Cinemania
Wellspring Media | Release Date: May 16, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
You may become a cinemaniac yourself after sitting through this beauty. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
What Christlieb and Kijak do so well is keeping these folks from not seeming like loons. Read full review
80
Film ThreatRory L. Aronsky
A fun time and a must-see. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
It would be easy to mock or patronize them. Cinemania does neither. They seem quite satisfied with their lives, which is more than can be said for a lot of people with more conventional lifestyles. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Both compelling and disturbing, this tragicomic documentary follows five dreamers as they pursue romance. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
They talk warmly and with enthusiasm about certain titles, but I have the eerie feeling that they must be at a movie whether they enjoy it or not. Read full review
70
Village VoiceDennis Lim
Built on a foundation of cinephilia, Cinemania is a valentine of sorts to this movie mecca (you have to love a city, and a film culture, that can sustain such bottomless appetites). Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
It's too short, and it doesn't delve deep enough. But it's thoroughly enjoyable. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
The filmmakers aren't exactly cruel, but they focus on compulsion rather than passion, which by implication tends to tarnish the more intellectual and scholarly members of the breed. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
A couple of the cinemaniacs are less defined than others, but the portrait that emerges is a detailed composite of life on the fringe. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Their mania might be funny if it weren't so creepy. Read full review
50
VarietyKen Eisner
An unsparing, if light-touched, look at obsession, denial and where to find the cheap seats in Manhattan. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
It is left for Mr. Heidbreder to offer the fanciest rationalization for their addiction. Asked whether the movies are a substitute for life, he rejects the suggestion that their behavior is pathological and declares that film itself "is a form of living." Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
A voyeuristic look at voyeurs, Cinemania never seems sure whether it's a comedy or a tragedy. Instead, the film just seems intent on depicting its subjects as lovable kooks, a reductive portrayal that does little to acknowledge the desperation and loneliness that permeates every frame. Read full review
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