Movies about fanatics
February 27, 2015 2:14 PM Subscribe
What are some more movies about lives being consumed by objects or crafts?
There are a few movies (docs) I've seen in the last year about people whose lives are overtaken by their love of something: Cinemania (2002), Vinyl (2000), Rewind This (2013, about VHS tapes), So Wrong They're Right (1995, about 8 tracks). I'd like to know about more movies like these, and I'm not sure how I can search these out - there are others that I think kind of fit too, like Objectified (about design) and Helvetica (typography), where people just talk about craft and stuff. Then there are movies like Married To The Eiffel Tower (about object paraphilia), which is a bit different but very much about relationships between humans and objects.
What are some more movies about lives being consumed by objects or crafts? Not just similar to the above topics, anything and everything.
There are a few movies (docs) I've seen in the last year about people whose lives are overtaken by their love of something: Cinemania (2002), Vinyl (2000), Rewind This (2013, about VHS tapes), So Wrong They're Right (1995, about 8 tracks). I'd like to know about more movies like these, and I'm not sure how I can search these out - there are others that I think kind of fit too, like Objectified (about design) and Helvetica (typography), where people just talk about craft and stuff. Then there are movies like Married To The Eiffel Tower (about object paraphilia), which is a bit different but very much about relationships between humans and objects.
What are some more movies about lives being consumed by objects or crafts? Not just similar to the above topics, anything and everything.
Do you only want documentaries, or also fictional stories?
posted by mbrubeck at 2:21 PM on February 27, 2015
posted by mbrubeck at 2:21 PM on February 27, 2015
Patton Oswalt is very good in "Big Fan"
posted by Brainy at 2:22 PM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Brainy at 2:22 PM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
In the Realms of the Unreal: The Mystery of Henry Darger
posted by Juliet Banana at 2:22 PM on February 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Juliet Banana at 2:22 PM on February 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
The King of Comedy - it's awesome (fictional, if that matters)
posted by sallybrown at 2:23 PM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by sallybrown at 2:23 PM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
You want Fast, Cheap and Out of Control
posted by Mchelly at 2:23 PM on February 27, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 2:23 PM on February 27, 2015 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: All the listed ones are documentaries, but if they're good then yes fictional would also work.
posted by dimejubes at 2:25 PM on February 27, 2015
posted by dimejubes at 2:25 PM on February 27, 2015
Not a bad obsession, but that's what Jiro Dreams of Sushi is about.
posted by Gilbert at 2:28 PM on February 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Gilbert at 2:28 PM on February 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
King of Kong is about two men obsessed to a worrying degree with winning the world Donkey Kong championship. And it is spectacular.
posted by chaiminda at 2:33 PM on February 27, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by chaiminda at 2:33 PM on February 27, 2015 [11 favorites]
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
posted by Melismata at 2:34 PM on February 27, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 2:34 PM on February 27, 2015 [3 favorites]
The World's Fastest Indian is the (mostly) true story of the New Zealander Burt Munro who spent 25 years cooped up in his workshop, rebuilding and tuning a 1920 Indian motorcycle... a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.
I recommend this movie, I liked it a lot.
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:45 PM on February 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
I recommend this movie, I liked it a lot.
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:45 PM on February 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
Lars and the Real Girl - about a guy who has a lifelike doll for a partner
posted by lizbunny at 3:13 PM on February 27, 2015
posted by lizbunny at 3:13 PM on February 27, 2015
King of Kong!
On preview, sorry chaiminda got there first!
posted by prewar lemonade at 3:31 PM on February 27, 2015
On preview, sorry chaiminda got there first!
posted by prewar lemonade at 3:31 PM on February 27, 2015
Adaptation
posted by nicebookrack at 5:00 PM on February 27, 2015
posted by nicebookrack at 5:00 PM on February 27, 2015
Speaking of dolls, this Channel 4 documentary stymied a lot of folks round our way recently: Secrets of the Living Dolls. Not sure where you would find it to watch though.
Erich von Stroheim's rather famous 1924 film Greed is about a slowly developing obsession.
posted by glasseyes at 5:32 PM on February 27, 2015
Erich von Stroheim's rather famous 1924 film Greed is about a slowly developing obsession.
posted by glasseyes at 5:32 PM on February 27, 2015
Ecstasy of Order: the Tetris Masters follows master tetris players to the championship.
I Think We're Alone Now about two fans/stalkers of singer Tiffany.
posted by Trivia Newton John at 11:42 PM on February 27, 2015
I Think We're Alone Now about two fans/stalkers of singer Tiffany.
posted by Trivia Newton John at 11:42 PM on February 27, 2015
American Movie one man's quest to finish his film in the face of adversity.
posted by Trivia Newton John at 11:50 PM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Trivia Newton John at 11:50 PM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
Maybe The Rock-afire Explosion (about animatronic rock band) and Wordplay (crossword puzzles). Also recommending King of Kong mentioned above.
posted by wintrymix at 6:56 AM on February 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by wintrymix at 6:56 AM on February 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Room 237, the documentary about The Shining, fits the bill. These people obsessed over every bit of minutiae in the film -- the pattern of the carpeting, the labels on the canned goods in the pantry, the floor plan of the set construction. Everything in The Shining came under the most intense scrutiny for a hidden, deeper meaning they were absolutely convinced Kubrick had put into the film.
posted by Bron at 7:40 AM on February 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Bron at 7:40 AM on February 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Bill Cunningham New York
Grizzly Man
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
The Great Ecstasy of the Woodcarver Steiner (Turn on subtitles.)
posted by hydrophonic at 8:11 AM on February 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Grizzly Man
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
The Great Ecstasy of the Woodcarver Steiner (Turn on subtitles.)
posted by hydrophonic at 8:11 AM on February 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's fictional, so it's not going to be as serious as some of the other works mentioned here, but we kind of liked the movie Butter which was about a woman obsessed with the political benefits of winning a butter carving contest.
posted by cali59 at 8:22 AM on February 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cali59 at 8:22 AM on February 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Finding Vivian Maier is a documentary about a very private street photographer who took thousands and thousands of portraits during her lifetime and basically hoarded the results, made by a guy who bought most of her possessions after her death and who has in turn kind of been consumed by her photos and objects.
posted by bcwinters at 2:54 PM on February 28, 2015
posted by bcwinters at 2:54 PM on February 28, 2015
Word Wars
Bill Cunningham New York
Between the Folds
posted by katya.lysander at 4:15 PM on February 28, 2015
Bill Cunningham New York
Between the Folds
posted by katya.lysander at 4:15 PM on February 28, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll be checking out a lot of these.
posted by dimejubes at 6:05 PM on March 1, 2015
posted by dimejubes at 6:05 PM on March 1, 2015
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posted by Rob Rockets at 2:19 PM on February 27, 2015