Monday, February 01, 2016

Chess goes to the Movies: Two Classics

Before I get going, may I issue a quick reminder to some of our readers that we have a deal.

That said, here’s the From Russia With Love chess scene. As usual with movie-chess there are problems - demo board operators shouting, players moving the pieces with one hand and pressing the clock with the other, Kronsteen’s announcement of check (you really really want MacAdams to respond with a Milesian "Ah yes, so it is") - but wouldn’t it be great if "International Grandmasters Championship Match Finals" (ahem) really were played in venues like this one?





Second on our Double Bill, The Thomas Crown Affair. This may or may not be based on a real game - the continuity is all over the shop so it’s impossible to tell - but it certainly doesn’t feel  as authentic as the Bond clip.

Criminal plays chess with law enforcement is a bit of a cliche now, but it perhaps was less so back in the late 60s when the film came out. In any event Faye Dunaway’s character (Vicki Anderson) isn’t actually police and she is, as you’ll have noticed, a woman which makes it a little different.

With McQueen’s unorthodox resignation, it’s hard to watch this scene and not see the influence on The Manic Street Preachers video which came out five years ago.



2 comments:

Andy said...

Nice to see a thought provoking and interesting article like this again after the days and days of nonsense about some amateur chess players results of 6 years ago, will we be seeing any more chess goes to the movies posts soon?

Jonathan B said...

Andy, you seem to have missed the memo so here it is again in bold >>

Before I get going, may I issue a quick reminder to some of our readers that we have a deal


Seriously now. Whether it be my posts or EJH’s or Martin’s ... read them/don’t read them; like them/don’t like them; agree with them/don’t agree with them; comment on them/don’t comment on them; praise them/don’t praise them; criticise them/don’t criticise them. It’s all the same to me.

Just don’t tell me what to write. Accept the terms of the deal or do one.