‎Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) directed by Steven Zaillian • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Searching for Bobby Fischer

1993 Directed by Steven Zaillian

Every journey begins with a single move.

A prepubescent chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.

Max Pomeranc Joe Mantegna Joan Allen Ben Kingsley Laurence Fishburne Michael Nirenberg Robert Stephens David Paymer Hal Scardino Vasek Simek William H. Macy Dan Hedaya Laura Linney

110 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Bryce Receveur ★★★★½ 6

Chess is actually pretty badass guys.
Review by russman ★★★ 3

My favorite sport is Chessboxing
Review by Marcin Wichary ★★★★ 7

“It doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a game.”
“No, it isn’t.”

This movie is about chess the same way Moneyball was about baseball. And yet, not being a player myself, it made me think of what might it mean for chess to be one’s life’s companion, to be able to feel the chessboard like not very many people do, to take lessons from all the games of chess back into the real life.

My favourite moments in the movie were those glimpses of chess being something more, something better, something beautiful: an early speed chess game interrupted by rain; a tower made for fun out of chess pieces; the rapid-fire, almost instinctive exchanges of moves.

Excellent cast of actors and characters, not to mention cameos from many famous chess players. Worth checking out. The only major problem is James Horner phoning it in, but hey, not the first time either. Just don’t watch it straight after Field of dreams.
Review by No-Personality ★★½ 2

#14 in my 99 90's Movies month. (Which, I have to start in December thanks to Netflix's routine end-of-the-month purge. Aarg!)

Why are there villains in a bio pic? A 90's bio pic drama about a child prodigy that isn't a Disney film? And the way Super-Snotty Evil Nemesis to Ben Kingsley's Masterclass teacher introduces his spawned-in-a-lab creation and the fact that he taunts his opponents with belittling Evil Laughter and stares Everyone Down with Evil Brown Eyes in closeup is straight up Ivan Drago. The film literally treats him like a soulless Terminator. How is that more inspiring? True to life? It isn't. It can't be. That's why Arnold Schwarzenegger is a So Bad It's Good icon and why…
Review by Dawson Joyce ★★★★½

A fantastic directorial debut from acclaimed writer Steven Zaillian, Searching for Bobby Fischer is rich with beautifully-crafted character dynamics, excellent editing and sound design, terrific performances, smart storytelling, and beautiful cinematography.
Review by J.W. Hendricks ★★★★ 1

It's like The Karate Kid for overachievers.

Recent reviews

Review by col_plimp ★★★½

Wer "Good Will Hunting", "Forrester - Gefunden!" oder "Stand by Me" mag, wird auch hier zufrieden herausgehen.
Review by daisy ✿ ★★★★

what's up with the title? I only know it as Innocent Moves.

It surprised me. I, myself am not into chess nor have I ever understood the game. What I really likes about this film is the encouragement from both of his parents. This is something all parents should watch. As long their child(ren) are happy with what they're doing, it should not matter what you want for the child. And the way, it is being portrayed from a childs perspective is interesting as well. If it were grown ups only I would be less interested (I think?).

Read there is a book so I might give it a go!
Review by Guilherme Semionato ★★★★

A very special film for teachers, parents, youth sports coaches, sports freaks and writers of children's books. A special film for the rest of humanity.
Review by Dawson Joyce ★★★★½

A fantastic directorial debut from acclaimed writer Steven Zaillian, Searching for Bobby Fischer is rich with beautifully-crafted character dynamics, excellent editing and sound design, terrific performances, smart storytelling, and beautiful cinematography.
Review by thegambler ★★★½

Stuffed to the gills with inside baseball. J'adoube, indeed.
Review by BrianNaas ★★★½

Don't let your children to grow up to be professional chess players. It is a lonely life full of neurosis and disappointments with very little financial reward except for the very best. This isn't baseball where a utility hitter can still make millions. It is an all-absorbing life where chess pieces move around in your head and you replay your losses time after time to see where you first went wrong. Bobby Fischer is the best-known example of a chess life driven close to madness.

I was pretty good at it in my teens and studied all the masters and knew all the openings - but I got lucky - I got interested in girls and chess became much less…
Review by Christopher Bird ★★★★½

I think one of the reasons this movie flopped so badly in theaters is because it's a movie for adults with a child protagonist. People like to watch movies about people like themselves, and a movie with a child protagonist is a movie that's going to be less accessible to adults. Most adult dramas about kids fail (STAND BY ME is the big exception, but that's explicitly framed as an adult remembering when he was a kid and has Richard Dreyfuss narrating throughout, so it's sort of a cheat).

It's not a "family" movie either, although it's certainly family-accessible. The theme of being afraid of disappointing your parents is one that most kids aren't going to want to engage with,…
Review by Andrew Franklin ★★★★½

This is the kind of heartwarming movie you used to get a lot in the ‘90s, the best examples of which are probably Mr. Holland’s Opus and Good Will Hunting. It’s directed and written by Steven Zaillian, and I’d never heard of him before but judging by his filmography he’s quite good.

One of the things I liked most about this was how Josh is portrayed as a normal kid who likes sports and has friends, not some anti-social savant who happens to be good at chess. Also, how supportive his father and generally everyone else is about his aspirations, chess-related and other.
Review by Rodrovich ★★★½

Well made film, and very focused on its theme and narrative. But that doesn't take away from the well written character dynamics it has to offer.