Pawn Sacrifice (2014)

Set during the Cold War, American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer finds himself caught between two superpowers and his own struggles as he challenges the Soviet Empire.

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writers:

Steven Knight (screenplay), Stephen J. Rivele (story)

Stars:

Tobey Maguire, Liev Schreiber, Peter Sarsgaard

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tobey Maguire	...	Bobby Fischer
Liev Schreiber	...	Boris Spassky
Michael Stuhlbarg	...	Paul Marshall
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Father Bill Lombardy
Edward Zinoviev	...	Efim Geller
Alexandre Gorchkov	...	Iivo Nei
Lily Rabe	...	Joan Fischer
Robin Weigert	...	Regina Fischer
Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick	...	Teenage Bobby Fischer
Aiden Lovekamp	...	Young Bobby Fischer
Sophie Nélisse	...	Young Joan Fischer
Evelyne Brochu	...	Donna
Conrad Pla	...	Carmine Nigro
Vitali Makarov	...	Ivanovich
Brett Watson	...	Lothar Schmid

Storyline

During the height of the Cold War, American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer finds himself caught between two superpowers when he challenges the Soviet Empire.

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Plot Keywords:

chess | richard m. nixon character | island | woman wears a bikini | cold war | 

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Taglines:

In 1972, Bobby Fischer faced the Soviet Union in the greatest chess match ever played. On the board he fought the Cold War. In his mind he fought his madness.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexual content and historical smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bobby Fischer attended Erasmus Hall High School together with singer-actress-director-producer Barbra Streisand.

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Goofs

While Fischer's distrust of the Soviets was well-known, at the time of the 1972 Championship Match, there was no evidence or even suggestion that he had mental disorder or that he was attracted to anti-Semitic propaganda or literature. All those came a decade or more later, when he was no longer World Chess Champion.

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Quotes

Bobby Fischer: So what do you do, Donna?
Donna: I screw people.
Bobby Fischer: Ahhh me too... Listen, I was thinking of getting rid of my virginity.
Donna: Is that right.

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Crazy Credits

In the closing credits, the name of the character Cyril (played by Shawn Campbell) is misspelled "Cryil".

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Connections

References 60 Minutes (1968)

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Soundtracks

The ABC Wide World of Sports Theme
Written by Irving Robbin
Published by Script Music
Courtesy of Score Productions, Inc.

User Reviews

One of the surprise movies of the year that deserves a bigger audience than it will get. I really enjoyed this & recommend it

"Bobby won't crack, he will explode." Ever since he was a young boy Bobby Fischer (Maguire) has been obsessed with chess. His dream of becoming the youngest world champion ever has been crushed by the Russian's way of playing and he slowly starts to lose his mind. Wanting to prove to everyone, and himself that is is the best in the world he sets up a series of matches with Boris Spassky (Schreiber), the best player in the world. As the match draws closer Fischer begins to descend further into madness and it starts to affect his ability to play. I knew very little about the real story of Bobby Fischer before watching this so most of this was new to me. For a movie about chess I have to say the movie was actually pretty exciting to watch, and Maguire really surprised me with his acting. I'm not sure how historically accurate this is but watching it the tenseness was there and you really felt uncomfortable for and with Bobby. One of the surprise movies of the year that deserves a bigger audience than it will get. I really enjoyed this and recommend it. Overall, great acting and great drama. More movies like this should be made. I give it an A-.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

25 September 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pawn Sacrifice

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$202,053, 20 September 2015

Gross USA:

$2,436,633

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,578,519

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gail Katz Productions, MICA Entertainment, Material Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Color:

Color Color (archive footage) Black and White (archive footage) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1