Project Detail

The Luzhin Defence

Synopsis

Set in the late 1920s, The Luzhin Defence tells the story of a shambling unworldly chess Grand Master (John Turturro) who arrives in the Italian lakes to play the match of his life and unexpectedly finds the love of his life.

Discovering his prodigious talent in a boyhood overshadowed by his parents' failing marriage, Luzhin's lyrical passion for chess has become his refuge and rendered the real world a phantom.

Already matched up by her family to the very suitable Comte de Stassard, when Natalia (Emily Watson) meets Luzhin she is drawn to the erratic genius and offers him a glimpse outside of his chess obsession. But it is a world he is not equipped to deal with, and his two worlds collide to tragic effect.

Details

Year
2001
Type of project
Features
Format
35mm
Director
Marleen Gorris
Producer
Jody Patton
Executive Producer
Jody Patton
Editor
Michael Reichwein
Screenwriter
Peter Berry
Director of Photography
Bernard Lutic
Sound
Peter Glossop
Composer
Alexandre Desplat
Principal cast
John Turturro, Emily Watson, Geraldine James, Stuart Wilson, Christopher Thompson, Fabio Sartor

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Renaissance Films

Contact: Stephen Evans
34-35 Berwick Street
London W1F 8RP
UK

T +44 020 7287 5190

Sales Company

Renaissance Films

Contact: Bill Stephens
34-35 Berwick Street
London W1F 8RP
UK

T +44 020 7487 5122

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