Humans are unique in that while nearly all of us communicate with language (and our intellectual processes are fairly similar, even across nationalities, cultures and classes), we have formed a variety of different languages with which to communicate with out neighbors, some of those languages have and are dying out.
Crossword puzzles are fairly universal things; you see them in most languages and nationalities with the opportunity for leisure and with an established media and mass distribution points. While this documentary was very focused on crosswords in the U.S. and very specifically on crosswords in the New York Times, the puzzles themselves are not so selectively found. In that regard, while this documentary worked well to educate an audience about somethings they may not have known about crosswords generally or those who either design or attempt to solve them more specifically, the fact that the focuses was so narrowed made it interesting that an attempt was made to distribute this as a feature rather than to showcase it as a documentary on cable or otherwise.
The material on New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz was interesting, if brief. While there was not as much personal focus on "puzzle creator" Merl Reagle, his aspect of the film was perhaps the most interesting and informative.
The section on the competitors in the annual Crossword Puzzle Tournament, which was inter-cut (as was the entire film) with very brief interviews with more notable enthusiasts (such as Bill Clinton and Jon Stewart) was the most entertaining of the human interest narratives featured, but probably could have (and I believe was done previously) as a nice piece on 60 Minutes.
While worthy of a rental, it's hard to recommend this film as a real documentary.
Crossword puzzles are fairly universal things; you see them in most languages and nationalities with the opportunity for leisure and with an established media and mass distribution points. While this documentary was very focused on crosswords in the U.S. and very specifically on crosswords in the New York Times, the puzzles themselves are not so selectively found. In that regard, while this documentary worked well to educate an audience about somethings they may not have known about crosswords generally or those who either design or attempt to solve them more specifically, the fact that the focuses was so narrowed made it interesting that an attempt was made to distribute this as a feature rather than to showcase it as a documentary on cable or otherwise.
The material on New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz was interesting, if brief. While there was not as much personal focus on "puzzle creator" Merl Reagle, his aspect of the film was perhaps the most interesting and informative.
The section on the competitors in the annual Crossword Puzzle Tournament, which was inter-cut (as was the entire film) with very brief interviews with more notable enthusiasts (such as Bill Clinton and Jon Stewart) was the most entertaining of the human interest narratives featured, but probably could have (and I believe was done previously) as a nice piece on 60 Minutes.
While worthy of a rental, it's hard to recommend this film as a real documentary.