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The Luzhin Defence

 
Movies:

The Luzhin Defence

 
  • Director: Marleen Gorris
  • AMG Rating: starstarstar
  • Genre: Drama
  • Movie Type: Psychological Drama, Period Film
  • Themes: Tortured Genius, Opposites Attract, Haunted By the Past
  • Main Cast: John Turturro, Emily Watson, Geraldine James, Stuart Wilson, Christopher Thompson, Orla Brady
  • Release Year: 2000
  • Country: UK/FR
  • Run Time: 108 minutes

Plot

A lush historical drama from Dutch director Marlene Gorris, The Luzhin Defense is set in Como, a gorgeous northern Italian lakeside town located at the foot of the Alps. The year is 1929, and Alexander Luzhin (John Turturro) is a talented Russian chess player travelling to Como by train for the World Chess Championship. Also on his train is Natalia (Emily Watson), who is journeying to Como to meet her mother Vera (Geraldine James) at their posh lakeside hotel. Vera wants Natalia to settle down with the right -- meaning rich -- man, and duly tries to set her up with Jean (Christopher Thompson), a French count. However, Natalia instead sets her sights on Luzhin, who returns her affections, and the two embark on an unusual and unpredictable love affair. Adapted from one of Vladimir Nabokov's lesser-known novels, The Luzhin Defense also features the talents of Mark Tandy and Kelly Hunter as Luzhin's parents -- seen in flashback -- and Orla Brady as his young aunt. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Review

Marlene Gorris' The Luzhin Defence is less about chess than it is about the existence of a person obsessively devoted to a single pursuit. John Turturro gives a great performance as chess great Alexander Luzhin. He looks and acts like a cross between Harpo Marx and Geoffrey Rush's portrayal of David Helfgott in Shine. Unable to walk smoothly, his body seems to be at fighting a losing war with his mind. When he meets Emily Watson's Natalia, his love for her alters the way he moves, a change most memorably presented in a scene where the pair dance ecstatically with each other. This relationship offers him an escape from the obsession that has controlled him most of his life. The performances are all strong, but it is Turturro's show. Romantic, haunted, and quirky, this character is the cerebral equivalent of Nicholas Cage's alcoholic writer in Leaving Las Vegas, a man who glimpses happiness and peace as he speeds towards his sad fate. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Cast

Fabio Sartor - Turati; Peter Blythe - Ilya; Mark Tandy - Luzhin's Father; Kelly Hunter - Luzhin's Mother

Credit

John Hill - Supervising Art Director, Celestia Fox - Casting, Leo Pescarolo - Co-producer, Eric Robison - Co-producer, Tommy Gormley - First Assistant Director, Marleen Gorris - Director, Michael Reichwein - Editor, Jody Patton - Executive Producer, Alexandre Desplat - Composer (Music Score), Tony Burrough - Production Designer, Bernard Lutic - Cinematographer, Stephen Evans - Producer, Louis Becker - Producer, Philippe Guez - Producer, Caroline Wood - Producer, Peter Glossop - Sound/Sound Designer, Craig Irving - Sound/Sound Designer, Peter Berry - Screenwriter, Vladimir Nabokov - Book Author

Similar Movies

Dangerous Moves; Despair; Lolita; Shakhmatnaya Goryachka; Searching for Bobby Fischer; Belyy Sneg Rossii; Grossmeyster
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Album Review: The Luzhin Defence
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  • Artist: Alexandre Desplat
  • Rating: StarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: April 10, 2001
  • Type: Soundtrack
  • Genre: Soundtrack

Review

Director Marleen Gorris' The Luzhin Defence is a tale of illicit and tragic love set against an international chess match played at the Italian Lakes in the late '20s. Thus, composer Alexandre Desplat, conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, had the task of providing musical accompaniment to two kinds of conflict: romantic and intellectual. He does so with a score that alternates between lush sections full of long melodic lines and sharp passages of quickly played, percussive notes. On the one hand, his music is full of feeling; on the other, it seems meant to accompany complicated analysis. On a soundtrack album, that makes for sounds that can be soothing one moment, stimulating the next. Despite the dichotomy, the music is of a piece, except for the intrusion of "Waltz No. 2 From Jazz Suite No. 2" by Dimitri Shostakovich (played by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Paul Bateman), which for some reason appears twice on the album. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
The Luzhin Defence Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (3:05)
Love Theme [From the Luzhin DeFence] Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (2:18)
The Arrival Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (1:26)
Memories of Russia Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (5:22)
Dancing on the Lake Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (2:25)
Alexander and Natalia Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (2:28)
The Dark Side of Chess Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (3:43)
The Red Dress Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (2:53)
Waltz No. 2 from Jazz Suite No.2 City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (3:52)
Leaving Childhood Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (4:44)
Luzhin Dreams Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (3:47)
I Need a Defence Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (3:13)
Natalia's Eyes Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (3:22)
Valentinov Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (1:45)
The Glass King Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (4:18)
Checkmate Alexandre Desplat The London Symphony Orchestra (3:25)
Waltz No. 2 from Jazz Suite No.2 City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (3:53)

