Magnus (2016 film)

Summary

Magnus is a 2016 documentary film[1][2][3] by Benjamin Ree about the early life of Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen, him becoming a Grandmaster at age 13[4] and winning the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2013.[5] The film premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2016,[6] and was sold to 64 countries.[7]

Magnus
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBenjamin Ree
Written byLinn-Jeanethe Kyed
Benjamin Ree
Produced bySigurd Mikal Karoliussen
StarringMagnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Garry Kasparov
Henrik Albert Carlsen
CinematographyMagnus Flåto
Benjamin Ree
Edited byMartin Stoltz
Perry Eriksen
Music byUno Helmersson
Distributed byNordisk Film Distribution
Release dates
  • January 11, 2016 (2016-01-11) (Les Arcs International Film Festival)
  • November 18, 2016 (2016-11-18) (United States)
Running time
78 minutes
CountryNorway
LanguagesNorwegian
English
Budget7 million (NOK)

Premiere edit

Magnus premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2016.[8] and became the first Norwegian feature documentary to have its world premiere at the festival.[9] Magnus Carlsen did not attend the premiere of the film, but his family was present.[10] The film became the fastest sold out film at the festival that year,[11] and the artistic director at Tribeca Film Festival Frederic Boyer said the film was one of his favorites that year.[12]

Critical reception edit

Magnus received mostly positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 81% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 21 reviews, with a weighted average of 6.2/10.[13] BBC put the film on its top 10 list, November 2016, as the only documentary on the list, calling the film: "an intimate look Carlsen’s extraordinary life through archive footage, home movies and interviews."[14] Later BBC published a behind the scenes featurette about the film, showing a clip of Magnus Carlsen playing blindfolded chess against 10 lawyers at Harvard University, beating them all.[15]

Notable awards edit

  • Global Future Prize – Oulu International Children’s and Youth Film Festival.[16]
  • The Ray of Sunshine – The NorwegianFilm Festival.[17]
  • Audience Award – Docville [18]

References edit

  1. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (18 November 2016). "Film Review: 'Magnus'".
  2. ^ "Magnus review: a gloriously fun ode to the 'Mozart of Chess'". The Irish Times.
  3. ^ Rechtshaffen, Michael (24 November 2016). "'Magnus' checks out the pressures and loneliness of a chess grandmaster". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ Olav Lahlum, Hans (30 April 2004). "Magnificent Magnus, the world's youngest grandmaster". ChessBase. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  5. ^ Weisenthal, Joe (22 November 2013). "22-YEAR-OLD MAGNUS CARLSEN WINS WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP — And Chess Enters A Whole New Era". Business Insider. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Magnus | 2016 Tribeca Festival".
  7. ^ "the-painter-and-the-thief". www.sundance.org. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Magnus | 2016 Tribeca Festival".
  9. ^ "Carlsen-film tatt ut til de Niro-festival". 8 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Verdenspremiere på kinodokumentaren om Magnus Carlsen i New York i natt: Magnus Carlsen forteller om egne "demoner" i ny film". 14 April 2016.
  11. ^ "Søsteren om "Magnus"-filmen: – Holdt på å felle en tåre flere ganger". 15 April 2016.
  12. ^ "Eye for Film: A conversation with Frédéric Boyer about the Tribeca Film Festival".
  13. ^ "Magnus". Rotten Tomatoes.
  14. ^ "Ten films to watch in November".
  15. ^ "BBC Arts - BBC Arts, Magnus: The boy who conquered the chess world". 25 November 2016.
  16. ^ https://www.oulunelokuvakeskus.fi/assets/site/files/LIITETIEDOSTOT/LEF/Winners-2016.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  17. ^ "Norwegian Fest Honors Pernilla August as Doc 'Magnus' Takes Top Prize". 26 August 2016.
  18. ^ "Magnus - IMDb". IMDb.

External links edit

  • Magnus at IMDb  
  • Magnus on Rotten Tomatoes
  • BBC Featurette