Product Details

• Actors: Angela Arenivar, Ubaldo Arenivar, Jorge Arenivar, Scott McGarraugh, Lindy McGarraugh
• Directors: Jeffrey Blitz
• Producers: Jeffrey Blitz, Ronnie Eisen, Sean Welch
• Format: Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English, Spanish
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: April 6, 2004
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000YWJUA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #207,779 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Who would have thought that a documentary about spelling-bee contestants could be as suspenseful as a Hitchcock thriller? Spellbound, which follows eight kids from their early victories in regional spelling bees to the national competition in Washington, D.C., is an out-and-out nail-biter. Each of the kids--who range from a quietly driven African American girl from a run-down D.C. neighborhood, to a genial Connecticut girl who talks about bringing her au pair to a previous competition, to an almost zombie-like boy whose immigrant father has paid 1,000 people back in India to pray for the boy's success--gets captured so vividly that you can't help but get emotionally immersed in their brave, nerve-wracking struggle to spell slippery, treacherous words. Along the way, Spellbound contrasts the crazily different populations that make up the U.S. and shows how this facet of intelligence truly makes everyone equal on the podium. A riveting, wrenching, must-see movie. --Bret Fetzer

From The New Yorker

Jeffrey Blitz's charming documentary follows eight elementary students competing in the 1999 National Spelling Bee; he rode the bus to school with them, interviewed their teachers, checked out their rooms, and, in one case, listened while a kid talked like a robot. The sample of children is appropriately diverse-in region, in race, in the intensity of their preparations. Some of their parents see the spelling bee as representing the immigrant dream of America in miniature while others seem amazed at the intensity of their nerdy offspring. The competitions are tense, and Blitz cobbles together a series of heartbreaking reaction shots of errant spellers. His direction shows a clever, occasionally flippant, selection of detail-the dog-eared unabridged dictionaries, the congratulatory sign posted outside Hooters, the prodigy who signs his autographs "Trust in Jesus." -Michael Agger
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great, entertaining, emotionally satisfying movie., July 28, 2003

By 

D. Mok (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Spellbound is that brightest of gems: A terrific, engaging movie with no sex, violence, bad language, or even a massive sociological message. Just a small but involving story, told with light-hearted humour and surprising moments of emotional connection that's as purely positive a filmgoing experience as I can think of.

This movie also shows that you don't need eye candy to have a great film. The grainy shooting, often muddy sound and slightly wobbly camera in no way detract from the movie. The filmmakers are so good at capturing what's happening and their subjects are so interesting that all technical aspects become moot -- as they well should be.

At the heart of the movie are the eight kids in the competition, all of them marvelous characters. The filmmakers did a superb job diversifying the subject, for if Spellbound had been merely a documentary about a spelling bee, it would inevitably have fallen into repetitiveness. Instead, it succeeds in sketching out eight character studies before sending them on their central journey, and we respond to and are sympathetic to them along the way. And the moments of emotional connection are both surprising and touching: When one contestant (no spoiler) cries in her mother's arms after nerves got her eliminated early in the bee; when a zealous father clasps his hands in prayer at his son's hesitation on the stage; when a father and mother have to leave the auditorium because they can't bear the suspense. If you were to describe the situations outside of the film's context they might sound too small and insignificant to make great cinema, but the film lends such a sympathetic and detailed eye -- and the people themselves have such a good sense of humour -- that you'll find yourself drawn to them. And the kids -- an entertaining bunch: The obsessive, serious Neil, the nihilistic Ted; hyperactive oddball Harry; precocious, articulate Emily, whose sardonic remarks are achingly hilarious; shy, pessimistic April. After their introduction, I felt like they were kids living on my street, and I became more attached to them than I do to most movie characters or documentary subjects.

This is the kind of film we need more of. No tricks, no flash, and no huge fiery set pieces; just a very well-told story with deep-reaching characters and an inexorable forward narrative whose pacing leaves most blockbusters in the dust. Essential viewing!

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't miss this one!, June 10, 2003

By 

Stephanie Manley (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This has to be the best movie that I have seen in the first half of 2003. Don't let the title or the concept throw you for a loop on this one. It is an excellent, gripping movie. While about the National Spelling Contest, it relates the stories of 8 young teens in their quest to be the number one speller. Its really about the teens, their families, and how they made it to the national spelling bee. Contestants range from a daughter of an Mexican immigrant family who does not speak English at home, through families throughout the midwest, and well to do families that hire many coaches for their children to compete.
All of the contestants are compelling, some in their personal desire to achieve, some in the family focus on their child winning, and some are just amused to be there. The real people provide a script that is better than any writer can write. The editing is so good that our audience was spelling out the words and cheering and sighing when contestants were in the final stages of their competition.
If you get the chance I would definately go and rush out and see this one. You will walk away feeling great after this uplifting movie. You will never forget some of this contestants!

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Appealing documentary about kids competing, May 12, 2004

By 

A. Ryan "Merribelle" (Westminster, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spellbound (DVD)

Spellbound is an engaging documentary about eight kids who are hopefuls in the national spelling bee, 1999. I mention this first because honestly, I was expecting a scripted comedy film when I rented this based on the iControl description! Well in spite of my mistake, I found a worthwhile film with Spellbound.

Now I know this sounds extremely boring to the huge majority of us out here who have never even considered competing in a spelling bee. Give it a chance -- this movie is really about the individuals and their private dramas as they go through their training processes for the contest. We see a wide variety of approaches to preparing from both the parents' end and their kids': but truthfully, this whole thing reminds me of stage parents getting their children ready for those awful pageants. Almost across the board, pressure is applied to the kids to perform and WIN. For example one dad (who sounds to me like the most extreme perfectionist control freak that ever existed) drills his son on seven to eight thousand words per day and paid hundreds of people to pray for his son to win. He also promised that he would pay for five thousand people in India to have dinner IF his son won first place in the spelling bee. Talk about a heavy burden to put on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old kid!

The two exceptions to this stage parent mentality are interesting. One is the mom of an African American girl from a poor neighborhood; the other, immigrants from India whose daughter is a first generation American. In both cases, the girls were made to feel that they were good enough even without a championship trophy or a medal. There was never any suggestion that they were defined by their success in this spelling contest. I personally believe that of all the contestants, these two kids will have the best experiences in the larger adult world later on because their parents were supportive rather than trying to live vicariously through them or pushing them too hard; plus, these girls were allowed to have a life outside of the spelling bee training, which seemed to be lacking for most of the other kids as well.

Spellbound is an honest look into the world of spelling bees and the lives of the kids who compete in them, often from a very young age. It is relatively entertaining for a documentary, heavily dependant on listening to the dialogue rather than visuals, and sometimes funny in unexpected ways. Recommended for people who like documentaries in general.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle