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Austin Film Society

Computer Chess

1h 31m

Directed by Andrew Bujalski • 2013 • United States
Starring Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry

Set over the course of a weekend tournament for chess-software programmers forty-some years ago, COMPUTER CHESS transports viewers to a nostalgic moment when the contest between technology and the human spirit seemed a little more up for grabs. We get to know the eccentric geniuses possessed of the vision to teach a metal box to defeat humans at their own game, laying the groundwork for artificial intelligence as we know it. Shot on analog video that evokes the retro aura of the early 1980s, Andrew Bujalski’s brilliantly idiosyncratic comedy balances its nerdy pleasures with a probing reflection on the moral and philosophical implications of rapid technological advancement in the computer age.

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