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Even then, Bobby is immersing himself in chess and has become an expert player. His mother, worried that chess is becoming an obsession, takes him to an adult chess club. He impresses the resident chess master and is accepted as a student. His coaching leads him into the world of professional chess championships, and he soon becomes the youngest grandmaster ever.
Even then, Bobby is immersing himself in chess and has become an expert player. His mother, worried that chess is becoming an obsession, takes him to an adult chess club. He impresses the resident chess master and is accepted as a student. His coaching leads him into the world of professional chess championships, and he soon becomes the youngest grandmaster ever.


But Bobby's hatred of distractions leads him to frequent tantrums. He enters a championship match in Bulgaria where he realizes that Soviet grandmasters are deliberately tying games with the collusion of the [[World Chess Federation]]. Erupting, Bobby rants that this makes it impossible for a non-Soviet player to win the championship. He quits the tournament and gives up chess.
But Bobby's hatred of distractions leads him to frequent tantrums. He enters a team tournament in Varna, Bulgaria where he realizes that Soviet grandmasters are deliberately drawing games with the collusion of the [[World Chess Federation]]. Erupting, Bobby rants that this makes it impossible for a non-Soviet player to win the championship. He quits the tournament and gives up chess.


When he returns to the U.S., a lawyer says that he will help him modify the tournament rules, offering his services free of cost to give Fischer a fair chance to win future tournaments. Fischer re-enters professional chess. He selects Father [[William Lombardy]], a former [[World Junior Chess Championship|World Junior Chess Champion]] and [[Roman Catholic]] [[priest]], as his second. As Lombardy works to calm Bobby's impossible demands, he comments that even though Bobby isn't a rock star, he acts just like one.
When he returns to the U.S., a lawyer says that he will help him modify the tournament rules, offering his services free of cost to give Fischer a fair chance to win future tournaments. Fischer re-enters professional chess. He selects Father [[William Lombardy]], a former [[World Junior Chess Championship|World Junior Chess Champion]] and [[Roman Catholic]] [[priest]], as his second. As Lombardy works to calm Bobby's impossible demands, he comments that even though Bobby isn't a rock star, he acts just like one.

Revision as of 15:05, 2 February 2019

For the chess move, see Sacrifice (chess).

Pawn Sacrifice
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEdward Zwick
Screenplay bySteven Knight
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBradford Young
Edited bySteven Rosenblum
Music byJames Newton Howard
Distributed byBleecker Street
Release dates
  • September 11, 2014 (2014-09-11) (TIFF)
  • September 16, 2015 (2015-09-16) (United States)
Running time
115 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$19 million[2]
Box office$5.6 million[3]

Pawn Sacrifice is a 2014 American biographical drama film. It is based on the true story of Bobby Fischer's challenge against top Soviet chess grandmasters during the Cold War and culminating in the 1972 World Chess Championship match versus Boris Spassky in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was directed by Edward Zwick and written by Steven Knight. The film stars Tobey Maguire as Bobby Fischer, Liev Schreiber as Boris Spassky, Lily Rabe as Joan Fischer, and Peter Sarsgaard as William Lombardy. It was released in the United States on September 16, 2015.[5]

Plot

The film starts in 1972, as an adult Bobby Fischer tears apart his hotel room in a paranoid delusional state, believing that he is being spied upon by the Soviet KGB.

The film flashes back to Brooklyn in 1951 when Fischer is only 6 years old. Frightened to see a strange vehicle parked outside, Bobby tells his mother. Mrs. Fischer, a Soviet Jewish immigrant, tells Bobby that the FBI has her under surveillance because she supports Marxist revolution in the U.S. She coaches Bobby on what to say to the FBI if he is ever approached.

Even then, Bobby is immersing himself in chess and has become an expert player. His mother, worried that chess is becoming an obsession, takes him to an adult chess club. He impresses the resident chess master and is accepted as a student. His coaching leads him into the world of professional chess championships, and he soon becomes the youngest grandmaster ever.

But Bobby's hatred of distractions leads him to frequent tantrums. He enters a team tournament in Varna, Bulgaria where he realizes that Soviet grandmasters are deliberately drawing games with the collusion of the World Chess Federation. Erupting, Bobby rants that this makes it impossible for a non-Soviet player to win the championship. He quits the tournament and gives up chess.

When he returns to the U.S., a lawyer says that he will help him modify the tournament rules, offering his services free of cost to give Fischer a fair chance to win future tournaments. Fischer re-enters professional chess. He selects Father William Lombardy, a former World Junior Chess Champion and Roman Catholic priest, as his second. As Lombardy works to calm Bobby's impossible demands, he comments that even though Bobby isn't a rock star, he acts just like one.

As his demands are accepted, Bobby overcomes most of the grandmasters across the world and grows closer to the world championship, becoming a hero to the American public. It is the height of the Cold War, and Soviet domination of the World Chess Championship is being exploited for propaganda as proof that the Communist system is superior to American democracy. U.S. President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger closely monitor and encourage Bobby's progress.

Privately, Lombardy tells Bobby's lawyer that excessive focus on chess strategy has destroyed the sanity of the game's greatest players. As an example, he cites the mental breakdown and suicide of 19th century American grandmaster Paul Morphy. He warns that Bobby could crack. The lawyer replies, "Bobby won't crack. He'll explode."

