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Spellbound
ThinkFilm Inc.

Spellbound reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 80 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.2 out of 10
based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 17 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: G for General Audiences

Starring Harry Altman, Angela Arenivar, Ted Brigham, April DeGideo, Neil Kadakia, Nupur Lala, Emily Stagg, Ashley White, and Alex Cameron

This documentary presents the intense, true-life experience of the National Spelling Bee as seen through the eyes of eight driven, young spellers. (ThinkFilm)


GENRE(S): Documentary  
DIRECTED BY: Jeffrey Blitz  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: January 20, 2004 
Video: January 20, 2004 
Theatrical: April 30, 2003 
RUNNING TIME: 97 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

Nominated, Best Documentary Feature, 75th Annual Academy Awards; Winner, Best Documentary Feature, 2002 Woodstock Film Festival

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Premiere Brooke Hauser
While it may be excruciating to watch a speller miss a word by a letter, it's just as exciting to watch another kid jump the hurdle.
Read Full Review
100
San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer
Resembles a Christopher Guest movie in that it follows obsessed, socially awkward folks on a seminal journey in their lives.
Read Full Review
100
Boston Globe Ty Burr
At its most unsettling level, Spellbound asks us to consider what words are for and what childhood should be. It's as profound as anything you'll see this year, and, yes, it should have won the Oscar.
Read Full Review
91
Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
The end result is the best documentary you'll see this year, as thrilling a competition as any Super Bowl and as suspenseful a story as any Hitchcock film.
Read Full Review
91
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Thrilling little epic set in the bewildering arena of the English language.
Read Full Review
91
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Not only is it an enormously entertaining study of a curiously American institution, it also manages to be a nail-biting competition film, an engrossing group character study and a wonderfully graceful comedy of manners.
Read Full Review
90
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
At a time when so many in this country are at odds about what represents America at its best, it's refreshing and then some to see a film that everyone can agree is an example of exactly that.
Read Full Review
90
The New York Times Dana Stevens
Enough drama, humor and unfiltered nail-biting suspense to put all the thrill-mongering screenwriters in Hollywood to shame.
Read Full Review
90
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Just might be the most action-packed suspense thriller of the summer.
Read Full Review
90
Slate David Edelstein
The movie becomes a nail-biter, the audience hanging on every letter. Who could have anticipated that a spelling competition would yield such a heartbreaking thriller?
Read Full Review
89
Austin Chronicle Sarah Hepola
As good, old-fashioned dorkfests go, it doesn't get much better than the National Spelling Bee, with its arcane words, bespectacled competitors, and stinging little bell.
Read Full Review
88
Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
Boasts all of the drama and suspense of any reality TV show, but it actually stars smart people. And they're kids.
Read Full Review
88
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
The terrific Spellbound really isn't about the ability to tear words apart letter by letter. It's about nerve-wracking competitiveness.
Read Full Review
88
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
I love this movie, and I love the pride, spirit and sportsmanship of the kids who represent the best of American pluck and luck.
Read Full Review
88
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
By the time they're onstage, your pulse is pounding right along with theirs. Spell this movie: g-r-e-a-t.
Read Full Review
80
Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson
Consider it an athletic contest of the mind--ESPN does, as the sports network regularly televises the finals.
Read Full Review
80
Chicago Reader Ted Shen
Blitz shows us these kids in all their quirkiness and dorkiness, letting them do much of the talking as he records them and their families at home.
Read Full Review
80
Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
Could hardly be more suspenseful if it were scripted.
Read Full Review
80
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
For the committed word nerd, spelling has its intrinsic pleasures, but in Spellbound it's another example of the peculiarly American mania for turning everything -- even play --into work.
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80
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
Blitz captures the intensity of the bee itself, showing how it frazzles the nerves of even the most well-prepared spellers as, one by one, their colleagues and competitors drop away.
Read Full Review
80
Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
More to the point of this marvelous film, who knew there were kids as heroic, in their various ways, as these valiant super-spellers?
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
Loses its momentum just when you'd expect the suspense to mount -- at the competition itself.
Read Full Review
75
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
As we watch them drilling with flashcards and worksheets, we hope they will win, but we're not sure what good it will do them.
Read Full Review
75
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
One of the many pleasures in Spellbound is watching the reactions of these young brainiacs, all under the age of 14, as they first hear the word they are being asked to spell (''Is that even a word?'' seems to be a common thought passing through their heads.)
Read Full Review
70
The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Can't help but be deeply engrossing, as it taps into a highly charged atmosphere that one parent dubs "a different form of child abuse."
Read Full Review
70
Film Threat Merle Bertrand
Draws an unspoken parallel with, of all things, beauty pageants, complete with unnaturally driven kids and nervously supportive parents desperately trying not to appear too pushy.
Read Full Review
70
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
An enthralling, suspenseful documentary about spelling bees.
Read Full Review
70
Village Voice Ed Park
In their randomness, the bee words take on an oracular quality--shades of kabbalistic gematria, or the "Sortes Vergilanae," the supernatural attributed to symbols on paper.
Read Full Review
70
New York Magazine Peter Rainer
Entertaining documentary.
Read Full Review
63
New York Daily News Jami Bernard
This could be a documentary about reading the body language of childhood.
Read Full Review
63
USA Today Claudia Puig
Casts a potent spell.
Read Full Review
63
ReelViews James Berardinelli
Despite rave reviews, film festival awards, and an Oscar nomination, Spellbound comes across as little more than a marginally compelling documentary -– the kind of movie that would be at home on PBS.
Read Full Review
60
Variety Ronnie Scheib
Docu dispassionately examines this strange phenomenon of anachronistic Americana, created as a newspaper promotion in 1925.
Read Full Review
50
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Many of the kids seem to be social outcasts of one kind or another, but Spellbound, which will show on cable later this year, doesn't dig deep enough to disturb the movie's relentless feel-good tone.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Christopher J. gave it a7:
A documentary that exposes the lifestyles of the nerdy and almost-famous spelling bee contest. The kids are fascinating and the parents are what you'd expect them to be: strange.

