Crumb (1994)

An intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.

Director:

Terry Zwigoff

Stars:

Robert Crumb, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Charles Crumb

16 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Crumb	...	Himself
Aline Kominsky-Crumb	...	Herself (as Aline Crumb)
Charles Crumb	...	Himself
Maxon Crumb	...	Himself
Robert Hughes	...	Himself
Martin Muller	...	Himself
Don Donahue	...	Himself
Dana Morgan	...	Herself (as Dana Crumb)
Trina Robbins	...	Herself
Spain Rodriguez	...	Himself
Bill Griffith	...	Himself
Deirdre English	...	Herself
Peggy Orenstein	...	Herself
Beatrice Crumb	...	Herself
Kathy Goodell	...	Herself

Storyline

This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind. As stream-of-consciousness images incessantly flow forth from the tip of his pen, biting social satire is revealed, often along with a disturbing and haunting vision of Crumb's own betes noires and inadequacies. As his acid-trip induced images flicker across our own retinas, we gain a little insight into this complex and highly creative individual.

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Plot Keywords:

robert crumb | cartoonist | underground comic | psychotronic film | art | 

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Taglines:

Weird sex · Obsession · Comic books

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic sex-related cartoons, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Κραμπ

Filming Locations:

Zuni Restaurant, Market Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,859, 23 April 1995

Gross USA:

$3,041,083

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,041,083

Company Credits

Production Co:

Superior Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A brief shot of one of Crumb's drawings - depicting a girl performing fellatio on her father - was probably the reason why the film was given an 18 certificate in the UK.

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Goofs

"San Francisco" is misspelled in the closing titles. The caption reads: "Max Crumb still lives in San Francicsco".

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Quotes

Robert Crumb: Jesus. Fuckin' raging, epithet music comin' out of every car, every store, every person's head. They don't have noisy radios on, they got earphones; like, "motherfuckin', cocksuckin', son of a bitch. Lot of aggression. Lot of anger, lot of rage. Everybody walks around, they're walkin' advertisements. They've got advertisements on their clothes, you know? Walking around with "Adidas" written across their chests, '49'ers on their hats. Jesus. It's pathetic. It's pitiful. The whole cultures' one ...

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Sgt. Bilko/Jack and Sarah/A Family Thing/Carried Away/From the Journals of Jean Seberg (1996)

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Soundtracks

Nocturne No. 2
Written by Frédéric Chopin

User Reviews

A Different Way to View Crumb

First, I liked this movie very much. But, as you can see from the previous comments, this is a movie that you'll either love or hate. But its hard to be indifferent to it. Zwigoff does a wonderful job of setting a mood that allows you to examine an artist who is depraved, perverse and, yet, insightful.

Everyone seems to come away from the movie with an idea that Robert is spared the obvious insanity of his two brothers because of his art. But I see it differently(hence the title of this comment). Even Robert admits that his brother, Charles, was a better cartoonist. Another way to view Robert's "success" and his brothers' descent into "crazy" is fame. Crumb was an involuntary icon of the 60's. Where would Robert be today if he wasn't recognized and rewarded in the 60's? If Zap comix had turned him away for his misogynist and racist comics, would he have had the subsequent female relationships that seemed to normalize his existence? What would his fantasizing over a high school yearbook and habitual masturbation meant if he was an unknown sharing a room with his brother at Mom's house?

When I watch this movie, I am always mindful that Robert's obvious genius would be lost were it not for his luck at being discovered. I suppose that is an obvious statement but, in Crumb's case, fame has managed to gloss over many unacceptable characteristics. And, maybe, that's not such a bad thing.

The film lightly touches on Crumb's relationship with his son and daughter. For some reason, Crumb's bumbling attempts at affection with his children were a bit disturbing. Or maybe its just that Crumb's fixation with wrestling and piggyback riding lingers in your mind when he hugs his daughter.

On a lighter note, I've noticed that no one has mentioned the soundtrack of this movie. Designed to be in keeping with Robert's love of old American music, the music helps to define the subject. I wonder why Zwigoff made no mention of Crumb's Cheap Suit Serenaders band.

Crumb comments against the crass commercialism of America. And, yet, I first saw this movie at a theater in Baltimore where the lobby was chock full of Crumb comic picture cards, mugs, etc.

Crumb, the movie, is a crazy world of contradictions and well worth the ride.