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 was a fan of European football as well as chess, saying on several occasions that he followed Manchester United and dreamed of watching them live.

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Goofs

In one scene, Fischer is seen reading a copy of the Russian chess magazine and then starting to play the moves out on a chess board. The first two moves he plays are 1. h4 h5. No published chess game would open this way.

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Quotes

Father Bill Lombardy: [after Bobby has demonstrated how Bill could have won his last chess match] Shit!
Bobby Fischer: I didn't know a priest could use bad language. I like this guy!

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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 ABC's Wide World of Sports (1961)

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Soundtracks

Walk Don't Run
Written by John H. Smith Jr.
Performed by The Ventures
Used by permission of Peermusic, Ltd o/b/o itself and Mesa Verde Music and On Board Music
Courtesy of Capitol Records, LLC,
under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Better Than Expected, Great Subject Matter.

Was hesitant to watch this - didn't like the casting of Maguire as Fischer. Ended up watching it anyway out of curiosity as this story has intrigued me for many years. I still think Maguire was the wrong choice to play Fischer. I would like to have seen Ryan Gosling or a younger Josh Lucas attempt it. At least somebody who could carry off that particular New York accent as that was one of his hallmarks for me. But that notwithstanding, if Tobey was the only choice available then I think he did a hell of a good job. I really enjoyed this. Edward Zwick knows how to put a movie together. Great supporting performances from Sarsgaard, Stuhlbarg and Schreiber. Having followed the story before I got the general impression they were trying to remain faithful to what happened at the chess championship in '72. I'm not sure how much of the mental illness stuff I buy. Clearly there was some kind of paranoia going on there - and the film deals with that well - but I think a lot is projected onto this after the fact. Secondary gains. A lot is conveniently bundled into the mental illness bucket which may just have just been the man's world view. And I think that is disrespectful to a brilliant man who is no longer here to defend himself. But that's not so much a criticism of the film as the general view of Fischer out there now. That said, I think this particular film probably handled it more respectfully than most would have done. So overall it was a lot better than expected. Definitely worth a watch - it's an extraordinary real life story about the extremes of obsession required to compete at that level, and the toll that it can, and often does, take. A subject not too often tackled in a world that worships competition for prizes.

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