Kevin E. gave it a7:
I expected a bit more based on the high praise of the reviews when it was released. A closer look at what shared geek-ology unites these children (and their parents) would have added interest. In the end, it was a mildly engaging, straight-forward documentary, nothing really new.

Marc K. gave it an 8:
Very good, but not great. I was particularly taken by the tall girl from New Mexico who's parents only spoke Spanish. Since I saw it on DVD, I wish we had had an explanation of the decision-making process as to why the three contestants who were left out of the movie were left out, as opposed to the ones who stayed in. I thought 2 of the 3 who were omitted actually would have been more compelling than the boy who lived on the farm and shot archery with his brother. And, while it is not politically correct to say, some of the kids shown in that spelling bee were incredible geeks!

Patrick gave it an 8:
Infectiously full of life and drama. The Documentarians at the heart of this film capture a seemingly boring topic in such a way that it feels more like another Christopher Guest romp than a true story. But that's just the fun, as we are shown the personalities of 8 Spelling Bee hopefuls and led into their borderline pathological worlds.

Dave the Wave gave it a 9:
A terrific little movie. I'm amazed that a film about the National Spelling Bee could grip me for 97 minutes. It's definitely worth seeing.

Michelle P. II gave it a 4:
In response to John H.- yes, I did get it. I understood the story, purpose, etc. No, I am not a Star Wars fan. By the way, liking movies is a matter of opinion. I said I wanted to like this film, and scaring me into liking it is just plain idiotic. I am not a fan of documentaries which may be the reason I didn't enjoy this film. Well-done, but it didn't capture my attention well enough. I'm glad you liked this movie better than I did, but that's no reason to go bashing other reviewers.

John H. gave it a 9:
Obviously, Michelle P. didn't get it...she should go rent Star Wars: Attack of the Drones for the 3rd time.

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