Crumb (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

about one very weird dude. Have we as a society emerged yet from that stage when a person is weird just for the sake of it? My feeling is that C fell into his personality to be noticed. Fine. We did.Whatever., dude.But this is about the doc, not the guy. I learned about the subject as far as I wanted to (and there was much, TMI). It was engaging, well organized, and touched on the weird parts without my become too disgusted (thank you for that).If you are truly curious about a master cartoonist and his life you will be sure to find value in it. If you are prudish and squirm at the sight of freaks, find something else to watch. I can now move on knowing I need no more info on this guy, thanks to the thorough documentation.

I lived in Davis, Ca in the late 80s, and did some irrigation work on Crumb's property. Alene was really great to us. And being able to check out Crumb's workspace was really unforgettable.We all loved his comics, and he was famous. But good god!! Love this film. Esp the footage w/ Charles and Maxon.

I remember growing up as a kid in Berkeley which was a mecca of the underground comic scene in the 1970s and someone had a Robert Crumb comic. It was such a risqué thing back then because it had stories about sex. As a pre-teen this was like finding the yellow brick road. This documentary helps explain why Crumb wrote about sex and other topics. He grew up a total loner nerd and as he says he got his revenge because he became famous when he became an adult. I think his repressed upbringing shaped his entire art especially with women. He also had a dysfunctional family which was another big influence that led to his alienation and rejection of stereotypical middle class American life which he often satirized. A lot of the movie is Crumb talking to his two brothers who are mentally ill. The film is also not just a love story of Crumb. There are people who accuse him of being a misogynist and racist for instance. It’s definitely a deep dive into an artist that you don’t usually see.

"Crumb" is a movie where you must learn to read beneath the lines as to who this artist is. Nothing about this man is as what it seems initially. But if you study this movie (as it is a film to be studied) you will realize the malice R.Crumb puts into his artwork is directed solely at the attitudes of society. And that includes every aspect and every class of people. It doesn't seem to matter who they are. He is an artist that details everything he sees with frightening clarity and no regard for diplomacy. It's an ability not confined to gender or color. His comics read like an illustrated passage of a diary. As you dig more into his backround (the film is NOT the last word on him) you realize that no one is exempt from his wrath. Not men, not women, not ethnics. After reading several reviews and chats about what they observed in this film, it's obvious that many viewers took what they saw at face value.Looking at his artwork you realize R.Crumb combined the look of innocent comic strips of the early 20th century with more explicit content common today. No one else at the time had thought of drawing this way. The comic book industry in the 60's was becoming increasingly progressive. The old look of comics, Lil Abner or Little Orphan Annie for example, were considered passe.The inspiration for R.Crumb's art comes from a deeply dysfunctional family. It wasn't an overly violent family but it was a morbidly depressing one. You learn that the problems Robert and his siblings had stemmed from the fact that their house was dominated by a father who saw manhood in only one way and was not lenient in his views to accomodate any of his sons' artistic potential. As Robert pointed out, when his father came home from work any blip of a happy man dissapeared as soon as he entered the door. When it came to encouragement or artistic development all five children had only each other and were left to their own devices. Robert became the success perhaps because he, unlike Charles for instance, saw his talent as a way to define himself and not simply as a means of profit. He chose the format (comics) he knew best to make his point.The bulk of his material consists of two main topics:his family and women. His attitudes on women are far more complicated. His unpopularity with girls as a teen is due to a result of his inability to fashion himself into something they wanted visually. And he was equally frustrated at THEIR apparent inability to ignore those instincts and see him for the good person he felt he was. It has led to lifelong love/hate relationship with the opposite sex. One that is defined by pure lust and no real affection for females for who they are except in the case of his daughter Sophie.His views on blacks and the never ending debate as to whether or not he is racist is not given nearly as much screentime.He denounces the critism he has garnered by saying "it all came from white liberals." That's not exactly an ideal way of defending yourself in a largely white liberal society. Neither he, nor Terry Zwigoff (who made this movie), give a straight answer to the charge and leave other artists to answer for Crumb. But if you take into account Crumb's true love of black music (specifically, delta blues of 30's) it becomes harder to pin the "racist" label on him. Still, the movie lets him off a bit easy, its only flaw.Other aspects of his life such as his open marriage to wife Aline, his strained relationship with his son Jesse, and the overall study of the underground comix scene that he helped spawn are present but not as prominently featured. Engrossing, but somewhat incomplete, "Crumb" is an indepth character study of a truly misunderstood man.

Crumb is a look into the dysfunctional world of the Crumb family, with an emphasis on Robert. As the two sisters declined to be interviwed for the documentary we only get to meet brothers Max, Charles and Robert. Who have extraordinary artistic talents. As if to balance this out, they each also have disturbing tendancies and a very dark view of the modern world.Charles, who rarely leaves the house, and lives with his mother, sadly committed suicide after this film was completed, but spoke of two previous attempts on his own life during his interview. He concentrated on pencil and crayon artwork in his younger years, but lacked self-motivation to get back into artwork.Max, a self-confessed woman molestor(!!!) had many phsychiatric issues of his own.Robert, the most famous of the three brothers is a prolific pen-and-ink artist capable of truly outstanding work, underpinned by deep feelings of suppression and sexual hangups, which manifest themselves within his artwork.It's a well made film, which makes for dark viewing at times and left me feeling somewhat 'grubby' for watching it.Crumb fans will appreciate the artwork, together with Robert's unbending will to not 'sell-out' to commercialism, by giving out autographs or allowing more of his work to be animated. The thought of a 'Mr Natural' movie disgusted him.If you are looking for no-nonsense honest look at a comic book artist at his best, I can think of no finer work.

Outrageous film. A bit on the toe-curling side. Not recommended to watch this with anyone other than your bosom pal. Excruciating in parts, absolutely fascinating in others. There is scenes which will leave an indelible imprint on your brain. Oh yes and very sexy, but totally abnormal in decent society.

Worth the watch

Interesting film, though by the end I decided I didn't really like the "hero".

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