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The Luzhin Defence (2000)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
8 September 2000 (UK) morePlot:
Two worlds collide when an eccentric genius falls in love with a strong-willed society beauty. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
3 wins & 2 nominations moreUser Comments:
Nabokov Lite moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| John Turturro | ... | Aleksandr Ivanovich 'Sascha' Luzhin | |
| Emily Watson | ... | Natalia Katkov | |
| Geraldine James | ... | Vera, Natalia's Mother | |
| Stuart Wilson | ... | Leo Valentinov | |
| Christopher Thompson | ... | Jean de Stassard | |
| Fabio Sartor | ... | Dottore Salvatore Turati | |
| Peter Blythe | ... | Ilya | |
| Orla Brady | ... | Aunt Anna | |
| Mark Tandy | ... | Luzhin's Father | |
| Kelly Hunter | ... | Luzhin's Mother | |
| Alexander Hunting | ... | Young Aleksandr Luzhin | |
| Alfredo Pea | ... | 1st Official | |
| Fabio Pasquini | ... | 2nd Official | |
| Luigi Petrucci | ... | Santucci | |
| Carlo Greco | ... | Hotel Manager |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and thematic elements.Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
109 minColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalCertification:
Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Spain:13 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: A camera operator's reflection is in the window just after Luzhin walks past a piano (about 30 minutes in). moreQuotes:
Vera: He's defiled you already, hasn't he? That's why you're rushing this ridiculous marriage. You're carrying his child. moreSoundtrack:
Waltz 2 moreFAQ
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This movie is absolutely beautiful to watch, with its magnificent old-world settings through which Luzhin, the obsessed chess grandmaster, moves in oblivious cerebration. Emily Watson is excellent as the beautiful young woman who tries to stay Luzhin's descent into insanity, and John Turturro does his best with Luzhin himself.
But I don't think Vladimir Nabokov would've liked this movie much. For one thing, the pop-psychologizing the screenplay inflicts on Luzhin blurs and ultimately ruins the purity of his madness. And there is the matter of Luzhin's name. Throughout the novel, for reasons that become clear as you read it, he is known only as "Luzhin," even to his wife, until, on the very last page, we learn his name and patronymic, "Aleksandr Ivanovich." But in the movie, everyone calls him Aleksandr Ivanovich; his wife even calls him "Sascha." Huge mistake.
Worst of all, the happy/sappy ending, with its preposterous posthumous victory for Luzhin, is so far removed from the tragedy of Nabokov's novel that it's actually offensive. I assume Nabokov's ending was deemed too stark and horrifying.