During a tournament in Santa Monica, California, Bobby loses to Soviet Grandmaster Boris Spassky, the world champion. The next morning, an enraged Bobby approaches Spassky on a beach and repeatedly screams, "I'm coming for you!"

As he continues to pursue the world championship, the pressure drives Bobby into paranoia and delusional psychosis. Meeting with Bobby's lawyer, Bobby's sister Joan quotes from Bobby's letters about how the Communists are colluding with International Jewry in order to destroy him. Joan explains that Bobby believes this despite being Jewish himself. She pleads with Bobby's lawyer to arrange for her brother to receive psychiatric help. The lawyer is dismissive, but as Bobby's breakdown escalates, the lawyer suggests to Lombardy that Bobby needs therapy and medication. Lombardy replies, "That would be like pouring concrete down a holy well."

Reporters and fans from around the world all assemble at Reykjavík, Iceland to witness the historic World Chess Championship 1972 match between Fischer and Spassky. Fischer is easily distracted by small noises like the movements of the audience, rolling cameras, or the pawns on the chess board, which leads him to make extreme demands for silence and fewer distractions. Even though this could cause Bobby to forfeit the match, Spassky is insulted by the possibility of maintaining his title by forfeit. He orders the Soviet entourage to accede to all of Bobby's demands.

Bobby loses the first game, and doesn't show up for the second, therefore losing by forfeit. Finally, he wins the third game using unconventional tactics. Americans are thrilled with Bobby's victory. Game four is a draw, but Fischer wins game five after Spassky himself begins showing signs of paranoia. With the match now more interesting, experts speculate that the next game will determine the outcome of the tournament. In game six Fischer uses an opening he has rarely played before, surprising the audience and checkmating Spassky. Amazed, an admiring Spassky rises and leads a standing ovation of Bobby's victory.

A postscript reveals that Fischer went on to win the match and that his sixth game against Spassky is still considered the greatest chess game ever played. Unfortunately, he never received psychiatric help and his delusions grew worse with every passing year. He went on to forfeit his title and died in 2008 as a fugitive from U.S. prosecution.

Cast

Title meaning

Director Edward Zwick explained the meaning of the film's title: "You have Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon calling Bobby Fischer; you have Brezhnev and the KGB agents following Boris Spassky. Both of these men were pawns of their nations".[6]

Production

Principal photography began in early October 2013 in Reykjavík, Iceland.[7] In mid-October, the remaining 41 days of shooting began in Montreal, Canada, wrapping in Los Angeles on December 11, 2013.[8]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2014.[9] On September 10, 2014, Bleecker Street acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the film, the company's first acquisition.[10] The film was originally set to be released in the United States on September 18, 2015; however, it was pushed up to September 16,[5][11] with wide releases in both America and Canada on September 25, 2015.[12]

Reception

Box office

Pawn Sacrifice has grossed $2.4 million in North America and $3.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $5.6 million,[3] and sales of its DVD/Blu-ray releases have cashed $1.1 milion,[13] against a budget of $19 million.[2]

The film grossed $1 million in the opening weekend of its wide release, finishing 12th at the box office.[3]

Critical response

Pawn Sacrifice received generally positive reviews. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 71%, based on 108 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Anchored by a sensitive performance from Tobey Maguire, Pawn Sacrifice adds another solidly gripping drama to the list of films inspired by chess wiz Bobby Fischer".[14] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[15]

Spassky himself has called the film "weak" and that it has "no intrigue"; he noted that the film misrepresents how and why he agreed to continue the match after Fischer failed to show up for the second game.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "PAWN SACRIFICE (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Dondis, Harold; Chase, Chris (September 27, 2015). "Chess Notes". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Pawn Sacrifice (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  4. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (March 28, 2013). "Tobey Maguire's Material Pictures Expands with New Backer Onboard". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Pedersen, Erik (February 4, 2015). "'I'll See You In My Dreams' and 'Pawn Sacrifice' Get Release Dates". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  6. ^ McCullough, Susannah Bragg (September 21, 2015). "How does the title of "Pawn Sacrifice" highlight the intense political stakes underlying 1970s chess?". screenprism.com. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  7. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (October 23, 2013). "'Boardwalk Empire's' Michael Stuhlbarg Joins Bobby Fischer Chess Pic 'Pawn Sacrifice' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  8. ^ Kay, Jeremy (October 23, 2013). "Shooting underway on Pawn Sacrifice". Screendaily.com. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  9. ^ Punter, Jennie (July 22, 2014). "Toronto Film Festival Lineup Includes Denzel Washington's 'Equalizer,' Kate Winslet's 'A Little Chaos'". Variety. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  10. ^ Bernstein, Paula (September 11, 2014). "Bleecker Street Acquires Ed Zwick's Bobby Fischer Biopic". Indiewire. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  11. ^ "Pawn Sacrifice". apple.com.
  12. ^ "Pawn Sacrifice". September 20, 2015.
  13. ^ "Pawn Sacrifice (2015)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  14. ^ "Pawn Sacrifice (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  15. ^ "Pawn Sacrifice Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  16. ^ McGourty, Colin (March 4, 2016). "Boris Spassky: "I'm waging a war"". chess24.com. Retrieved October 25, 2018.

External links

Template:Tobey Maguire

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special%3ADiff%2F881430387

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