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Wordplay
R1 - America - Genius Products Review written by and copyright: Jarrod Baker & Noor Razzak (3rd December 2006). |
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The Film
 The daily crossword puzzle in the New York Times is famous as a premier example of the crossword medium. Since 1993, the Times' crossword puzzle editor has been Will Shortz, who is also the founder of the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. "Wordplay" begins as Shortz's story, including interviews with several famous fans, before focusing on 5 keen contenders for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament title. Much like a "Spellbound" (2002) with adult competitors, "Wordplay" takes a somewhat dry subject and makes it compelling, by showing us some uniquely quirky protagonists. You may not have guessed, but it turns out that hardcore crossword puzzle enthusiasts tend to be somewhat obsessive and eccentric. Because of this, "Wordplay" is often laugh out loud funny - but as with "Spellbound", "Trekkies" (1997) and many other documentaries that delve into obsessive subcultures, we're typically laughing at the people depicted, rather than with them. A saving grace is that the filmmakers have omitted a voice over in favour of letting the participants speak for themselves. With its celebrity cameos - including appearances by Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton, and The Indigo Girls, among others - "Wordplay" tries to normalise the crossword obsession; however the presence of these 'ordinary' crossword puzzlers merely serves to emphasise how deeply odd the competitive puzzlers are, with many of them going back to the annual tournament year after year to try for the title (with one of those depicted managing to win 7 times in 15 years - and several more participants owning up to coming along since the competition's inception in 1978). There are two moments in "Wordplay" that really make the film, both of them fairly early on. In the first, Shortz reads some hysterically funny letters from not-so-loyal crossword fans who are in some way displeased with his recent performance (mostly in relation to puzzles being too difficult, it seems). The second, and best, is where puzzle creator Merl Reagle gives a surprisingly fascinating demonstration of how a crossword is created. By comparison the celebrity interviews almost seem superfluous, with Stewart in particular trying a little too hard to be funny, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns just seeming a little too self-satisfied, and the others being, well, boring. And when you're boring compared to competitive crossword players... While it's constantly interesting, however, "Wordplay" lacks the sense of urgency and suspense that made "Spellbound" so watchable, opting instead for a fairly languid pace as it introduces the major players in that year's tournament. The action doesn't really heat up until about the last 10-20 minutes of the film, when the three finalists take the stage (in the final, they complete giant-sized crosswords, in front of an audience of hundreds of people) for the title. Despite this lack of urgency, "Wordplay" is fun, light and enjoyable - well worth wasting a Sunday afternoon on.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, shot on Digital medium, this transfer comes from the original source and the result is sharp and detailed. The image is clean and colors are nicely balanced, I did notice some very minor pixelation and moire effect against hard lines but otherwise this is a fairly good representation of the film.
Audio
A single English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track is included and to be honest I think it's a waist to include 5.1 track on a documentary film that is mostly made up of talking heads, but it did display some depth to the tournament scenes and musical cues in the film. As expected the dialogue is clean, clear and distortion free. Overall it's a worthy track that doesn't do a lot wrong. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired and Spanish.
Extras
Genius Products have included a vast array of extras that includes an audio commentary, many deleted scenes, several featurettes, an interview gallery, a music video, a short film, a photo gallery, some DVD-ROM content plus a booklet. Below is a closer look at these supplements. Audio commentary by director Patrick Creadon, New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz and crossword constructor Merl Reagle. The participants light-heartedly stroll through this track commenting on various topics such as the reason for making the film as well as the original narrative that followed Shortz, but then evolved into covering the fans, the puzzle constructors and also some of the key contestants in the tournament held every year in Stamford. Director Creadon talks about getting the participation of the celebrity fans as well as President Clinton and Senator Dole. Reagle and Shortz comment on the puzzle world and the challenges and fun in creating puzzles and taking part in the tournament each year. They comment on the positive reaction the film received, the challenges of shooting a low budget documentary and the interesting people they met along the way. Overall it's a rather enjoyable track that makes a good supplement to the feature itself. Next are 7 deleted scenes of Will Shortz, these can be viewed individually or with the option of 'play all', the scenes include : - "Will reads another letter" which runs for 1 minute 20 seconds, Will reads about a letter at the tournament about a crossword puzzle fab who gets help from an unlikely source. - "Why people like crosswords" runs for 48 seconds as Shortz offers his theory on why people like to do crosswords. - "Will reads Evan Bayh letter" runs for 34 seconds, Will reads a letter from Clinton to Bayh about appearing in a crossword. - "Will