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 | cold war | american | paranoia | 

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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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

25 September 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

La jugada maestra

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$202,053, 20 September 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,436,062, 13 December 2015

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The chess legend Bobby Fischer was born Robert James Fischer on March 9, 1943 in Chicago to Regina Wender Fischer. His mother was a Jew who had been born in Switzerland but raised in St. Louis who became a naturalized U.S. citizen. The actual identity of his father is unknown. Regina listed German biophysicist Hans-Gerhardt Fischer, her first husband, as the father on Bobby's birth certificate, but they had been separated since 1939. Bobby's actual father likely was Hungarian physicist Paul Newmenyi, who like his mother, was Jewish. As his mental stability broke down late in life, Bobby became a vicious anti-Semite, insisting he wasn't Jewish.

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Goofs

Fischer certainly did not sleep on the beach after losing to Spassky in Santa Monica.

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Quotes

Boris Spassky: Bravo.

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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

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Liev Schreiber/Elle Fanning/Anthony Sadler/Vince Staples (2015)

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Soundtracks

White Rabbit
Written by Grace Slick
Performed by Jefferson Airplane
Courtesy of RCA Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing Irving Music, Inc. on behalf of Copperpenny Music

User Reviews

brilliant but disturbed

Well, the reviewer before me absolutely trashed this film for its dramatic license, so now I don't know what to say.

This is the highly fictionalized story of Bobby Fischer, a chess fanatic and genius who rose to the very top of his field. He was part of a Russia vs. U.S. superiority struggle when he played Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber), the world champion back then, in the '70s. It's unlikely he understood that; he didn't have a broad or worldly focus. The chess was all he cared about, that and money.

Biopics sometimes take a lot of liberties. Characters are made up, time is shortened, incidents are moved around, elements are put in for dramatic emphasis. That's why you can't take a biographical film as factual. It's better if you become interested in the person and read about him, as I did about Fischer, though I remember him.

Toby Maguire does a fantastic job as Fischer. Yes, Fischer was tall and Maguire is short. Frankly I wasn't made aware of Maguire's height while watching the film.

I believe the filmmakers were trying to give us a psychological story -- a complete genius with an IQ of 181 but one who also had mental problems. Lots of so-called geniuses are strange, I suppose, but Fischer was a real study in opposites.

He often made unreasonable, last-minute demands, made anti-Semite remarks, and accused the Russians of colluding against him. In the second game of his world championship against Spassky, he didn't show up. Nevertheless, his achievements in chess were remarkable, and many consider him the greatest chess player who ever lived.

His later life was a mess; he became reclusive; his passport was revoked and finally, Iceland took him in. By then he was off the wall completely.

Edward Zwick directed this film with a lot of zip and made it an intense and absorbing experience, as did the actors.

Look at this as the psychological story of a phenomenal talent whose emotional/mental problems interfered with his life and career. Don't take it as the detailed life of Bobby Fischer, his relationship with his mother, and who taught him what. The most interesting thing about him was his incredible talent.