Talk:Mechanical Turk

Another film about it
There's a French/Hungarian movie from 1972 about the (historical) chess turk, called "Le joueur d'échecs" (if forms part of the series Les évasions célèbres). Should this be added to the "Legacy and popular culture" section? Thewizzy (talk) 17:18, 12 September 2022 (UTC)


 * Can you find a secondary source discussing this movie as it relates to the legacy of the mechanical turk? Umimmak (talk) 18:21, 12 September 2022 (UTC)


 * The only description I can find is on a website about television in the GDR (East Germany), where this film was broadcast at the time (and from where I also know it). --Thewizzy (talk) 19:24, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

السنوات الأخيرة
لماذا هذا الإهمال؟ لماذا لم يحافظوا على الآلة؟ ثم ما قصة الحرائق المنتشرة في أوروبا؟ فعلًا أمر يثير الغضب و، السخرية هذا شيء لا يقدر بثمن و هم تناقلوه فيما بينهم!! 37.239.162.34 (talk) 03:24, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

final years
Why this neglect? Why didn't they keep the machine? Then what is the story of the fires spreading in Europe? It is really something that provokes anger and irony. This is an invaluable thing and they pass it on to each other!! we must rebuild the machine and don't pollutant it by electronics. 37.239.162.34 (talk) 03:28, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

French short film: Histoires extraordinaires : Le Joueur d'échecs de Maelzel (1981)
This film may be added to poular culture section.

I saw this movie on TV when I was a boy and it made a great impression on me. I finally managed to track it down online. The presentation I saw was dubbed into the Afrikaans language by South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and shown under the title "Die Skaak Masjien" (The chess machine). My childhood memory of the film is vague, except that I remember it as scary. The end of the film made a lasting impression on me. The chess machine was taken out to a place in the Mexican desert on horseback and tied to a cactus as a kind of death sentence. The policemen who tied it up and rode off was unaware of the dwarf chess player inside the cabinet. The final scene shows the dwarf's leg dangling from the box.

The only written information I could find is on the bdff web page, first link below. There are a few good stills and release articles that may be of interest on the same web page. The film is not available for purchase or rental online, so this page contains the only description of the plot, which is a fictional drama, containing the the characters Mälzel and Schlumberger, and of course the Turk, but with no baring on the actual biographical history of any of the characters.

The director, Juan Luis Buñuel, was the son of the famous Luis Buñuel, Spanish film director, linked to Surrealist era.

Title: Histoires extraordinaires (series) : Le Joueur d'échecs de Maelzel (episode 1) Director: Juan Luis Buñuel Details (from IMDB) Release date: February 7, 1981 (France) Countries of origin: France, Mexico Languages: French, Spanish Filming locations: Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico Production company: France 3 Runtime: 50 minutes

links:

http://php88.free.fr/bdff/image_film.php?ID=15189

https://m.cinemagia.ro/filme/histoires-extraordinaires-le-joueur-dechecs-de-maelzel-167600

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0341422/?ref_=ttep_ep1 Blewbubbles (talk) 01:21, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

Chess terminology
The article seems to use the terms "match" and "game" interchangeably. A match is a series of games, and it is not clear whether any of the "matches" listed in the history were more than one game. If so,there would be a score for the match. Wastrel Way (talk)Eric Wastrel Way (talk) 15:09, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

Chinese Museum
The article says the Turk was burnt in the Chinese Museum of Charles Willson Peale in 1854. I am trying to work out how this relates to (Charles Willson) Peale's Philadelphia Museum, but it is complicated, as CWP died in 1827 and the museum collection was sold in 1849. Nathan Dunn apparently had a Chinese Museum in Peale's Museum building from 1838. TSventon (talk) 21:08, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
 * It was indeed Peale's Philadelphia Museum, I have clarified both articles. TSventon (talk) 13:39, 30 April 2024 (UTC)