on his editing style" runs for 1 minute 48 seconds, Will comments on how initially it hurt him to receive angry letters from people who found the puzzles hard, but offers his reasons why he chooses to make them challenging. - "Will discusses NPR" runs for 32 seconds, Will comments on his radio stint and presenting puzzles to the listeners. - "Will editing Merl's puzzle" runs for 1 minute 38 seconds, Will is impressed with Merl's puzzle and chooses to publish it on Tuesday. - "Will's hobby" runs for 25 seconds is a short clip of Will playing ping pong. Following that are 6 more deleted scenes, these can also be viewed individually or with the option of 'play all', the scenes include: - "Merl Reagle and his notebooks" which runs for 1 minute 18 seconds, features Reagle as he tells us about his notebooks where he writes ideas for puzzles. - "John Delfin: A man and his city" runs for 1 minute 1 second tells us how much he loves the city of New York and what the puzzle section of the 'Times' means to the paper and its readers. - "Ellen Ripstein on puzzles" runs for 1 minute 13 seconds, Ellen offers her opinion on why playing games and doing puzzles is very childlike. - "Al Sanders on perfect solving age" runs for 1 minute 22 seconds, Al informs us that middle age is the perfect age to be in order to solve puzzles. - "Tyler Hinman on language" runs for 1 minute 29 seconds, Tyler tells us what goes through his mind when solving puzzles and shares his view on the vastness of the English language. - "Trip Payne and his books" runs for 1 minute 8 seconds and shows us his dictionary collection. Next up are 3 deleted scenes from Stamford, these can also be viewed individually or with the option of 'play all', the scenes include: - "If you don't come across" is an extended scene that runs for 3 minutes 22 seconds and feature the complete song performance of the crossword song. - "Friday night at Stamford" runs for 1 minute 31 seconds features interviews with various contestants at the tournament. - "Why a tournament?" runs for 42 seconds, Shortz comments on why he loves the tournament. An Interview gallery is next and features outtakes from the various interviews conducted for the film, these can be viewed individually or with the option of 'play all', the interview segments include: - Indigo Girls which runs for 31 seconds. - Ken Burns which runs for 41 seconds. - Jon Stewart which runs for 3 minutes 13 seconds. - Mike Mussina which runs for 1 minute 3 seconds. - Daniel Okrent which runs for 2 minutes 56 seconds. - President Bill Clinton which runs for 3 minutes 4 seconds. - Senator Bob Dole which runs for 44 seconds. Also on this disc are "Unforgettable puzzles from the pages of the New York Times" a series of 5 featurettes that include: - "High Definition" which runs for 3 minutes 13 seconds as we are given an insight into the creation of this puzzle that featured in the 'Times' in April 2001. - "19 Black Squares" which runs for 3 minutes 15 seconds takes a look at the puzzle that holds the record of the fewest black squares used. - "Wardrobe Malfunction" which runs for 2 minutes 13 seconds takes a look at this humorous puzzle that caught the attention of many people. - "Drawing Power" runs for 3 minutes 36 seconds and takes a look at this puzzle that was created in memory of prolific illustrator Al Hirschfeld. - "Laboratory Maze" which runs for 2 minutes 23 seconds looks at an ingenious crossword that also functions as a maze. Next up is "Wordplay goes to Sundance" a series of 3 featurettes that include: - "The Premiere" which runs for 3 minutes 30 seconds follows the cast and director at the festival on the day of the premiere of the film, and director Creadon introduces the film to the audience. - "The Q&A" runs for 11 minutes 29 seconds, the director and his cast field questions from the audience at the end of the screening. - "Will's NPR Puzzle Live" runs for 6 minutes 3 seconds, Will holds a live puzzle quiz at a local cafe in Park City during the film festival. Next up is "Every Word" a music video by Gary Louris which runs for 2 minutes 33 seconds, it's worth a look but doesn't warrant repeated viewing as the song gets old and tiresome rather quickly. "...And the winner is...results from Stamford 2006" is a featurette that runs for 3 minutes 33 seconds and returns to the tournament in 2006 as the three finalists take the stage and Tyler wins for the second year in a row. A "Wordplay" photo gallery is a reel of photos that runs for 2 minutes 50 seconds and is cut to the crossword song. Also on this disc is "Waiting For The New York Times" a short film which runs for 1 12 minutes 12 seconds as the filmmaker interviews the locals of Three Oaks, Michigan about their obsession with the "New York Times" and how they like to read it. If you pop the disc into your PC you'll have access to some DVD-ROM Content which includes printable versions of the 5 unforgettable puzzles that includes: - "High Definition" - "19 Black Squares" - "Wardrobe Malfunction" - "Drawing Power" - "Laboratory Maze" A collection of bonus trailers are also included, these are start-up previews and can be skipped, they include: - "Clerks II" which runs for 1 minute 31 seconds. - "Factotum" which runs for 2 minutes 5 seconds. - "Land of Plenty" which runs for 2 minutes 13 seconds. - "Pizza" which runs for 2 minutes 3 seconds. Rounding out the extras is an exclusive booklet that reprints the 5 unforgettable puzzles (in case you don't have a DVD-ROM drive to print them off) that includes: - "High Definition" - "19 Black Squares" - "Wardrobe Malfunction" - "Drawing Power" - "Laboratory Maze"
Overall
For a low-budget documentary film "Wordplay" is packed with extras that will keep you busy for quite some time, the inclusion of the puzzles is a treat and the commentary is worth listening to if you're a fan of the film or of doing crosswords.
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