The Coldest Game (2019)

During 1962's Cuban missile crisis, a troubled math genius finds himself drafted to play in a U.S.-Soviet chess match -- and a deadly game of espionage.

Director:

Lukasz Kosmicki

Writers:

Lukasz Kosmicki, Marcel Sawicki (Writer)

Stars:

Bill Pullman, Lotte Verbeek, James Bloor

3 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Pullman	...	Joshua Mansky
Lotte Verbeek	...	Agent Stone
James Bloor	...	Agent White
Robert Wieckiewicz	...	PKiN Director
Aleksey Serebryakov	...	General Krutov
Corey Johnson	...	Donald Novak
Nicholas Farrell	...	G. Moran
Evgeniy Sidikhin	...	Alexander Gavrylov
Cezary Kosinski	...	John Gift
Aleksandr Lobanov	...	Adjutant to Krutov
Wojciech Mecwaldowski	...	Master of Ceremony
Magdalena Boczarska	...	Gienia
Andy Beckwith	...	Taxi Driver
John Benfield	...	Dr. Peter
Ludwik Borkowski	...	Makarov

Storyline

Playing a major chess match in Warsaw against the Russian champion, brilliant but forgotten former US champion, and alcoholic, Josh Mansky is sucked into the world of espionage and conflict between the world's superpowers. As the military crisis escalates the chess match takes on unimaginable importance. The Americans are in danger of losing both games - the chess game and the one for world domination.

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Plot Keywords:

chess | cold war | 

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Taglines:

Jeden ruch moze zmienic historie

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lead actor William Hurt broke his leg in an off-set accident a few days after filming started. The injury was so bad that he had to be replaced by actor Bill Pullman.

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Goofs

The American flag is displayed improperly on the wall during the chess match. According to US flag etiquette, the blue star field should always be displayed in the upper left hand corner when the flag is hung on a wall.

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Quotes

Title Card: In the early 1960s, U.S. - Soviet realtions are the worst in the history of the Cold War. After the Cuban Revolution, Soviet troops are only 100 miles from Florida.
Title Card: In October 1962, President Kennedy is informed of silos built in Cuba and increased Soviet military activity. It looks like preparations for war.
Title Card: A global war.
Title Card: A nuclear global war.

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Soundtracks

Przepióreczka
Arranged by Tadeusz Sygietynski
Lyrics by Mira Ziminska-Sygietynska
Performed by Zespól Piesni i Tanca Mazowsze

User Reviews

Good cold war entertainment.

I watched this largely because it was pointed out to me by someone who knows I'm a big chess addict.

Clearly there are a lot of liberties taken here, kind of mixing the 1972 Fischer match with the 1962 Cuban situation, but I believe this artistic license was justified. Just do not go into the movie expecting historical accuracy in the chess sense. Reviewers who gave really bad reviews based on that are entirely missing the point.

A decent watch.

7.5

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Poland USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

8 February 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Coldest Game

Filming Locations:

Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Watchout Studio, TVN, Next Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD