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IMDbPro

Computer Chess

  • 2013
  • 15
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
4.9K
YOUR RATING
Computer Chess (2013)
An artificially intelligent comedy about computer chess programmers set some decades ago - when the contest between technology and the human spirit seemed more up for grabs...
Play trailer1:56
1 Video
73 Photos
Comedy

A 1980s-set story centered around a man vs. machine chess tournament.A 1980s-set story centered around a man vs. machine chess tournament.A 1980s-set story centered around a man vs. machine chess tournament.

  • Director
    • Andrew Bujalski
  • Writer
    • Andrew Bujalski
  • Stars
    • Kriss Schludermann
    • Tom Fletcher
    • Wiley Wiggins
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    4.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Andrew Bujalski
    • Writer
      • Andrew Bujalski
    • Stars
      • Kriss Schludermann
      • Tom Fletcher
      • Wiley Wiggins
    • 42User reviews
    • 132Critic reviews
    • 74Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 8 nominations total

    Videos1

    Theatrical Trailer
    Trailer 1:56
    Theatrical Trailer

    Photos72

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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    Kriss Schludermann
    • ADVANTAGE Member
    Tom Fletcher
    • DEEP SPEED Member
    Wiley Wiggins
    Wiley Wiggins
    • Beuscher
    Patrick Riester
    • Bishton
    Kevin Bewersdorf
    • Cameraman
    Gene Williams
    Gene Williams
    • MONSIEUR D'ECHECS member
    Jim Lewis
    • John
    Cole Noppenberg
    • CAPA X Member
    Myles Paige
    • Papageorge
    Gerald Peary
    • Henderson
    James Curry
    • Carbray
    Bob Sabiston
    • McVey
    S. Kirk Walsh
    • Hotel Clerk
    Daniel Metz
    • Reini Urban
    • (as Daniel C. Metz)
    Stephen Wheeler
    Stephen Wheeler
    • Panel Skeptic
    Mark Blumberg
    • NOOG Member
    Eric Newton
    • Klaas
    Robin Schwartz
    • Shelly
    • Director
      • Andrew Bujalski
    • Writer
      • Andrew Bujalski
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews42

    6.24.9K
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    Featured reviews

    10alanjj

    As good as it gets

    I don't want to reveal too much here. No spoilers. I did not know anything at all about Computer Chess before I sat down at the local rep house to view it, maybe you shouldn't either. It seemed like it was an old documentary about an early (1979) contest to design a computer program that could beat a human being at chess. I thought, as I was watching it, that eventually the documentary would jump to the present day, and interview the participants in that contest, and provide revelations about the the development of artificial intelligence, and perhaps about the evolution of the participants in that early competition. But, at some point, maybe 10 or 15 minutes into the film, I realized that what I thought the movie was about was not at all what the movie was about. And I thought to myself, Wow! Incredibly the movie manages to merge a story about a bunch of extreme tech nerds with a story about a bizarre cult of seekers of sexual and spiritual awakening. My movie-going companion and I were both entranced all during the film, and couldn't stop talking about it afterwards.

    This movie is the real deal: it's what we used to go to the movies for. Complexity, surprise, enthrallment, humor, enigmas, revelations. Ambiguity. Somehow a bunch of people down in Austin, Texas made the perfect movie.
    Jeff_34

    You will really want to watch this movie.

    If you are out of sleeping pills or have insomnia.

    Guaranteed to put you to sleep. I actually had a fabulous nap - 2 or 3 of them actually - while attempting to keep my eyes open. There might have been a premise somewhere in there but only the director and his friends could tell you about it since everyone else will be fast asleep - or doing the neck dance of nodding in and out of sleep.

    Computers, chess, retro, dry dialogue, vintage cameras.... on paper this could have been fun and quirky and a nice time.

    Anyway, next time you feel too wired to sleep and don't have any substances to help you, put this on and you'll conk out in minutes (that or throw your TV against the wall).
    8rooprect

    If you're sick & Atari'd of forgettable films, you should add this to your Coleco-tion

    "Computer Chess" is a trip. It's a trip back to the 80s when nerds reigned supreme (if only in their rather limited social circles). More than that, it's a mind trip of dweebish proportions. We'll get to that later. First a few things you should know: The movie is almost entirely in black & white, rather grainy & unappealing video (4:3). This can be somewhat tiring on the eyes, compared to the 1080p digital glory we're accustomed to. But before you pass judgment you should know that the filmmakers purposely used an old Sony AVC-3260 b&w tube camera from the 70s. Director of photography Matthias Grunsky explains:

    "These tubes also have a very specific soft character, which would not be easy to recreate in post. The cameras had electronic issues and sometimes would generate electronic noise when touching the camera body or the lens. All these artifacts combined add a transcendental character to the image and help express the sometimes unexplainable things that happen between man and computer in our story."

    So right off the bat you can see that the film is artistically motivated. Whether you decide that it has significance, or whether you think it's just an annoying gimmick is up to you.

    The second thing you should be ready for is near the end it makes a leap of logic concerning technology, in particular, artificial intelligence. Normally I don't care when science fiction films go off the deep end like that, but this film is closer to historical fiction (and does a great job, except for this one glitch). Overall it presents the rather ho-hum reality of technology in the 80s, and the humor is that 80s technology sucked! That's why it came as a surprise in one scene where suddenly technology surpasses what we could even hope for today. But I admit that plot twist is essential to the story & message. So, my fellow pocket-protected geeks in the audience, try to take it in stride.

