Mirage Enterprises
Paramount Pictures
Scott Rudin Productions
Not part of a collection.
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Every journey begins with a single move.
A seven-year-old chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
- Original title
- Searching for Bobby Fischer
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $12,000,000
- Revenue
- $7,266,383
Filipe Manuel Neto
Dec 31, 2022 · via TMDB
**The intricate world of chess, in the shadow of one of its most controversial masters.** There is, in the world of sport – and for all intents and purposes, competitive chess turns out to be like a sport – a certain obsession with the stars, and their replacement when they go away. This is perhaps most visible in football: Messi has often been described as the new Maradona, to give you an example of what I'm talking about. This film follows a bit of the same logic: after having a chess grand master who won an important world tournament against the unbeatable Russians (and in the middle of the Cold War), the film takes us to the world of junior chess, following the steps of a young prodigy who could eventually be the “successor” to that famous player, Bobby Fisher. Little note: being a genius doesn't mean being a good person or a person you'll like. Bobby Fisher is already dead, and he died relatively young, but he guided his public life and his career by unpredictable behavior, enormous eccentricity and statements to journalists that are controversial, to say the least. He held quite radical world views, he was, it seems, anti-Semitic and a Holocaust denier. Fisher's statements about the US, his home country – which he left many years ago – are truly incendiary and critical. All it takes is a little internet research to verify this. I don't know how popular chess is nowadays, but here in Portugal it is common and very popular at school level, more as a recreational activity, not as a competition. I remember, in my school days, leaving the classroom and spending almost every break playing chess against my friends. And we took the game seriously, with pleasure and enthusiasm. We were aware of the complexity of the game, but we never worried about being ferociously good, just having fun. But I think anyone who knows how to play chess understands how challenging a game it can be. The film has an excellent cast. Max Pomeranc, despite being very young, is a likeable protagonist who seems torn between genius and normality. It makes him approachable and gives him a fascinating weakness for someone so obviously smart, and the young actor had the ability to understand the character in this way, and balance himself in this rich personality. Next to us, we have two great actors – Ben Kingsley and Joe Mantegna – who give us very successful jobs. For me, this film is one of Mantegna's best. Joan Allen also does a satisfying but less interesting job, and Laurence Fishburne could have been better used. Steven Zaillian had the brains to give us a film filled with intellect, intelligence and good feelings. The script is well written, and the dialogues are quite good. The choice of filming locations, sets and costumes, all help to build a familiar, friendly, very elegant film. There are no great effects, the film doesn't require them, but there is an effective soundtrack, very discreet, and reasonably well done cinematography.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Max Pomeranc
Josh Waitzkin
Joe Mantegna
Fred Waitzkin
Joan Allen
Bonnie Waitzkin
Ben Kingsley
Bruce Pandolfini
Laurence Fishburne
Vinnie
Robert Stephens
Poe's Teacher
David Paymer
Kalev
Hal Scardino
Morgan
William H. Macy
Tunafish Father
Vasek Simek
Russian Park Player
Dan Hedaya
Tournament Director
Laura Linney
School Teacher
Anthony Heald
Fighting Parent
Steven Randazzo
Man of Many Signals
Josh Mostel
Chess Club Regular
Josh Kornbluth
Chess Club Regular
Tony Shalhoub
Chess Club Member
Austin Pendleton
Asa Hoffman
Tom McGowan
Reporter
R.D. Reid
Final Tournament Director
John Bourgeois
Gym Parent
Maria Ricossa
Gym Parent
Caroline Yeager
Screaming Mom
Bobby Fischer
Self (archive footage)
Conrad Hall
Director of Photography
Julie Weiss
Costume Designer
Steven Zaillian
Director
Jeffrey Epstein
Associate Producer
Sydney Pollack
Executive Producer
Scott Rudin
Producer
William Horberg
Producer
James Horner
Original Music Composer
Steven Zaillian
Screenplay
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tick, tick... BOOM!
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Aug 13, 1993
