Scrabylon (A Scrabble Movie)

Starring:Stefan Fatsis, Daiva Markelis, Lester Schonbrun, John D. Williams Jr. (II), Chris Cree, Alan Stern (II), Ben Loiterstein Greenwood, David Boys (II), Robin Pollock Daniel, Matt Graham (II), Jim Geary, Brian Cappelletto, Jim Kramer (III), Joel Sherman, Paul Epstein (IV), Mark Landsberg, Joe Edley, Marty Gabriel, Allan Simmons, James Cherry (III)
Director: Scott M. Petersen
Studio: Scrabylon Productions, LLC
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Description
"Scrabylon" is an award-winning, critically-acclaimed documentary on the cutthroat world of tournament Scrabble®. Featuring the most fierce anagrammers, rack balancers, and bingo experts in competitive Scrabble®, "Scrabylon" delves deep into this sometimes wacky, sometimes odd, always compelling subculture. Shot primarily during the World Scrabble® Championships in Las Vegas, "Scrabylon" features players from around the globe and gives an up-close look at why people get so obsessed with that seemingly benign game played at countless kitchen tables.

"Scrabylon" spotlights "GI (gastrointestinal) Joel" Sherman, the world's only professional Scrabble® player - so named for his various stomach ailments; Jim Geary, a quick-witted professional gambler and all-around gamesman; Matt Graham, a stand-up comic from New York City; Chris Cree, a funny Texan who once won $256,000 gambling in Las Vegas during a Scrabble® tournament; Joe Edley, the Zen Scrabble master and only 3-time National Scrabble® Champ; Brian Cappelletto, an options trader and the first Scrabble® prodigy; Robin Pollock Daniel, a trained psychologist and the highest-rated woman on the Scrabble scene plus many other eccentric characters.

The glue between all these players is John D. Williams, Jr., the Executive Director of the National Scrabble® Association, who describes in great detail the quirks, strategies and personalities of this fascinating group of individuals.

Description

"Scrabylon" is an award-winning, critically-acclaimed documentary on the cutthroat world of tournament Scrabble®. Featuring the most fierce anagrammers, rack balancers, and bingo experts in competitive Scrabble®, "Scrabylon" delves deep into this sometimes wacky, sometimes odd, always compelling subculture. Shot primarily during the World Scrabble® Championships in Las Vegas, "Scrabylon" features players from around the globe and gives an up-close look at why people get so obsessed with that seemingly benign game played at countless kitchen tables.

DVD includes deleted scenes and director's commentary. DVD is region-free (region 0). For more information about the movie, please visit the official website at www.scrabylon.com.

Customer Reviews:

Not the best out there........2007-05-13

This Scrabble documentary was less professional than some of the other options. I'm surprised to see that Stefan Fatsis was involved, because his book was great! I definitely recommend Word Wars as a more enjoyable alternative.

Rich on content, poor on production.......2007-04-15

The production quality of this award winning documentary leaves a lot to be desired, but the content is worth watching. Most of this video comprises spot interviews with past champions such as Joel Sherman, Brian Cappelletto, Joe Edly et. al. Match coverage is limited, for the most part, to the final series of the 2001 Las Vegas World Scrabble tournament sponsored by Hasbro, the exclusive producer of Scrabble in the U.S.

I suppose if the World Championship of Scrabble can only dish out $20K to the champion, one should not expect substantial funding for covering one of these events in a documentary. Nevertheless, if you're a fan of the game, you will find this video entertaining and informative.

What sort of people become obsessed with Scrabble - and why? .......2006-03-15

This film is as much a portrait of the people who become obsessed by Scrabble and by words themselves. They vary from stand up comics to professional psychologists to option traders - and all of them approach Scrabble wtih seriousness and great passion.

Make no mistake - Scrabble players can make some money and Chris Cree actually won an additional $250,000 plus gambling in Las Vegas during a tournament.

Even if you aren't crazy about word games, you'll find thes people fascinating and you may learn something about game strategy along the way.

Word freaks united!.......2005-09-16

If your a word game addict such as myself, then "Scrabylon" is an interesting view into the competetive world of Scrabble players and tournaments.

It mostly consists of interviews with the top rated players in the nation....and their thougts and strategies on the game.

It also gives a nice look into the tournament scene, and provides a little background on the history of the game.

Not a whole lot here to make a movie about - but it is a nice look at an interesting subculture

Recommended for word freaks only!!

a hoot!.......2005-08-02

Late in Scrabylon, "GI Joel" Sherman explains that if he didn't play Scrabble, he'd probably spend most his time sleeping. This is pretty much all you need to know about Scrabble tournament players and their world. They are obsessive and just a little odd. But this movie's strength is that, while it's very funny and charming, it's never condescending to the players. It's quite eye-opening to see how advanced these players are compared to your Mom, friend, co-worker, etc.. Scrabble skills notwithstanding, most viewers will find Scrabylon to be a smart look at a world in which very few will get to personally experience.

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