Street Date: April 8

Official Synopsis:
The situation facing the pinball designers at Williams Electronic Games in 1998: come up with something new, or see the world's largest pinball manufacturer be shut down forever. And Williams' designers did come up with something amazing: a brand new kind of pinball machine — "Pinball 2000" — that fused video with classic pinball gameplay, preserving what was great about pinball, yet opening up all-new possibilities for a product thought to be on its last legs. But soon after its successful and highly-profitable launch, Williams pulled the plug, leaving behind unanswered questions and abandoning one of the world's great design organizations.

  
Our Take:
Anybody who lived through the 70’s and 80’s would consider pinball a staple in any video game arcade. Most kids today would probably wonder what a video game arcade even is, much less know much about pinball. I never really thought about pinball’s place in the modern world until I watched Tilt: The Battle To Save Pinball, a fascinating documentary on the medium’s possible ultimate demise.

Tilt focuses on Williams Electronic Games, the last major company to manufacture pinball machines that at one point owned 80% of the pinball market. With video games encroaching on what was previously massively lucrative territory, Williams tried to launch a new system in 1999 that would revolutionize the pinball industry. The film looks at the history of the game, Williams’ role in the evolution of pinball, and the creation of Pinball 2000, the industry’s potential savior.

The movie has two things going for it. One, despite a lackluster narrator (I believe it’s the filmmaker himself, Greg Maletic), this is fascinating subject material. Pinball may not sound all that exciting as the subject of a film, but it has a rich history and went through some turbulent times. Secondly, the film is just 60 minutes long, which is the perfect length. To be honest, if it was any longer, it probably would have become a bit boring, but its brisk length keeps things interesting. Besides, there are seven hours of bonus features on this two disc set, so it’s not as if there’s anything missing, it’s just not all included in the narrative.

Speaking of extra features, here’s what’s included:

* Commentaries – One with director Greg Maletic and one with the film participants chiming in with their thoughts on the current state of the pinball industry.

* Extra Interviews - More than three hours of extra interview footage including:

 - Never-before-seen insights into the process of designing a pinball machine with industry greats Pat Lawlor and George Gomez.

- Pinball legend Steve Kordek on the early days of the industry.

- Former Williams Vice President Larry DeMar, co-creator of video game classics Defender and Robotron: 2084, on the early days of video games and the evolution of pinball through the '80s and '90s.

- Noted pinball historian and industry figure Roger Sharpe on his amazing role in legalizing pinball in New York in the 1970s.

* Speech Video - Video of George Gomez's Pinball Expo 1999 speech, right before a climactic event in the pinball company’s history.

* Video Tour – See the former Williams pinball factory.

* Footage of Three Unreleased Williams Pinball Machines – See Wizard Blocks and Playboy, the un-finished third and fourth Pinball 2000 games, and Bally's Pinball Circus, a multi-level pinball machine.

* The Williams "Pinball 2000" Launch Video- The actual video used to market directly to pinball distributors, seen only in clips in the film itself.

Star Wars fans should also take note of Tilt, as about 10 or 15 minutes of the film details the creation of the Star Wars: Episode One Pinball 2000 machine. There are not only a lot of images of the machine and its play screens, but also stories about working with LucasFilm under Episode One’s shroud of secrecy. It’s an additionally interesting story within the larger framework of the film.

Tilt: The Battle to Save Pinball is a terrific documentary, and with all the extra features on the DVD, really a solid buy. You don’t have to be a video game fan or a pinball enthusiast to enjoy this film; it’s a fascinating look at changes in pop culture entertainment and what could some day be a forgotten game platform.

RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:
Show: A-
DVD: A+

- Mike Spring

Editor