That was a fun film. I wonder how the technology of that film would look to us today. Will have to take a look at it on line. At least it’s not out this year contending in the biopic genre.
IMO, the main thing is that the producers and studio not lose money on it and at least make a modest profit as that works in the film industry. They’ve certainly pulled out all the stops in promoting it. With this being it’s official opening weekend, it will be interesting to see how it does compared to any other films also opening this weekend and those already out like Black Mass.
As to other movies like this about chess, there won’t be unless another Fischer comes along. But chess with non-mentally ill, or only somewhat ill, people has always been a draw for filmmakers and audiences. Some that come to mind involving real, or believable fictional, people:
The Chess Players (one of my favorite films)
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Knights of the South Bronx
Queen to Play
The Luzhin Defense
A Little Game
Life of a King
And in somewhat different genres:
Geri’s Game
Chess Kids
Brooklyn Castle
Bobby Fischer Against the World
A Requiem for Bobby Fischer
There are likely more. Feel free to add to the list.
Well, the film did break $1 million for the weekend. Placed 12th for this past weekend. I have a feeling it will be available on Netflix by Christmas. I wonder what percentage of USCF regular adult members have attended. Can’t think of how that number might be gotten at unless the USCF surveys it’s membership.
Pawn Sacrifice is already ahead of The Luzhin Defense at the domestic box office. However, it’s never going to catch Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
I’ve just returned from watching Pawn Sacrifice in Woburn, Mass. Four other people were in the audience.
I thought the film was well acted. I tried not to be bothered by the numerous inaccuracies. Some of them were unavoidable. A realistic depiction of a classical game of chess would be interminably slow and require too much chess understanding on the part of the audience.
I didn’t learn anything about Bobby Fischer that I didn’t already know, but I’m glad I watched it. I also liked Black Mass, but I’m more interested in chess than I am in organized crime.
I streamed A Requiem for Bobby Fischer last night: very good, but I feel like I learned more about Serbian/Yugoslav chess than about Fischer.
There is some brief footage from the real match of the century, USSR vs. World 1970, Gligorić provides a second great Göteborg Variation anecdote (recounted here), and I enjoyed seeing Velimirović.
They had quite a bit to say about his first international experiences playing in what was then Yugoslavia and their take on his period of exile post-1992 was interesting. I had not heard that Miloslovec(sp?) provided body guards to Fischer after the return match. And the comment attributed to Seriwan who was playing chess in Serbia in 1992 was new to me.
I saw the movie last night, and enjoyed it – but they sure could have used an advisor with some knowledge of chess. They got a lot wrong. In addition to all the things Sam Sloan listed, they basically ended the movie after game 6 of the 1972 match, implying that it was already all over at that point. They even had people claiming before the game that whoever won it would win the match. Really? Game 6 of a 24-game match? When Fischer opened with 1.c4 instead of his usual 1.e4, they had some announcer intoning “Bobby Fischer deviates from his usual Sicilian…” – really? He was playing White! And after the game, they declared that “it is still considered the greatest chess game ever played.” It was a great game, but no knowledgeable person would claim it was the greatest ever (or even Fischer’s greatest). And so on.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the movie. Just don’t expect it to be factually accurate.
Chess Fever (The Chess Players owes its concept to this earlier film - “Fever” includes cameos by several grandmasters, including Marshall and Capa)
Knight Moves (Christopher Lambert, Tom Skerritt, Diane Lane – not for kids)
The Seventh Seal
I was too busy being born at the time of the match, but didn’t Shelby Lyman (?) do daily match coverage for PBS that was supposed to be compelling for non-players? It seems to me that if it was possible then, it would be possible now.
Yes, but in a movie you can’t show the games in real time. One game would last longer than the entire movie. Maybe they could have had someone playing Shelby Lyman explaining one move for a few minutes.
The Chess Players “owes its concept to this earlier film- “Fever”…” By Fever, I assume you are referring to Chess Fever from 1925. Hmmmmm… And to think for years I labored under the misapprehension that The Chess Players was based on (owes its concept to) Shatranj ke khiladi, a short story from 1924 by Munshi Premchand. I don’t doubt that Ray was familiar with Chess Fever, but other than a review of The Chess Players in New York Magazine* that baldly claims Ray was much influenced in making his film by Chess Fever, I can’t find any evidence to support such a sweeping claim of influence. Interestingly, the New York Magazine synopsis review has been picked up (plagiarized??) on other film sites verbatim under different purported authorship.
If you have any source that evidences that The Chess Players owes its concept to Chess Fever, please do share it with us. Thanks, Kevin!
Nash stopped the treatment, and feels that he improved only after he stopped the treatment, not because of it. He felt that the negative effects of the drug therapy were highly underrated. He has stated that his ability to logically decide to “be better” was much more important than any therapy he received.
I suggest you start a different thread on the benefits versus harm to a Chess player drug or any other psychiatric treatment may do. This is a Chess discussion forum.
Getting back on topic, I saw the movie yesterday afternoon. I thought it was very well done and a good movie.
Yes, a number of facts were misconstrued at best to make the story line flow better and have a better effect. I kept saying to the empty space around me, “English Opening.” when they had the scene depicting Game 6 when he didn’t play 1. e4. They kept saying he didn’t play the Sicilian that he would normally play, and Bobby was playing White.
But the story did flow smoothly.
All in all it is a good movie that I will watch again when it comes out in digital.
