The Chess Players

The Chess Players

Satyajit Ray's First Hindi feature Film

1977 · 129 min · ★ 7.0 · Drama

In the year 1856, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah is the King of Awadh, one of the last independent kingdoms of India. The British intend to control this rich land and send General Outram to clear way for an annexation. Pressure is mounting amidst intrigue and political maneuvers, but the Nawab whiles away his time in pursuit of pleasure and religious practice. The court is of no help either — noblemen Mir and Mirza ignore all duties and spend their days playing endless games of chess.

Directed by Satyajit Ray · Written by Satyajit Ray

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

4h 7m together

The Chess Players

The Hero

Both from Satyajit Ray.

More from Satyajit RaySee all →

The World of ApuThe World of Apu · 1959
The World of Apu
8.11959
MovieDrama
Apu, now a jobless ex-student dreaming vaguely of a future as a writer, is invited to join an old college friend on a trip up-country to a village wedding.
Double FeludaDouble Feluda · 2016
Double Feluda
8.02016
MovieMysteryCrime
The movie consists of two Feluda stories by Satyajit Ray, Samaddar-er-Chabi and Golokdham Rahashya, shown on either half of the film. It was a tribute to the 50-year anniversary of Feluda and a sequel to Royal Bengal Rahashya (2011).
The HeroThe Hero · 1966
The Hero
8.01966
MovieDrama
Arindam, a matinee idol, is going by train to collect an acting award. On the train, he is confronted by Aditi, a journalist who somewhat unwillingly starts to take his interview. Arindam, won over by Aditi's naivete, starts to disclose his past, his fears and his secrets.
AparajitoAparajito · 1956
Aparajito
7.81956
MovieDrama
Apu and his family have moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Benares. As he progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, eventually studying in Kolkata, we witness his academic and moral education, as well as the growing complexity of his relationship with his mother.
The Big CityThe Big City · 1963
The Big City
7.81963
MovieDrama
Arati takes a job as a door-to-door saleswoman in Calcutta's wealthy neighbourhoods, in defiance of her traditionally-minded husband, Subrata, and his live-in parents. Emulating her Anglo-Indian friend Edith, who speaks equal to the men she encounters on the job, Arati quickly becomes her firm's top salesperson. When Subrata loses his job, the power dynamic begins to shift.
Pather PanchaliPather Panchali · 1955
Pather Panchali
7.81955
MovieDramaHistory
Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. Alone, his wife, Sarbojaya, looks after her rebellious daughter, Durga, and her young son, Apu, as well as Harihar's elderly aunt Indir. The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life, while their parents suffer the daily indignities heaped upon them.
TwoTwo · 1965
Two
7.61965
MovieDramaFamily
This short film shows an encounter, through a series of games, between a street child from the shantytowns and a child of a rich family, stationed at his window. The film has no dialogue and the action moves through the attempts at one-upmanship evident in their successive display of their toys. Their rivalry (a kite shot down by a toy rifle, for example) concludes with the opposition between the world of noise (the toys inside the house) and that of music (the street child's flute). Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2006.
Jigarthanda DoubleXJigarthanda DoubleX · 2023
Jigarthanda DoubleX
7.62023
MovieActionDrama
A notorious gangster is incited to transform into a film hero and opts for a filmmaker and their project descends into a scenario they had never anticipated.
Three DaughtersThree Daughters · 1961
Three Daughters
7.61961
MovieComedyDrama
Three stories with three central female characters linking the stories together. The first one concerns an orphan girl who grows attached to the postmaster she is caring for after he teaches her to read and write. The second one is a supernatural tale about a woman obsessed with the jewels her husband buys for her. The final one follows a young man who falls for an unconventional girl from his new village instead of his arranged bride, the daughter of a respectable family.
Goopy Gyne Bagha ByneGoopy Gyne Bagha Byne · 1969
Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne
7.61969
MovieComedyMusic
Goopy Gyne and Bagha Byne are banished from their respective villages for being bad musicians. However, with their skills, they succeed in pleasing the king of ghosts who grants them three boons. How will they succeed in preventing the war between Halla and Shundi which is looming large?
The Music RoomThe Music Room · 1958
The Music Room
7.51958
MovieDramaMusic
An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices his wealth in order to compete with the opulent music room of his younger, richer neighbour.
DeviDevi · 1960
Devi
7.51960
MovieDrama
A devout upper-class Hindu has a vision in a dream that his daughter-in-law is the human incarnation of the Goddess Kali and begins worshipping her.
CharulataCharulata · 1964
Charulata
7.51964
MovieDramaRomance
In 1870s India, Charulata is an isolated, artistically inclined woman who sees little of her busy journalist husband, Bhupati. Realizing that his wife is alienated and unhappy, he convinces his cousin, Amal, to spend time with Charulata and nourish her creative impulses. Amal is a fledgling poet himself, and he and Charulata bond over their shared love of art.
The AdversaryThe Adversary · 1970
The Adversary
7.31970
MovieDrama
Siddhartho Chowdhury, a brilliant young medical student, is forced to leave his studies after his father's sudden demise. He is forced to navigate the high unemployment rate and the communist socio-political climate of 1960s Calcutta in search of a job.
An Enemy of the PeopleAn Enemy of the People · 1990
An Enemy of the People
7.21990
MovieDrama
Ashoke Gupta is an idealistic doctor working in a town near Calcutta. He discovers that the water at a popular temple is the source of an outbreak of typhoid and hepatitis. In order to save lives, he risks his career to try and call attention to this polluted water source, while a local group of building contractors attempt to discredit him in various ways.
The RiverThe River · 1951
The River
7.21951
MovieDramaRomance
Director Jean Renoir’s entrancing first color feature—shot entirely on location in India—is a visual tour de force. Based on the novel by Rumer Godden, the film eloquently contrasts the growing pains of three young women with the immutability of the Bengal river around which their daily lives unfold. Enriched by Renoir’s subtle understanding and appreciation for India and its people, The River gracefully explores the fragile connections between transitory emotions and everlasting creation.

