 searching for bobby fischer, released in the united kingdom as innocent moves, is a 1993 american drama film written and directed by steven zaillian. the film was his directorial debut, and stars max pomeranc, joe mantegna, joan allen, ben kingsley and laurence fishburne. it is based on the life of prodigy chess player joshua waitzkin, played by pomeranc, and adapted from the book of the same name by joshua's father fred. ==synopsis== josh waitzkin's family discovers that he possesses a gift for chess and they seek to nurture it. they hire a strict instructor, bruce pandolfini (played by ben kingsley) who aims to teach the boy to be as aggressive as chess legend bobby fischer. the title of the film is a metaphor about the character's quest to adopt the ideal of fischer and his determination to win at any price. josh is also heavily influenced by vinnie, a speed chess hustler (laurence fishburne) whom he met in washington square park. the two coaches differ greatly in their approaches to chess, and pandolfini is upset that josh continues to adopt the methods of vinnie. the main conflict in the film arises when josh refuses to accept fischer's misanthropic frame of reference. josh then goes on to win on his own terms. ==cast== * max pomeranc as josh waitzkin * joe mantegna as fred waitzkin * joan allen as bonnie waitzkin * ben kingsley as bruce pandolfini * laurence fishburne as vinnie * michael nirenberg as jonathan poe * robert stephens as poe's teacher * david paymer as kalev * hal scardino as morgan pehme * vasek simek as "the man who beat tal" * william h. macy as tunafish father * dan hedaya as tournament director * laura linney as josh's school teacher some famous chess players have brief cameos in the film: anjelina belakovskaia, joel benjamin, roman dzindzichashvili, kamran shirazi, along with the real joshua waitzkin, bruce pandolfini, and vincent livermore. chess master asa hoffmann is played by [[austin pendl
1990s_biographical_films 1990s_drama_films 1993_films 1993_in_chess American_biographical_films American_drama_films Directorial_debut_films English-language_films Film_scores_by_James_Horner Films_about_chess Films_shot_in_Toronto Paramount_Pictures_films Screenplays_by_Steven_Zaillian