Spellbound

Name: Spellbound
Genre: Documentary
Released: April 30, 2003
Duration: 97 min
Rating: 80

2003

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Ratings

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7.7

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7.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

THINKFilm | Release Date: April 30, 2003 | TV-G

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

Director: Jeffrey Blitz

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: TV-G

Runtime: 97 min

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Critic Reviews

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

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

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

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

Rick Groen

Loses its momentum just when you'd expect the suspense to mount -- at the competition itself. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Maitland McDonagh

An enthralling, suspenseful documentary about spelling bees. Read full review

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

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User Reviews

lolawonderly

Jan 22, 2012

This movie completely changed my outlook on life. I was 7 when I first saw it in theaters, and I was completely blown away. I was very impressionable, as so many 7 year olds are, and for the first month or so after I watched it, I had it decided that I too, was going to be a spelling beeThis movie completely changed my outlook on life. I was 7 when I first saw it in theaters, and I was completely blown away. I was very impressionable, as so many 7 year olds are, and for the first month or so after I watched it, I had it decided that I too, was going to be a spelling bee kid. Obviously I didn't really stick with my plans of being a nationally ranked speller, but, a year ago, when I watched the movie again, I realized the impact this film had on me had just about nothing to do with spelling. Spellbound provides revealing insight on being the best, regardless of what hobby, sport, or subject you're trying to excel at. Surprisingly compelling, Spellbound ranks near the top of my list as far as documentaries go.… Expand

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ChristopherJ.

Mar 20, 2007

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.

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