Special When Lit

As a child, my grandparents had a "Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy" pinball machine in their basement. I had a lot of fun times playing that machine, but never really appreciated it until it broke down and eventually was not able to be repaired. I hadn't thought about those experiences for quite awhile until stumbling upon this nostalgic little documentary on Netflix. Boy, did the memories ever come flowing back!

This documentary takes two distinct tacts in discussing pinball: First, it gives a history of the game, which I found to be very fascinating. Second, it focuses on the pinball players themselves, which is where the doc dragged and couldn't nearly live up to the drama of, say, "King of Kong".

Though not around in the heyday of pinball (1970s-early 80s), that machine in the basement provided me with some pinball memories, something I cannot say for my younger siblings or the younger generation as a whole. That is why this documentary appealed to me so much. Without any prior pinball experiences, viewers will find this doc to be just a collection of nerds with no life. For those that have experienced the thrill of pinball, however, it is much more personal.

Overall, this is a better-than-average documentary on a niche subject. I suspect the viewership demographic to be very slim, but those who "get it" (like myself) will find it to be a fascinating, highly nostalgic subject.

I've never been into pinball and I'm still not.

For me they're just the Jurassic Park machine in some grey shopping mall arcade that no one could be bothered to master. They're the grease-covered Adam's Family machine we hammered and screamed at in an all-night burger bar on the outskirts of our neighbourhood, back when my friends were just learning to drive.

For me, they were a passing amusement, archaic and somewhat ridiculous, impossible to play and far too eager to swallow what little money you had in your pocket.

What has changed however, after watching Special When Lit, is the level of respect I have for the culture.

Like many other great documentaries, what SWL offers you is an insight into something that is present in your life, but never fully appreciated, in an entertaining and lightly informative manner.

Apart from tugging on the obvious nostalgia heart-strings, the film places pinball as an icon - a monolithic machine for disseminating American pop culture to adolescent males all over the world - embracing the design, art and spectacle of the medium from head to toe.

It's a gem of a film, well executed and beautifully illustrated, and I agree that it could have looked at the concept being enjoyed in other formats, such as digital versions of the game, but I think it would've probably been quite unnecessary.

Afterall, the physicality of pinball is what it's all about. A pinball machine has a presence. It's a dominating piece of furniture; it's big and brash, screaming out to you in blasts of colour, light and sound - pretty much everything American in a box. Arcades, although undeniably odd and misanthropic, were interesting social hubs, the machines being something that you, your friends and rivals could crowd around and enjoy together. It's not quite the same playing alone on your mobile phone.

The game itself is something that can never truly be replicated in another form. It's largely unpredictable, being little more than controlled chaos (much like making a documentary). It's kinetic. It's satisfying. Just ask yourself why people still visit casinos instead of everyone throwing it all away online. Or any of us leave the house anymore. It's just not the same.

Love or hate pinball, SWL certainly does its subject justice: it's respectful of its subjects, celebrating (and chuckling) at their quirks, passions and eccentricities. And, most importantly, it's entertaining! Pinball, like many wonderful things, might not be as popular as it once was, but it's films like this that educate, inspire and ensure they live on in the hearts of others. So it still might not be a niche or cult that I'm a member of but I'm glad they're out there.

... that being the documentary. I stumbled across this documentary about pinball machines. As a big fan of pinball machines, I know a fair bit about them, witnessing their evolution the past 40 years.

This documentary illustrated their historic beginnings and the inner workings of their conception, design and marketing. Several points were brought up that I did not know: Pinball Machines were considered gambling and were banned in all US states at one time! Only in the 50's did they start trickling into acceptance as "entertainment only" citing the flippers made it a "game of skill". By the mid 70's, pinballs were common throughout the US.

It stated 90% of machines built prior were shipped to Europe. Who knew? Obviously the filmmakers, since this is a British documentary. The pinball industry made more money than the film industry in the US between 1950-1970!

The documentary visits the only remaining manufacturer of these machines and discusses their design, psychology and shows they are all built by hand. It also profiles fans & players, a National competition, and a NYC Arcade owner-all great interviews that flesh out many aspects of pinball's appeal.

I was impressed with the clever closing credits of digital style framing & lettering, indicative of new "digital" pinballs. It's a clever bookend to the opening credits featuring old style artwork. Highly recommended.

the subject matter of this "documentary" appears at a glance to be the once and no longer popular game of pinball. it's history, it's demise, et cetera. look again and it's true subject matter becomes the idiosyncratic nature of those who inhabit the closed world of pinball. the filmmakers seem to have an ambivalence regarding these odd people which borders on schizophrenia. at once they are shown endearingly and then again the camera almost begs to linger on their weirdness, to leer and almost mock. much like it's sister film "King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" the filmmaker seems like an outsider who perhaps enjoys the hobby while sneering at those for whom the hobby is the whole of their life. As a film it's motto might as well be Sartre's "hell is other people" When not spending time deciding between loathing and tender approval of it's subjects a dry and basic history of pinball plays out. more emphasis on this could have gone a long way. as it happens i love the game so to see the game as almost an afterthought in the film is disappointing. so be it. take what you can get.

Being oldschool and retro gamer I watched this documentary with much attention. It brought back some distant memories, an era that probably never will come back. Pinball is a dying form of entertainment and it's a shame. The older generation remembers spending hours if not days in the local arcade to play the pinball machines. I lived in Belgium and when I entered a pub the first thing I checked was if there was a pinball or an arcade game. If there wasn't I wouldn't stay very long in that pub. Special When Lit brings back that feeling of nostalgia. Beating the high score was the main goal. When you were a pinball wizard (which I was in my humble opinion) you had everybody's attention (well the local youth that is) once you controlled the machine. The documentary is well made and enjoyable to watch. Maybe not for people that didn't lived in that era. Personally I wouldn't have paid that much attention to some players as the majority looked like there was something off with them. More attention to the playfields and the machine itself would have been better but still it's a good documentary. Made me wish I still owned pinball machines. Unfortunately I don't have the room for it anymore, nor the finances. The Addams Family from Bally was my all time favorite so maybe one day I will buy that one again. It shouldn't be too difficult to find as it was mass produced due to it's overwhelming succes. A bit of history about the most famous pinball machines would have been welcome as well. It's a shame Gottlieb, Bally, Williams and Zaccaria don't make pinballs anymore. Those had the most popular machines made. Luckily there's Stern now, which still makes unbelievable cool machines, but let's face it, the youth isn't interested in this kind of entertainment anymore, and that clearly showed in Special When Lit. It's a shame but that's life, pinball is dying but I'm glad I was part of that generation.