with respect paid to the engineers that bring them to life. The rising scale and budget of pinball tables through the decades is well illustrated. It doesn't discuss Pinball 2000 at all, but it does cross paths with "Tilt" briefly by exploring whether pinball has a future.

The editing is very well paced, and the camera work is good for a true indie film (it was supposedly made for the cost of two pinball tables). My only complaint is the length. I want more. At 50 minutes, the main feature feels more like a television special than a feature documentary, and there is no topic that couldn't have been explored deeper. That said, there is a commentary mode, and a second disc that contains extended interviews.

All in all, I really enjoyed this disc. It is a great primer and tribute to the hobby of playing/collecting pinball tables. The interviews are well done -- the names will be familiar to fans and collectors, but the discussions are inclusive and accessible. I could see this movie piquing interest of people who previously just didn't "get" pinball, and that's an achievement. Well done.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Have" DVD, June 28, 2010

By 

JD - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pinball Passion (DVD)

I think I own all the different pinball DVDs, even some hard to find ones. I like them all for their contribution to pinball, and they all seem to compliment each other pretty well with only some content overlap.

Where other documentaries focus only on one topic of pinball (ie: history, or pinball 2000, or players in competition, etc.), This DVD is unique in that it takes you through the world of pinball step-by-step, introducing you to the people who are in-the-know and let them tell the story. While it is not the most flashy of movies, it certainly hits the bar and achieves the purpose of expressing what passion means to the people in the pinball culture and along the way tickles the passion I have for the hobby.

I wasn't going to review this, but after I read the one star review here, I had to chime in. If one thing pinball has, it is a fair share of out-spoken negative naysayers. Basically, the reviewer rated it one star because it was not the dvd he wished it was going to be. Yes, I agree the second disk feels more like an after thought, but that is always the case with most 2 discs, I don't let that detour me form enjoying the main movie.

So, don't be disappointed, this story does not explore only one narrow topic in depth but rather walks you through the world of pinball in a broader overview, some history, some contributors, a rare candid interview with Gary Stern of STERN pinball and many others. Anyone new to pinball or any old pro who wants - no - NEEDS more pinball, I think will enjoy this movie even if they know it all already.

I am hard pressed to pick one pinball documentary as my favorite, and I won't. However, when I host a party, this is the dvd I play on loop in the game room. And further, this is the DVD I purchase as gifts, quite a few times now. So...what ever that is worth, buy with confidence.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Modest but pleasing, September 1, 2011

By 

David Maris (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pinball Passion (Amazon Instant Video)

The question I had was how does this compare to the other pinball movies out there? So I finally rented it. It's like a more stripped-down version of Special When Lit - A Pinball Documentary (Blu-ray), covering some of the same territory and people, but not as "cinematic", you might say.

There is a kind of trilogy so far of recent pinball movies that I've been recommending. TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball (Two-Disc Set) is still the best, a very absorbing tale of the Pinball 2000 attempt to save Williams, with lots of great stuff on the second DVD as well. Only Interstellar Pinball Lives Forever is a very strange puppet movie that I really like, definitely not for everyone, but it's obvious that the filmmaker loves pinball and pinball designers. For the third movie, probably get Special When Lit, but you can swap its place with Pinball Passion, depending on which is less expensive, since they are very similar to one another (even though Special is more of a complete movie).