Chess Player (1927)
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39% of users liked it
(316 ratings)
The Chess Player (Le Jouer D'Echecs) is based on an old European fable about a despotic king who came to grief via his obsession with a mechanical chess-playing machine. For the purposes of this film, the fable is incorporated in an inspirational story about a young, courageous Polish woman, a… More The Chess Player (Le Jouer D'Echecs) is based on an old European fable about a despotic king who came to grief via his obsession with a mechanical chess-playing machine. For the purposes of this film, the fable is incorporated in an inspirational story about a young, courageous Polish woman, a patriot in the Joan of Arc mold. The action takes place during the reign of Czarish Catherine II, when Poland was under the thumb of the Russians. The film's dramatic highlight was one of the most astonishing sequences in all of French cinema: On the verge of madness because her beloved Polish army is being mercilessly slaughtered by the Russians, the heroine sits down at her piano and begins playing maniacally -- whereupon she hallucinates that the Poles have won the battle and are marching homeward in triumph Filmed in 1927, The Chess Player was released in the U.S. three years later.. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Raymond Bernard
- Written By
- Raymond Bernard, Henry Dupuis-Mazuel
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Classics, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- May 17, 1930 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com
The Chess Player is a striking archeological discovery from the year that bridged the silent and sound eras, and is a fine title for cinephiles easing into the European silents.
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Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com
This beautiful DVD restoration of The Chess Player was a labor of love for film historian and preservationist Kevin Brownlow.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Magnificent visuals.
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James Plath, Movie Metropolis
For most of 140 minutes, Bernard maintains a credible tension and interest that's augmented by the title character: a chess playing automaton
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Phil Hall, Film Threat
Fascinating, opulent French silent epic.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Edith Jehanne
as Sophie Novinska
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Charles Dullin
as Baron von Kempelen
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Camille Bert
as Major Nicolaieff
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Pierre Blanchar
as Boleslas Vorowski
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Pierre Batcheff
as Prince Serge Oblomoff
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Armand Bernard
as Roubenko
- Alexiane
- Jacky Monnier
- Marcelle Charles