Credits

Simon Chamberlain (Piano), Simon Chamberlain (Soloist), Graham Chambers (Music Preparation), Frederic Petit (Cello), John Timperley (Engineer), John Timperley (?), David Walters (Assistant Engineer), Gareth Williams (Mastering), Reynold da Silva (Executive Producer), David Stoner (Release Coordinator), Paul Bateman (Conductor), Colin Parker (Design), Sue Mallett (Orchestra Supervision), Tom Jenkins (Assistant Engineer), James Fitzpatrick (Producer), James Fitzpatrick (Executive Producer), James Fitzpatrick (Editing), James Fitzpatrick (Sequencing), Jan Holzner (Assistant Engineer), John Alley (Piano), Dominique Lemonnier (Violin), Catherine Edwards (Celeste)
 
Wikipedia: The Luzhin Defence
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This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
The Luzhin Defence
Directed by Marleen Gorris
Produced by Caroline Wood
Written by Vladimir Nabokov (novel)
Peter Berry (screenplay)
Starring John Turturro
Emily Watson
Geraldine James
Stuart Wilson
Christopher Thompson
Running time 109 mins
Country  United Kingdom/France
Language English

The Luzhin Defence is a 2000 movie, directed by Dutch director Marleen Gorris. The screenplay was written by Peter Berry and based on the novel The Defense (or The Luzhin Defence) by Vladimir Nabokov. Nabokov in turn drew upon the events in the life of his friend Curt von Bardeleben who committed suicide in 1924. The movie stars John Turturro as the tormented Luzhin; Emily Watson plays the love interest, Natalia. Watson received best actress nominations at the British Independent Film Awards and the London Film Critics Circle Awards.

The finale

Turati - Luzhin
Image:chess zhor 22.png
Image:chess zver 22.png a8 b8 c8 d8 e8 f8 kd g8 h8 Image:chess zver 22.png
a7 b7 c7 d7 e7 f7 pd g7 h7 pd
a6 pd b6 c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 pd h6
a5 b5 c5 bd d5 e5 f5 g5 h5
a4 pl b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 pl g4 h4
a3 b3 pl c3 nl d3 e3 rd f3 kl g3 h3
a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 bl f2 g2 pl h2 pl
a1 b1 c1 rl d1 e1 f1 g1 h1
Image:chess zhor 22.png
White to move

The chess position they play for the final between Turati and Luzhin is already a winning position for Black (Luzhin), even though Black is down on material. By playing 1. Kg4? (as opposed to 1. Kf2) White walks into a forced checkmate with a rook sacrifice:

  • 1. Kg4? f5+
  • 2. Kg5 Kg7
  • 3. Nd5 Rh3!
  • 4. gxh3 h6+
  • 5. Kh4 Bf2#

If White plays 1. Kf2 instead of 1. Kg4 this leads to a heavy material loss for White and an easy game for Black:

  • 1. Kf2 Rxc3+
  • 2. Ke1 Rxc1+
  • 3. Kd2 Rg1
  • 4. Bxa6 Rxg2+
  • 5. Kc3 Rxh2

and Black is up by a rook.

In the film Luzhin's final moves were made by the fiancee. The tournament had been paused after Luzhin had a breakdown. He had written down his last moves on a piece of paper.

Chess error

Unfortunately, the film is slightly marred in chess terms by Luzhin's previous game where he is shown checkmating with an illegal move (see rules of chess). As White, Luzhin plays an apparently brilliant combination culminating in a queen sacrifice followed by Rd1-d8+.

Luzhin - Unknown
Image:chess zhor 22.png
Image:chess zver 22.png a8 b8 c8 d8 e8 rl f8 g8 kd h8 Image:chess zver 22.png
a7 b7 c7 d7 e7 f7 pd g7 bd h7
a6 b6 pd c6 d6 nl e6 f6 g6 h6 pd
a5 pd b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 g5 pd h5
a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 qd g4 h4
a3 ql b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 g3 h3 pl
a2 pl b2 pl c2 d2 e2 f2 g2 h2
a1 b1 c1 rd d1 rl e1 f1 g1 h1 kl
Image:chess zhor 22.png
Black to move

However, it is not hard to spot that White's rook on the d1 square is pinned against his king in the corner at h1 by black's rook on c1, so the checkmate is unplayable. He is nevertheless shown playing the illegal move to wild applause from the audience.

Luzhin has just played his rook to e8 (check) although it is not clear if this was a capture or not. Play continues:

  • 1. ... Bf8
  • 2. Rxf8+ Kxf8
  • 3. Nf5+ Kg8
  • 4. Qf8+ Kxf8
  • 5. Rd8+

But of course White's last move is illegal.

External links

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Copyrights:

Movies. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Luzhin Defence" Read more