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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Fred Waitzkin (book)
Steven Zaillian (screenplay)
Release Date:
11 August 1993 (USA) more
Tagline:
Every journey begins with a single move.
Plot:
A prepubescent chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Ben Kingsley
(From The AV Club. 6 August 2008, 9:03 PM, PDT)
Sydney Pollack Dies at 73
(From IMDb News. 27 May 2008, 4:12 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Zaillian's genius in "Searching for Bobby Fischer" more (65 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Max Pomeranc | ... | Josh Waitzkin | |
| Joe Mantegna | ... | Fred Waitzkin | |
| Joan Allen | ... | Bonnie Waitzkin | |
| Ben Kingsley | ... | Bruce Pandolfini | |
| Laurence Fishburne | ... | Vinnie | |
| Michael Nirenberg | ... | Jonathan Poe | |
| Robert Stephens | ... | Poe's Teacher | |
| David Paymer | ... | Kalev | |
| Hal Scardino | ... | Morgan | |
| Vasek Simek | ... | Russian Park Player | |
| William H. Macy | ... | Tunafish Father | |
| Dan Hedaya | ... | Tournament Director | |
| Laura Linney | ... | School Teacher | |
| Anthony Heald | ... | Fighting Parent | |
| Steven Randazzo | ... | Man of Many Signals |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Innocent Moves
more
MPAA:
Rated PG for thematic elements.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
110 min | Canada:93 min (Ontario)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Spain:T | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In the second half of the movie where Josh's father brings him back to the park to play with Vinnie, real-life Josh Waitzkin and Vinnie (both much older than actors playing them) are visible in the background. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Vinnie is holding the McDonald's cup with his fingertips and thumb. In the next shot, Vinnie's hand is wrapped around most of the cup. more
Quotes:
Fred: He's better at this than I've ever been at anything in my life. He's better at this than you'll ever be, at anything. My son has a gift. He has a gift, and when you acknowledge that, then maybe we will have something to talk about. more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in Searching for Gern Chegman (2006) more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (65 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) moreRecommendations
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In SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER, Steven Zaillian's is the most complete and near-flawless film-work of the 1990s. I can't say merely "director's work" because he also wrote the screenplay. And (I have to presume) he chose Conrad Hall as d.p., James Horner for the music, Wayne Wahrman as film-editor, and he worked with a lighting director, sound director, set director and more -- each of whom did a job worthy of the highest praise. And the cast, the supernal cast -- many of whom have had larger and more celebrated roles, but none of whom has ever nailed a role more satisfyingly -- Kingsley, Mantegna, Allen, Fishburne -- even the smaller and cameo bits are effectively faultless -- by Linney, Stephens, Shalhoub, Pendleton. And of course, Pomeranc's work is a kind of miracle. Every part of it evokes from me applause for Zaillian's imagination, sensibility, knowledgeability, intelligence, judgment.
I confess I post this comment because none of the other comments I've seen on SEARCHING seems to me to realize how much Zaillian must have contributed to making this -- and I think it deserves this adjective -- GREAT movie. (I further confess I didn't first watch the movie until some three years after its debut because of its title. I was damned if I wanted to spend two hours in the presence of someone as nasty-seeming as Fischer. But the title of course was Fred Waitzkin's, the author of the source book. Fred, you cost me a few years -- but Steven Zaillian has made up for it many times over.)