''Dangerous Moves'' (french: La Diagonale du fou) is a 1984 French-language film about

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

, directed by

Richard Dembo Richard Dembo (24 May 1948 – 11 November 2004) was a French director and screenwriter. Dembo achieved worldwide recognition with his first film: ''La diagonale du fou'', which received an Oscar in 1984 for best foreign film, as well as ot ...

, produced by

Arthur Cohn Arthur Cohn (born February 4, 1927) is a film producer and a multiple Academy Award winner. Biography Cohn was born to a Jewish family, the son of Marcus Cohn, a lawyer and leader of the Swiss Zionist movement who moved to Israel in 1949 where h ...

, starring

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

, Alexandre Arbatt, as well as

Liv Ullmann Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and film director. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses of all time, Ullmann is known as the muse and frequent partner of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She acted in m ...

, Leslie Caron, and Bernhard Wicki in prominent supporting roles. Its original French title is ''La diagonale du fou'' ("The Fool's Diagonal", referring to the

chess piece A chess piece, or chessman, is a game piece that is placed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. It can be either White and Black in chess, white or black, and it can be one of six types: King (chess), king, Queen (chess), queen, Rook (chess ...

called the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in English but the

fool Fool, The Fool, or Fools may refer to: *A jester, also called a ''fool'', a type of historical entertainer known for their witty jokes *An insult referring to someone of low intelligence or easy gullibility Arts, entertainment and media Fictio ...

in French). The film was a co-production between companies in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It tells the story of two very different men competing in the final match of the World Chess Championship. One is a 52-year-old Soviet Jew who holds the title, and the other is a 35-year-old genius who defected to the West several years earlier.

Cast

as Akiva Liebskind * Alexandre Arbatt as Pavius Fromm *

as Marina Fromm * Leslie Caron as Henia Liebskind * Wojciech Pszoniak as Felton, Fromm's team *

Jean-Hugues Anglade Jean-Hugues Anglade (born 29 July 1955) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, known for his roles as Eric in ''Killing Zoe'', Zorg in ''Betty Blue'' and Marco, the boyfriend of Nikita in ''Nikita''. Personal life Anglade was born i ...

as Miller, Fromm's team * Daniel Olbrychski as Tac-Tac, Liebskind's friend *

Hubert Saint-Macary Hubert Saint-Macary (born 18 May 1949) is a French actor. He is the brother of Xavier Saint-Macary. Selected filmography * ''Un étrange voyage'' (1981) - L'examinateur * ''Stella'' (1983) - Lomy * ''Debout les crabes, la mer monte!'' (1983) - ...

as Foldes * Michel Aumont as Kerossian, Liebskind's friend *

Pierre Michaël Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

as Yachvili * Serge Avedikian as Fadenko *

Pierre Vial Pierre Vial (born 25 December 1942) is an academic medievalist tied to the Jean Moulin University Lyon 3. A Nouvelle Droite leader, he is the founder of the Identitarian association Terre et Peuple. Biography Pierre Vial was born on 25 Decembe ...

as Anton Heller * Bernhard Wicki as Puhl, arbiter *

Jacques Boudet Jacques Boudet (born 29 December 1939) is a French stage and screen actor. He had great success in the 1980s with his appearance in '' Exercises in Style'', and is featured in the film ''The Names of Love'' (2010). In cinema, he frequently ap ...

as Stuffli *

Benoît Régent Benoît Régent (19 August 1953 – 22 October 1994) was a French actor. He was born in Nantes. He died at the age of 41 of a ruptured aneurysm in Zürich, Switzerland. Partial filmography *'' Femme intégrale'' (1980) - Jacques *'' La ...

as Barabal

Awards

The film won the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

in 1984; it was submitted by the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

government, and gave that nation its first Oscar win. It also won the

Louis Delluc Prize The Louis Delluc Prize (french: Prix Louis-Delluc ) is a French film award presented annually since 1937. The award is bestowed to the Best Film and Best First Film of the year on the second week of each December. The jury is composed of 20 members, ...

, the

Prix de l'Académie du Cinéma Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who als ...

and the

César Award for Best Debut Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * C ...

Soundtrack

The CD soundtrack composed by Gabriel Yared is available on Music Box Records label
website
.

References

External links

* 1984 films French thriller drama films Swiss thriller drama films 1980s French-language films Films about chess Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners Chess in France 1984 in chess Cold War films Films scored by Gabriel Yared Gaumont Film Company films Louis Delluc Prize winners Best First Feature Film César Award winners 1984 directorial debut films French-language Swiss films 1980s French films {{Switzerland-film-stub

Cast

Awards

Soundtrack

See also

References

External links