    The rest of the movie gets nothing but high praise from me. It's surprisingly accurate, and if you haven't guessed, I was an 80s kid who grew up thinking "Pong" and the Radio Shack TRS-80 were the greatest things the human race could ever achieve... so I knew that mentality well. How hilariously ironic it is to watch a movie about a conference of nerds who are lifelong-obsessed with creating a computer chess simulator which, today, wouldn't hold the average gamer's attention span past the welcome screen. But irony is the backbone of this film, and if you enjoy ironic comedies like "Ed Wood" (about the worst director who ever lived), "Best in Show" (about a bunch of freaks competing for whose dog is prettiest) or the unintentionally hilarious documentary "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" (about an 80s metal band called... can you guess?), then I think you'll get a real kick out of "Computer Chess".

    An extra little push over the cliff, which some audiences may not like but I found intriguing, is the hyper stylistic approach to cinematography. Although visually bland (black & white video), there are some artistic tricks that the director used. For example, despite the nuts & bolts visual presentation, the director achieved a degree of surrealism by using quirky edits (unexpected, disorienting jump cuts) as well as deliberate audio synch mismatches. This compliments the rather surreal turn of events that occur--things that make you wonder "WTF just happened?" Some scenes seem totally random and disconnected, but memorable nonetheless. And without spoiling anything, I can say that "Computer Chess" has one of the most WTF endings I've ever seen.

    Definitely not for audiences wanting to be dazzled by theatrics, visuals and fantastic plots, "Computer Chess" is a very minimalistic yet highly entertaining step back in time, giving us the rare opportunity to appreciate the absurdity of "hi-tech" in hindsight. The whole film happens over the course of 3 days in a roadside motel. But it's still a masterpiece. Sort of like the famous minimalist film "Das Boot" shot entirely in a submarine but full of depth & meaning, this movie shot in 2 or 3 rooms with no props but a bunch of dusty old computers really packs a lot. Maybe an alternate title for this nerdfest could be "DOS BOOT".

    Hey, laugh it up. I worked a long time on that stupid pun.
    matthewwilliam121391

    A thoughtful, intriguing film

    I've never seen a film quite like Computer Chess. As one might expect from director Andrew Bujalski, the spoken dialogue and performances from the actors all feel incredibly real. Actor Myles Paige in particular delivers Mike Papageorge's cocky, self-aggrandizing dialogue with a naturalistic vocal cadence you don't often find in the standard summer fare of film. The cinematography, too, is appropriately raw. Shot on video with a 4:3 aspect ratio, it's hard not to watch a scene and feel like you're looking at someone's home movie. While it will no doubt be jarring for some, I found the aesthetic endearing and immersive, as if I really was in the 80s with the characters.

    When not focusing on the computer chess competition, the film pries into the lives of its attendees. Here the characters are the film's primary focus. Even though "Chess" has no proper protagonist, it's hard not getting attached to these people. Peter Bishop, a younger computer programmer, comes the closest we get to a main character, and exhibits a reserved, shy personality that I personality think exists in us all. Bishop finds himself floundering from one uncomfortable situation to the next, unable to express his discomfort or anxieties. Other attendees often wax philosophical about the nature of programming, dropping gems like "Is real artificial intelligence different from artificial real intelligence?"

    Interestingly enough, Bujalski has no qualms about belying the real-world aesthetic he's effortlessly created. Throughout the film he peppers in several surreal flourishes. Often times scenes will have jump cuts, audio will go out of sync with the video, the film features an almost out of place color scene, and there's even a trippy dream sequence where the programmers take on the role of chess pieces.

    Ultimately, Computer Chess features something for everyone. From likable characters to a refreshing visual style, it's hard not to leave the film feeling wholly satisfied.
    7Sergeant_Tibbs

    A worthwhile experiment.

    Computer Chess may have an unconventional and experimental style, but its story is simple. It's very much like a Christopher Guest competition mockumentary setup with a similar satirical sense of humour and fortunately its exposition is welcome and well-handled. Its video and black and white cinematography feels more than a gimmick and places the film convincingly in the 80s. At least it makes better use of it than last year's disappointing No. Although it's intended as a character-based film, peering into the lives of the contestants rather than concerned with the competition itself, it's the area it struggles with most. It's difficult to keep track of characters and many feels like cartoons. But its themes still work. It makes you think about the progression of technology and its integration with society as well as what you should live for. It's more of a directors movie with hints of surrealism and meta scenes where the gimmick breaks the mold which results in making Computer Chess interesting, thoughtful and entertaining film but wildly inconsistent with the places where it doesn't know what it's doing.

    7/10

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Quotes

      Pauline: Peter, did you ever stop and ask yourself how many squares are on a chess board?

      Bishton: 64. It's an 8 by 8 grid.

      Pauline: Well... but don't you see how limited that is?

      Bishton: No, it's actually very complex once you start to think about it as a programming problem. Just the number of possible games explodes exponentially with each move, it's close to 10 to the 120th power. And to try and compute all those games might take even longer than humanity would be around to do so.

    • Crazy credits
      "Mysterious Woman ... herself"
    • Connections
      Featured in The 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards (2014)
    • Soundtracks
      Nothin' But Changin'
      By Collie Ryan

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    FAQ17

    • How long is Computer Chess?Powered by Alexa

    Details

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    • Release date
      • November 22, 2013 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Комп'ютерні шахи
    • Filming locations
      • Austin, Texas, USA
    • Production company
      • Computer Chess
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $102,041
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $9,683
      • Jul 21, 2013
    • Gross worldwide
      • $127,852
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 32 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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