Pawn Sacrifice

"On the board he fought the Cold War. In his mind he fought his madness."

2015 1h 55m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 1,102

ThrillerDrama

Synopsis

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During the height of the Cold War, American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer finds himself caught between two superpowers when he challenges the Soviet Empire.

“On the board he fought the Cold War. In his mind he fought his madness.”

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Cast

Tobey Maguire
Bobby Fischer
Peter Sarsgaard
Father Bill Lombardy
Liev Schreiber
Boris Spassky
Michael Stuhlbarg
Paul Marshall
Lily Rabe
Joan Fischer
Sophie Nélisse
Young Joan
Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick
Teen Bobby Fischer
Conrad Pla
Carmine Nigro

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Edward Zwick
Writers: Steven Knight, Christopher Wilkinson, Stephen J. Rivele
Languages: English, Russian
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 29% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

212+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Edward Zwick, shot by Bradford Young. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tobey Maguire and Peter Sarsgaard and Liev Schreiber carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Edward Zwick directs. Bradford Young behind the camera. James Newton Howard scores. Steven Rosenblum cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 29% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 11 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.
4212+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Edward Zwick, shot by Bradford Young. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Steven Rosenblum shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Tobey Maguire and Peter Sarsgaard and Liev Schreiber carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "On the board he fought the Cold War. In his mind he fought his madness.".
10IMDB entry: tt1596345 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 8 themes, including "chess", "cold war", "1970s", "victory".

The technical file

Cinematography: Bradford Young
Original score: James Newton Howard
Editing: Steven Rosenblum
Production design: Isabelle Guay
Costume design: Renée April
Makeup / hair: Rocco Stallone
VFX supervisor: Alan Munro
Sound: Lon Bender
Stunt coordinator: Tyler Hall
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $19,000,000
Box office: $5,578,519
Return: 29% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Pawn Sacrifice (2015)

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Edward Zwick

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-09-29
★ 7/10
With this 'Searching for Bobby Fischer' is over for me. I know Bobby Fischer a genius American chess player, in fact, after watching the 'Searching for Bobby Fischer', which is another biopic as this one. Other than that I know nothing about his life, so I'm very thankful for this film. From the director of many sensational flicks comes this to inspire you. Wait, did I say inspire, but I'm little confused over how this film to be considered. Bobby Fischer was a great player, but he had some mental issues. So you can compare him to John Nash from 'A Beautiful Mind', except they're from different fields, but very intelligents. This film was a little patriotic abut the American nation, especially defeating the Russians in the chess game. So I'm being neutral here. Bobby was the one to focus how he makes his life big with the game that requires a brain. The story began with short span of childhood and then soon skipped to adult Bobby Fischer competing in a biggest tournament in the world, a championship against the best. Nicely filmed with lots of exciting scenes, particularly Tobey Maguire as the main lead was brilliant. Liev Schreiber was another surprise with his frequent on and off role. Good film, but feels it is not complete, there should have more to it and like I said earlier, it has impacted, but not inspiring way which is why I'm doubting the screenplay. A man like him and a film about him should have nominated for several international awards, including the Golden Globe and the Oscars. Sadly, it failed at the box office, as well as to get recognised at the film festival circuits. Still, it got praised, looks not for the artistic work, but as the compensation. If you watch it, you will know there's something wrong, otherwise a film like this won't go unnoticed. I hope someone else makes another film about him in a grand way. Meanwhile, it is a good watch, but what do you expect from the Bobby Fischer like his game or personal issues will decide how much you liked it. 7/10
CinemaSerf2025-06-14
★ 6/10
This could have been a fascinating account of the troubled life of American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer - unfortunately, Tobey Maguire just couldn't quite convince me that he was that man! The well documented life of this chess genius and of his many demons is the stuff of public record, but this interpretation borders on the melodramatic just a bit too often, and the lead performance is way too one-dimensional for me to get beyond the initial reaction that he was a bit of an arse. An hugely accomplished master of his craft, but as an human being - an arse. There are flashbacks to try and give us some guidance as to the causes of his paranoia. His mother was a communist living in the USA so he genuinely believed that the FBI were listening in on him from a very early age - a neurosis that never left him - and as such his sense of trust was internally compromised and his ability to form meaningful relationships never remotely developed. Liev Schreiber - who really only features towards the very end, does indicate a bit of the grace and professionalism of arch-rival Boris Spassky but that is delivered by Edward Zwick in an almost grudging fashion: the pesky Ruskies will do just about anything to win - except, that is, play fair! It does demonstrate the effectiveness of the cold war chess battle that many of us will recall from the 1970s, but it could have been much more adventurous and less stereotypical with it's characters.