|

Now Playing
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search
Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

97
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
83
Alexandra
43
Anamorph
35
Babysitters, The
32
Backseat
80
Band's Visit, The
62
Battle for Haditha
47
Bella
63
Blind Mountain
71
Blindsight
47
Boarding Gate
63
Body of War
58
Bra Boys
70
Caramel
54
Cashback
44
Chaos Theory
32
Chapter 27
69
Chicago 10
82
Chop Shop
46
CJ7
78
Counterfeiters, The
30
Cover
48
Dark Matter
35
Deal
61
Dhamma Brothers, The
92
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
20
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
58
Fall, The
43
Favor, The
58
First Saturday in May, The
57
Flawless
87
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
xx
From Within
44
Frontier(s)
59
Fugitive Pieces
41
Funny Games
66
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead
61
Girls Rock!
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
57
Grand, The
58
Hats Off
68
Honeydripper
xx
Jack and Jill vs. the World
67
Jellyfish
xx
Kiss the Bride
37
Life Before Her Eyes, The
72
Life of Reilly, The
50
Look
65
Married Life
35
Meet Bill
63
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
54
Mister Lonely
52
My Blueberry Nights
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
49
Noise
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
83
Paranoid Park
55
Pathology
48
Penelope
90
Persepolis
62
Planet B-Boy
xx
Plumm Summer, A
67
Praying with Lior
44
Previous Engagement, A
72
Priceless
17
Prom Night
69
Redbelt
72
Roman de gare
48
Run, Fat Boy, Run
85
Savages, The
24
Sex and Death 101
66
Shelter
75
Shotgun Stories
40
Sleepwalking
67
Snow Angels
64
Son of Rambow
71
Standard Operating Procedure
76
Stuff and Dough
64
Surfwise
xx
Tashan
82
Taxi to the Dark Side
57
Teeth
56
Then She Found Me
55
Tracey Fragments, The
56
Turn the River
72
Tuya's Marriage
83
U2 3D
59
Under the Same Moon
76
Unforeseen, The
xx
Unsettled
91
Up the Yangtze
55
Vice
79
Visitor, The
64
Water Lilies
45
Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
57
Without the King
74
Witnesses, The
63
XXY
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75
Young@Heart
45
Zombie Strippers
97
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
92
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
91
Up the Yangtze
90
Persepolis
87
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Savages, The
83
Paranoid Park
83
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
82
Chop Shop
82
Taxi to the Dark Side
80
Band's Visit, The
79
Visitor, The
78
Counterfeiters, The
76
Unforeseen, The
76
Stuff and Dough
75
Young@Heart
75
Shotgun Stories
74
Witnesses, The
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
72
Roman de gare
72
Priceless
72
Tuya's Marriage
72
Life of Reilly, The
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
71
Blindsight
71
Standard Operating Procedure
70
Caramel
69
Redbelt
69
Chicago 10
68
Honeydripper
67
Snow Angels
67
Praying with Lior
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
67
Jellyfish
66
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead
66
Shelter
65
Married Life
64
Surfwise
64
Son of Rambow
64
Water Lilies
63
XXY
63
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
63
Body of War
63
Blind Mountain
62
Planet B-Boy
62
Battle for Haditha
61
Dhamma Brothers, The
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
61
Girls Rock!
59
Under the Same Moon
59
Fugitive Pieces
58
First Saturday in May, The
58
Fall, The
58
Hats Off
58
Bra Boys
57
Flawless
57
Teeth
57
Without the King
57
Grand, The
56
Turn the River
56
Then She Found Me
55
Vice
55
Tracey Fragments, The
55
Pathology
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
54
Cashback
54
Mister Lonely
52
My Blueberry Nights
50
Look
49
Noise
48
Run, Fat Boy, Run
48
Dark Matter
48
Penelope
47
Bella
47
Boarding Gate
46
CJ7
45
Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
45
Zombie Strippers
44
Frontier(s)
44
Chaos Theory
44
Previous Engagement, A
43
Anamorph
43
Favor, The
41
Funny Games
40
Sleepwalking
37
Life Before Her Eyes, The
35
Meet Bill
35
Babysitters, The
35
Deal
32
Backseat
32
Chapter 27
30
Cover
24
Sex and Death 101
20
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
17
Prom Night
xx
Tashan
xx
Unsettled
xx
Plumm Summer, A
xx
Kiss the Bride
xx
Jack and Jill vs. the World
xx
From Within
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Spellbound
ThinkFilm Inc.
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

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.

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.

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.

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.

91
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Thrilling little epic set in the bewildering arena of the English language.

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.

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.

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.

90
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
Just might be the most action-packed suspense thriller of the summer.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

80
Dallas Observer
Luke Y. Thompson
Consider it an athletic contest of the mind--ESPN does, as the sports network regularly televises the finals.

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.

80
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
Could hardly be more suspenseful if it were scripted.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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."

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.

70
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
An enthralling, suspenseful documentary about spelling bees.

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.

70
New York Magazine
Peter Rainer
Entertaining documentary.

63
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
This could be a documentary about reading the body language of childhood.

63
USA Today
Claudia Puig
Casts a potent spell.

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.

60
Variety
Ronnie Scheib
Docu dispassionately examines this strange phenomenon of anachronistic Americana, created as a newspaper promotion in 1925.

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.


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.
Read more user comments...
Discuss this movie in our forums |