The King of Kong is finally in theaters, although its release has been a rather silent one. I had the fortune of seeing the movie about a month ago and I can’t give it enough praise (read our review). It’s an awesome reminder that documentaries can be about simple subjects, and that all you need for a good story is a conflict between two people.
Not to spoil the ending of the film, but the movie ends with the person set up as the film’s protagonist, Steve Wiebe, winning the respect of his peers and eventually proving his skills at Donkey Kong as he becomes the world champion in the game. Part of the reason this isn’t spoiling the movie is because since then, the other player from the movie, Billy Mitchell took back the title. Although the movie ended with the person the audience is cheering for winning the title, the story is far from over.
In fact, just this weekend the latest entry occurred as the story continues. The Alamo Drafthouse had a special viewing of The King of Kong with Steve Wiebe and Walter Day in attendance. Following the screening, Wiebe made his way to the lobby where a Donkey Kong machine waited for him. After the machine was checked out by Day and the Twin Galaxies officials, Wiebe began to play, and took back his title.
I only heard about the special showing Friday, which was too short notice to make the trip. Otherwise I seriously would have considered going to see both The King of Kong and Wiebe himself play the game. Fortunately, someone put together a video of the festivities, cutting down the hours of play and showing Wiebe in action and taking the prize. Take a look at the video below and if you haven’t seen The King of Kong and have the opportunity to check it out, I can’t recommend it enough.
Credit to AICN where I heard about the Alamo Drafthouse screening and Rope of Silicon where I saw the video.
