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• Plot Description
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Release Date
• USA: Apr 27, 2001
• UK: 21 Aug 2000
DVD Release Date
• R1: Sep 18, 2001
Official Website:
The Luzhin Defence Website
MPAA Rating
Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and thematic elements.
Running Time
1 hour, 52 minutes
Country UK, France
Studio Clear Blue Sky Films, Entertainment Film Distributors, ICE 3, Renaissance Films
More info on IMDb.com
Other Titles
• The Luzhin Defence
• The Luzhin Defense (2001)
• Luzhins Verteidigung (2000)
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Genre: Romance, Drama, School / Campus, Doctor, Period Piece, Psychodrama, Love
Plot: Based on the novel THE DEFENSE by Vladimir Nabokov, director Marleen Gorris's THE LUZHIN DEFENCE is set in Italy in the 1920s as the world reknowned chess master Alexander Luzhin (John Turturro) from St. Petersburg, Russia, arrives for a match with his only known rival. Almost immediately after he arrives, Luzhin meets a glowing, graceful aristocratic woman, Natalia (Emily Watson), who is attending the match with her mother. Surrounded by potential suitors, Natalia is busy behaving like a lady and presenting various young men to her mother for approval. However, she is curious about the slovenly, unconventional, quirky Luzhin from their first meeting, and she sees past his social ineptitude, believing him to be a true genius. Luzhin is utterly smitten, and practically forgets his determination to win the match when he proposes marriage to Natalia. From there, THE LUZHIN DEFENCE spirals downward as Natalia becomes a maternal figure to Luzhin, who is haunted by ghosts from his past and is nearly driven insane by the nagging, torturous pressure to figure out the one move (a flawless defense) that will allow him to win the chess match.With beautiful imagery depicting the lavish Italian resort where the match is held, elegant costumes, and a triumphant, stirring classical score,
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| Cast |
John Turturro
The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Secret Window |
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 | Stuart Wilson
Enemy of the State, The Mask of Zorro, Lethal Weapon 3 |
 | | | Fabio Sartor
The Passion of the Christ, The Belly of an Architect, Not of This World | | |
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