More Like This

The Music RoomThe Music Room · 1958
The Music Room
7.51958
MovieDramaMusic
An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices his wealth in order to compete with the opulent music room of his younger, richer neighbour.
Moulin Rouge!Moulin Rouge! · 2001
Moulin Rouge!
7.52001
MovieDramaRomance
A celebration of love and creative inspiration takes place in the infamous, gaudy and glamorous Parisian nightclub, at the cusp of the 20th century. A young poet, who is plunged into the heady world of Moulin Rouge, begins a passionate affair with the club's most notorious and beautiful star.
Shanghai ExpressShanghai Express · 1932
Shanghai Express
7.01932
MovieDramaRomance
A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey.
The World of ApuThe World of Apu · 1959
The World of Apu
8.11959
MovieDrama
Apu, now a jobless ex-student dreaming vaguely of a future as a writer, is invited to join an old college friend on a trip up-country to a village wedding.
AparajitoAparajito · 1956
Aparajito
7.81956
MovieDrama
Apu and his family have moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Benares. As he progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, eventually studying in Kolkata, we witness his academic and moral education, as well as the growing complexity of his relationship with his mother.
Bicentennial ManBicentennial Man · 1999
Bicentennial Man
7.31999
MovieDramaRomance
Richard Martin buys a gift, a new NDR-114 robot. The product is named Andrew by the youngest of the family's children. "Bicentennial Man" follows the life and times of Andrew, a robot purchased as a household appliance programmed to perform menial tasks. As Andrew begins to experience emotions and creative thought, the Martin family soon discovers they don't have an ordinary robot.
Gauguin: Voyage to TahitiGauguin: Voyage to Tahiti · 2017
Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti
5.62017
MovieDramaRomance
In 1891, the French painter Paul Gauguin leaves Paris and travels to Tahiti to renew his art as a free man, far from the European artistic conventionalism. On his journey of discovery, he faces solitude and disease, but he also knows the beauty of wild nature and the love of Tehura, a young native girl who becomes his wife and model.
Madame BovaryMadame Bovary · 1991
Madame Bovary
6.21991
MovieDrama
In 19th-century France, doctor's wife Emma Bovary seeks to escape her dull provincial life through various extramarital affairs and extravagant spending, leading to tragic consequences.
Two LoversTwo Lovers · 2008
Two Lovers
6.92008
MovieDramaRomance
A depressed man moves back in with his parents following a recent heartbreak and finds himself with two women.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter