Spellbound
Cast
Harry Altman .... Himself
Angela Arenivar .... Herself
Ted Brigham .... Himself
April DeGideo .... Herself
Neil Kadakia .... Himself
Nupur Lala .... Herself
Emily Stagg .... Herself
Ashley White .... Herself
Directed by
Jeffrey Blitz
Rater #2 has description and review.
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #2
8/10. In a time where movies are based on comic books and have titles too
long for their own good, it's refreshing to see a movie where the
most unoriginal thing is the title, stolen from a Hitchcock film.
Although it's hardly an "event" to be filmed, Spellbound is a movie
that will not only keep you enthralled, but will bring out that
braces-wearing, huge-glasses-wearing geek that you were in high
school. Everyone of the eight contestants are nerds, but they go for
the gold, and you can see that they really struggle for something.
Eight kids are followed (they were chosen because they all were good
picks on who may make it to the final), all from various parts of the
world. They have different lifestyles, are different races, and have
different methods of studying. They have varying experiences in
spelling bees and are varying personalities, as we learn from the
first half of the film, where it takes us to the houses and
surroundings of the participants, and we learn everything about them
except the number of fillings in their teeth. One of them, April
DiGideo, lives in my neighboring town of Ambler, PA.
After that's done, we follow them to Washington, D.C. where the
competition is. In a group of about 300, some of the kids we got to
know are eliminated in the first few rounds. However, some of them
made it to the finals. If you're going to see Spellbound, which you
should, you do not want to know who wins. I had no idea, and the
tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Even though it's
such a small subject, you have no idea who's going to win, making
Spellbound a thrilling documentary that any fans of documentaries or
spelling should see.
Rater #3
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #4
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rated G.
Running time: 95 minutes
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