Have you played pinball recently?

[remember]

There are few people who haven't at some time played a pinball machine, and there are some of us that are almost obsessed with them! I certainly spent a lot of time trying and failing to play them as a child, and even more time being wow-ed by them because they were from America and "soooo coooool" (and of course singing along to hits like "pinball wizard"). I always wanted to hang out "at the arcade all day" - but in Bournemouth all I could manage was the Arndale Centre.

Last weekend, Do You Remember was invited to the UK premiere of a film all about pinball! And we found out thousands of things about this old art that we never knew existed.

The documentary follows the rise of pinball in the early 1900's when pinball machines were illegal (! - in fact they stayed illegal until the 1960's in the USA), it then charts their massive popularity in the 1960's, 70's and 80's to their eventual decline of recent years. Pinball fact: At their height they made more money a year than movies did!

The film follows some of the die-hard obsessives who live in the nostalgic realm of pinball past, reliving past victories, some collecting (literally) thousands of pinball machines! It shows us the people still competing for the title of world pinball champion, the collectors, the "pinball celebrities". It's very funny as there are some real strange eggs, but also it's actually quite an affecting documentary about all of these people who are rooted in the past. Their past is where pinball was a part of everyone's lives - and now bereft, they seem a little lost, confused in a world that's forgotten pinball.

It's a wonderful film and is released in the UK in January. Find out more about it here.

Also, in the future look out for the film festival "United film festival" - they have some wonderfully nostalgic features, there's also one all about the effect of JAWS on the world and a film all about karaoke!Subscribe in a reader


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[Krazy]

Re: Have you played pinball recently?

Thank you for that information Daddy. Quite interesting.

[Richard1978]

Re: Have you played pinball recently?

I used to like playing them when on holiday, but almost all arcades around now have just gambling machines.

[Techno]

Re: Have you played pinball recently?

I used to like them but they've been replaced with those touchscreen electronic terminals that have loads of quiz games on them.

The one I particularly remember from about ten years ago was a martian invasion one which used an overhead TV screen to project images of aliens on to the glass. Very nice. I just googled it and I am sure that it was called "Revenge From Mars".