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Jim Milton
In a gripping true story, American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer finds himself caught between two superpowers and his own struggles as he challenges the Soviet Empire. The price for becoming the greatest Chess player the world has ever seen could lead to madness. Set during the height of the Cold War, this true story shows how two super powers fought it out on a table instead of a battlefield.
2016, 1080p, DTS-MA 5.1, 2.40:1 Aspect Ratio
Rated PG-13, Color, 1 hour 46 min.
Starring; Tobey Maguire, Peter Sarsgaard, Liev Schreiber & Michael Stuhlbarg
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Rating
Violence: None
Sex: Mild
Language: Yes
Maguire picks his films carefully and his dedication to playing Bobby Fisher is commendable. I know that you would think a movie about chess would be incredibly dull, but you would be wrong. The stakes were high for both countries in this meeting of geniuses, with the Soviets being the undisputed champions of the day while the US was losing the Viet Nam war. Both countries had a point to make. The title actually refers to Boris Spassky and Bobby Fisher…both being sacrificial pawns being used by their own countries for propaganda purposes. Fisher was portrayed as a genius that was on the knife edge of being a paranoid schizophrenic. Eventually, he did go down that path and left the US for Iceland, where he eventually died in self imposed exile. Though Maguire did an excellent job, I never really felt connected to his character, though. I don’t know what really made him tick and he was a very difficult person to deal with (aren’t most geniuses?). I would have loved to have had more development of Schreiber’s Spassky. He too was very intriguing and I felt he was glossed over too much. In any case, the film was very involving and made the more interesting because the events are based in reality. This is a film you should “check” out.
This movie has a bit of film grain that helps set the 1970’s tone. Some images were intentionally made to look a bit aged, and I am good with that. Colors and details are generally sharp. Shadow details are excellent as well. Sound was expansive and the surrounds were great for crowd noises and scenes at the airport. Not a lot for the sub to do, but the dialog was crisp and centered. Overall, the sound did not call attention to itself, which in a dialog driven script, is a good thing.
Along with a DVD and Digital Copy, the extras include: Bobby Fischer, the Cold War and the Match of the Century.