La diagonale du fou (1984)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Richard Dembo

Writer:

Richard Dembo (writer)

Release Date:

24 May 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Driving Car | Game Of Go | Shirtless Male | Chess Master | Doctor

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Michel Piccoli	...	Akiva Liebskind
Alexandre Arbatt	...	Pavius Fromm
Liv Ullmann	...	Marina Fromm
Leslie Caron	...	Henia Liebskind
Wojciech Pszoniak	...	Le grand maître Felton - l'équipe de Fromm
Jean-Hugues Anglade	...	Miller, l'équipe de Fromm
Daniel Olbrychski	...	Tac-Tac, l'équipe de Liebskind
Hubert Saint-Macary	...	Foldes
Michel Aumont	...	Stepan Ivanovitch Kerossian - l'équipe de Liebskind
Pierre Michaël	...	Yachvili
Serge Avedikian	...	Fadenko
Pierre Vial	...	Anton Heller
Bernhard Wicki	...	Pühl
Jacques Boudet	...	Stuffli
Benoît Régent	...	Barabal

Also Known As:

Dangerous Moves (USA)

Runtime:

France:110 min | Switzerland:95 min | USA:100 min | Argentina:102 min

Country:

France | Switzerland

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | UK:15

Company:

Arthur Cohn Productions

Trivia:

In the final game, Pavius and Akiva play the French Defence / Paulsen Attack. The moves are as follows: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Be2 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nh6 8. Nc3 Nf5 9. Na4 Bb4+ 10. Bd2 Qa5 11. Bc3 b5 12. a3 Bxc3+ 13. Nxc3 b4 14. axb4 Qxb4 The film ends here; at this point, it is much too early in the game to determine who will win.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Early in the film, Liebskind describes a move as "Rook to G-10". There is no G-10 on the chessboard; the numbers only go to 8. This error is in the subtitles only and was a mistranslation; the actual line ends with "huit", French for eight.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV)

One of the best films I have ever seen

I saw this film when it came out in 1984, and since then, have been unable to forget it. I have been looking for it everywhere, from shops to the Internet without success. It seemed to have disappeared from the surface of the Earth. Finally, ARTE, a French/German TV channel, decided to broadcast it two months ago...and of course, I recorded it. It is based around a very simple storyline. A chess match. The two main players in the world. Both russians. Two generations fighting against each other, and also two visions of the world. The oldest generation who stayed and endured the last 50 years of Russian history. The younger one who left, but not unscathed. For them, only one thing matters : Chess, but for the outside world, and their entourage, many other things come into account: propaganda, money etc... From the actors to the plot, I cannot find any default with it. It is soberly and superbly played by Michel Piccoli (it is probably the only film where I really liked him) and the whole cast is a marvel. To be seen absolutely !!!