Computer Chess (2013)
73%RT Audience Score: 53%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 8 nominations
With its delightfully retro production design, Computer Chess is an inventive, intelligent, and humorous comedy that celebrates the eccentricity and uniqueness of its subject
Computer Chess is like a quirky, indie version of The Big Bang Theory, but with more heart and less laugh track. It’s a hilarious and thought-provoking exploration of the relationship between humans and technology, with a cast of lovable nerds that you can’t help but root for. Whether you’re a computer whiz or a Luddite, this movie will make you laugh, cringe, and maybe even question the nature of reality itself. Checkmate, Hollywood!
Production Company(ies)
HBO Documentary Hit The Ground Running Films, Notorious Pictures,
Distributor
Kino Lorber
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Austin, Texas, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2013
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.33 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 31m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 17, 2013 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 5, 2013
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
Comedy, chess, computer, retro, tournament, young, geniuses, program, beat, human, player, Andrew Bujalski, directed by, Morgan Coy, Scott Colquitt, Andrew Finnigan, Brooke Finnigan, produced by, written by, $100.6K, box office, Kino Lorber, MPAA rating, Myles Paige, Papageorge, James Curry, Carbray, Robin Schwartz, Shelly, Gerald Peary, Henderson, Wiley Wiggins, Beuscher, Patrick Riester, Bishton, starring, reviewed by, critic reviews, audience score, genre, English, limited release, streaming, rent/buy, viewed, Tomatometer, ratings, audience reviews, horror movies, MCU movies, Netflix series, TV shows, news, careers
Worldwide gross: $127,852
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $162,417
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,964
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 17,712
US/Canada gross: $102,041
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $129,628
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,622
US/Canada opening weekend: $9,683
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $12,301
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,662
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
James Curry – Carbray
Robin Schwartz – Shelly
Gerald Peary – Henderson
Wiley Wiggins – Beuscher
Patrick Riester – Bishton
Director(s)
Andrew Bujalski
Writer(s)
Andrew Bujalski
Producer(s)
Morgan Coy, Scott Colquitt, Andrew Finnigan, Brooke Finnigan
Film Festivals
Sundance, Berlin, South by Southwest
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 8 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (83) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (73) | Rotten (10)
Andrew Bujalski’s Computer Chess is bracingly idiosyncratic-and close to perfect.
August 28, 2019
Amy Taubin
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
A double or maybe a triple nerd-fest, influential independent Andrew Bujalski’s typically deadpan Computer Chess is a small movie with a comic novel premise and a near cosmic theme.
February 22, 2019
J. Hoberman
ARTINFO.com
TOP CRITIC
Think vintage found footage meets wilfully anachronistic dot matrix art. And then think way, way outside the box.
November 27, 2013 | Rating: 5/5
Tara Brady
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
Odd, but in a good(ish) way.
November 24, 2013 | Rating: 3/5
Mark Kermode
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The code for the future has already been written – and as Bujalski seeks to discover who we are and where we come from (not just as wired-in 21st-century users but as human beings), it’s checkmate in 12 hilariously unorthodox moves.
November 22, 2013
Anton Bitel
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Like early Cronenberg, but funnier and sweeter, Computer Chess brings a dysfunctional, pioneering community to life. Bujalski must do a sequel.
November 22, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Charlotte O’Sullivan
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Computer Chess‘ deep-ecology tech comedy is completely under control, never sacrificing an innate, lovely weirdness. [It] looks like it wasn’t even made, that it just happened, and sat, shedding magnetic flakes on a closet shelf for decades.
June 4, 2022 | Rating: 10/10
Ray Pride
Newcity
While relations between actors are delightful, what Bujalski does to link man and computer is clever and singular — slyly masterful.
January 31, 2020
Jeremy Polacek
Hyperallergic
Surprisingly provocative and delightfully maddening.
August 22, 2019
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
Consistently funny throughout, fans of squirm-inducing humour will find much to enjoy as will those keen on a more absurdist qualities.
March 6, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Ben Nicholson
CineVue
If you want to know how Skynet might really have been born, you need to watch Computer Chess. And if you just want to hang out with some groovy nerds who are debating the Singularity, you can come for that too.
May 23, 2018
Annalee Newitz
io9.com
[Director Andrew] Bujalski makes fine use of an ensemble cast and achieves a sense of drift reminiscent of Robert Altman’s films.
February 21, 2018
Steve Erickson
Gay City News…
Plot
Set over the course of a weekend tournament for chess software programmers thirty-some years ago, Computer Chess transports viewers to a nostalgic moment when the contest between technology and the human spirit seemed a little more up for grabs. We get to know the eccentric geniuses possessed of the vision to teach a metal box to defeat man, literally, at his own game, laying the groundwork for artificial intelligence as we know it and will come to know it in the future.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny comments were found in the Fresh Kernels review for Computer Chess.
Andrew-Bujalski.jpg
