Searching for Bobby Fischer

"Every journey begins with a single move."

1993 1h 50m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 675

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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

“Every journey begins with a single move.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

JustWatch TVRent

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Max Pomeranc
Josh Waitzkin
Joe Mantegna
Fred Waitzkin
Joan Allen
Bonnie Waitzkin
Ben Kingsley
Bruce Pandolfini
Laurence Fishburne
Vinnie
Michael Nirenberg
Jonathan Poe
Robert Stephens
Poe's Teacher
David Paymer
Kalev

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Steven Zaillian
Writers: Steven Zaillian
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 61% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

33 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Steven Zaillian, shot by Conrad Hall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Horner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Wayne Wahrman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Max Pomeranc and Joe Mantegna and Joan Allen carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Every journey begins with a single move.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0108065 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Steven Zaillian directs. Conrad Hall behind the camera. James Horner scores. Wayne Wahrman cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 61% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
233 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Steven Zaillian, shot by Conrad Hall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by James Horner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Wayne Wahrman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Max Pomeranc and Joe Mantegna and Joan Allen carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Every journey begins with a single move.".
8IMDB entry: tt0108065 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "new york city", "chess", "hustler", "child prodigy".

The technical file

Cinematography: Conrad Hall
Original score: James Horner
Editing: Wayne Wahrman
Production design: David Gropman
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $12,000,000
Box office: $7,266,383
Return: 61% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)

Also by

Steven Zaillian

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2022-12-31
★ 8/10
The intricate world of chess, in the shadow of one of its most controversial masters. There is, in the world of sport – and for all intents and purposes, competitive chess turns out to be like a sport – a certain obsession with the stars, and their replacement when they go away. This is perhaps most visible in football: Messi has often been described as the new Maradona, to give you an example of what I'm talking about. This film follows a bit of the same logic: after having a chess grand master who won an important world tournament against the unbeatable Russians (and in the middle of the Cold War), the film takes us to the world of junior chess, following the steps of a young prodigy who could eventually be the “successor” to that famous player, Bobby Fisher. Little note: being a genius doesn't mean being a good person or a person you'll like. Bobby Fisher is already dead, and he died relatively young, but he guided his public life and his career by unpredictable behavior, enormous eccentricity and statements to journalists that are controversial, to say the least. He held quite radical world views, he was, it seems, anti-Semitic and a Holocaust denier. Fisher's statements about the US, his home country – which he left many years ago – are truly incendiary and critical. All it takes is a little internet research to verify this. I don't know how popular chess is nowadays, but here in Portugal it is common and very popular at school level, more as a recreational activity, not as a competition. I remember, in my school days, leaving the classroom and spending almost every break playing chess against my friends. And we took the game seriously, with pleasure and enthusiasm. We were aware of the complexity of the game, but we never worried about being ferociously good, just having fun. But I think anyone who knows how to play chess understands how challenging a game it can be. The film has an excellent cast. Max Pomeranc, despite being very young, is a likeable protagonist who seems torn between genius and normality. It makes him approachable and gives him a fascinating weakness for someone so obviously smart, and the young actor had the ability to understand the character in this way, and balance himself in this rich personality. Next to us, we have two great actors – Ben Kingsley and Joe Mantegna – who give us very successful jobs. For me, this film is one of Mantegna's best. Joan Allen also does a satisfying but less interesting job, and Laurence Fishburne could have been better used. Steven Zaillian had the brains to give us a film filled with intellect, intelligence and good feelings. The script is well written, and the dialogues are quite good. The choice of filming locations, sets and costumes, all help to build a familiar, friendly, very elegant film. There are no great effects, the film doesn't require them, but there is an effective soundtrack, very discreet, and reasonably well done cinematography.

Production companies