The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Ambition earns the room.”
The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.
Back to trending 
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Drama · 1993
A seven-year-old chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
Movie details
Searching for Bobby Fischer
“Every journey begins with a single move.”
1993 Drama 1h 50m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.1 / 10
Community rating
A seven-year-old chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Searching for Bobby Fischer?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Queen of Katwe
Drama · 2016
A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a Chess master.
The Natural
Drama · 1984
An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Drama · 2011
A year after his father's death, Oskar, a troubled young boy, discovers a mysterious key he believes was left for him by his father and embarks on a scavenger hunt to find the matching lock.
X+Y
Drama · 2014
Struggling to connect with those around him, a teenage math prodigy trains for the International Mathematical Olympiad, where a budding romance with a fellow contestant breaks through his emotional walls and teaches him that love cannot be calculated.
A Family Man
Drama · 2016
Dane Jensen is a driven, Chicago-based headhunter, working at a cut-throat job placement firm. When his boss pits Dane against Lynn Vogel, Dane's equally driven but polar-opposite rival at the firm, in a battle for control over the company. When his young son is then given a harrowing diagnosis, Dane is suddenly pulled between achieving his professional dream and spending time with the family that needs him now more than ever.
James White
Drama · 2015
James White is a troubled twentysomething trying to stay afloat in a frenzied New York City. As he retreats further into a hedonistic lifestyle, his mother's battle with a serious illness faces a series of setbacks that force him to assume more responsibility. With the pressure on him mounting, James must find new reserves of strength or risk imploding completely.
The Company Men
Drama · 2010
Bobby Walker lives the proverbial American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and two co-workers jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands and fathers.
Cradle Will Rock
Drama · 1999
A true story of politics and art in the 1930s USA, centered around a leftist musical drama and attempts to stop its production.
Rocky
Drama · 1976
Rocky Balboa is a Philadelphia club fighter who seems to be going nowhere. But when a stroke of fate puts him in the ring with a world heavyweight champion, Rocky knows that it's his one shot at the big time — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go the distance and come out a winner!
Resurrecting the Champ
Drama · 2007
Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Steven Zaillian
Written by
Steven Zaillian
Max Pomeranc
Josh Waitzkin
Joe Mantegna
Fred Waitzkin
Joan Allen
Bonnie Waitzkin
Ben Kingsley
Bruce Pandolfini
Laurence Fishburne
Vinnie
M
Michael Nirenberg
Jonathan Poe
Robert Stephens
Poe's Teacher
Court is in session
Put Searching for Bobby Fischer on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Importance has entered the chat.”
The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.