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Adapted from the Vladimir Nabokov novel, “The Luzhin Defence” tells the story of Luzhin, a chess grandmaster who arrives at a lakeside resort in Como, Italy, to partake in the World Championship Tournament. Luzhin is an idiot savant whose obsession with chess has cost him the ability to function in society. Exploited by his teacher during his adolescent years, Luzhin has become introverted and prone to outbursts of indecipherable nonsense until he meets Natalia, a society beauty who is also staying at the resort. She resolves to offer him a world outside that of chess, but it is a world that Luzhin is not equipped to deal with. Cast includes: John Turturro, Emily Watson, Geraldine James, Stuart Wilson, and Chris Thompson.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
315586
Language
English
Audience classification
PG
Subject categories
Feature films → Feature films - France
Feature films → Feature films - Great Britain
Hobbies, Recreation & Sport → Chess
Literature → Russian literature - Film and video adaptations
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)