Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters

Tetris, made popular in 1989 when Nintendo brought it to the masses, is the tile-matching puzzle videogame where onslaughts of "tetriminos" randomly fall periodically, leaving the player to arrange them into full horizontal lines at the bottom. It's also one of the most played videogames the world has ever seen, having sold more than 70 million copies since its original release in 1984. Given its endurance in the gaming world for nearly 30 years, it comes as no surprise that a small group of people scattered throughout North America obsessed with the game would form an ersatz community. Adam Cornelius has managed to bring this ragtag group of nerdy videogame players to the big screen in his documentary, Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters, which follows several Tetris players as they prepare for a tournament in Los Angeles, showing the world what high-level play is all about. While the central focus is on the players' quests to ultimately beat the game at the highest difficulty and grasp the world record title, the film eventually becomes more about the characters and how the game has become so important to their lives. Cornelius walks a thin line between detailing the specifics of the videogame, bringing those not in-the-know up to speed enough to maintain interest in the story, in addition to digging into each of the players' lives enough to invest the audience in their final challenge. Gritty and shot without professional equipment, the film is packed with charm and even some fun animations. Anyone that has ever played the game will undoubtedly find something in Ecstasy of Order to enjoy. Special features include deleted and extended scenes, the full, unedited world record game, as well as a featurette showing a world record attempt from another man as he plays Asteroids for over two days straight.