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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Paramount
Salesrank: 3276
Released: July 11, 2000 |
| Our Price: $7.90 |
| Used Price: $8.11 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Josh Waitzkin is just a typical American boy interested in baseball when one day he challenges his father at chess and wins. Showing unusual precocity at the outdoor matches at Washington Square in New York City, he quickly makes friends with a hustler named Vinnie who teaches him speed chess. Josh's parents hire a renowned chess coach, Bruce, who teaches Josh the usefulness of measured planning. Along the way Josh becomes tired of Bruce's system and chess in general and purposely throws a match, leaving the prospects of winning a national championship in serious jeopardy.
Description of Searching for Bobby Fischer:
Steve Zaillian, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Schindler's List, made his directorial debut with this critically acclaimed but little-seen drama based on the nonfiction book by Fred Waitzkin, about a father (Joe Mantegna) who discovers that his seven-year-old son (Max Pomeranc) is a genius at playing chess. The boy plays chess for fun, but when he's tutored by a former champion (Ben Kingsley) and entered into high-pressure competitions, an enjoyable pastime becomes a source of tension and resentment, forcing the father to reconsider his parental priorities. A poignant study of the difference between parental idealism and proper parenting, the movie is also an observantly witty portrait of a precocious child who is still, after all, a child, and still eager for the joyful discoveries of youth. While offering a fascinating look into the world of competitive chess, the movie's dramatically engrossing and extremely well-acted by a brilliant cast that also includes David Paymer, William H. Macy, and Dan Hedaya in memorable supporting roles. --Jeff Shannon
Searching for Bobby Fischer Reviews:
sterling 
2008-09-29 - Throughout the past few years, I have never seen this movie fail to highly motivate children to play chess. A combination of a great sound track, fabulous cinematography, a great director, and an experienced cast produced a classic film.
a movie you can watch more than once
2008-07-18 - a movie you and your family can watch more than once. Excellent acting and character development.
Excellent
2008-07-05 - I bought this film for a friend whom I played over 50 chess games with (2 of which I one and he tutored me on chess theory throughout) as a graduation gift. I hadn't even heard of kinsley and didn't even recognize fishburne when I first saw this, nowadays I'd recommend the movie just for those actors alone, but even without the "good acting" the movie pace and plot has a mesmerizing feel. This -- along with a lot of kingsley's acting -- just has an incredible flow to it. Excellent film.
One of my guilty pleasures 
2008-05-21 - Having seen this film in the theatres when it first came out, I've always had a fondness for this film. So there is no need for explanation about why I've seen this film at least six times. It's got a marvelous cast, Laurence Fishburne, Joe Mantegna, Ben Kingsley, Joan Allen, Laura Linney, Dab Hedaya, William H. Macy, the list goes on. And what seals the deal is a breakthrough performance from first time actor Max Pomeranc, who shines as the seven year old Josh Waitzkin. The script was wonderful. But what else would you expect in 1993 from the screenwriter who penned Schindler's List? What was amazing though was that Zaillian also directed the film with as much panache and grace with which he wrote the screenplay. And to top it off, Zaillian found a way to shoot chess and make it exciting! I was so glad to finally buy this film, I'm going to show it to all my friends and show them what really good filmmaking looks like.
Brilliant!
2008-04-03 - I'm excited to show this to my six year old who's fallen in love with chess. I've seen this many times and look forward to watching it again and again. This truly is a precious gem!
