RANDOM REVIEW: THE GAMBLER (1974)
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- Опубліковано 5 чер 2021
- One of the great underrated films of the 70s , Karel Reisz's The Gambler starring James Caan, Lauren Hutton and Paul Sorvino with cameos from M. Emmett Walsh and James Woods. Hopefullly this new Imprint bluray release helps build its reputation.
Hi Ronin - This is probably the best "gambling" film of the period with "The Only Game in Town" and "California Split" being the others. James Caan (an addict himself) playing an addict is a great match. It is part of Criterion's gamblers series on their channel for those who have access. Great video as always!
Thanks Ben. It's always been a favourite of mine due to that sweet sweet fatalism. Great performances by all. Sorvino is especially good. You can tell he's fascinated by caan's character.
He really gives Sorvino a hard time - pushes their 'friendship' to the very edge...seeing Sorvino getting more and more pissed is hillarious - Caan seems to think he is a superman and can get himself out of any situation - the ending is jaw dropping!...gambles his life!
The references to Dostoyevsky I also liked - I have just ordered his book - The Gambler
2+2 really did equal 5 when he KNEW or WILLED the 3 in the Vegas card game - his face!!...just look at his face!
Lauren Hutton is brilliant too - she is soooooooooooooo lovely! - check her out in Little Faus and Big Halsey!!!
As you mentioned - the music is outstanding and fits the tone of the film perfectly - Mahler's 1st Symphony.
I adore films that use classical music - 2001, Death in Venice, Rollerball (another dark James Caan flick)
I think this is a 10/10 screenplay - the story, dialogue, the mind of a gambler, well written other characters- it has it all and is set in the 70s
I'd love to write something like this - just once - a great inspiration
the DVD reddish cover looks cool - I'd love to have that as a poster!
other 70s gems - French Connection 1& 2, The Conversation, Seven Ups, Jaws, All the President's Men, The Getaway, Taking of Pelham 123...the list goes on and on, such a great decade!! and these are ONLY the American films - check out Europe, Australia & Japan
Keep up the good work, Ronin
Thanks kools67. 70s American cinema is wonderful. The gambler and the parallax view are two of the greatest and most underrated I think. Thanks again.
@@leocoh89 The montage in Parallax is terrific - I sometime play it on a loop as I am working
@@kools67 that's a lovely routine to get into 😉. Parallax is my favourite of pakula's paranoia trilogy.
@@leocoh89 for me it is 'All the President's Men'...I may do a Pakula weekend end of July - all the films are free on a stream : )
This made headlines years ago, when people were offended by the sweary words on ITV late Saturday night
Another great video! How did I not know about this? Gonna need to track it down, just watched thief recently and koved it.
Thanks for giving this film some much needed exposure
Thanks again. It's a film I've been waiting for a bluray release for years like the Parallax View which both deserve to be seen. It's awesome that they're both now available in all their 1974 glory. If you see it let me know what you think.
@@leocoh89 its on amazon for rent so I'll grab it there. Love the parallax view, wish the criterion got released here, im a region b pleb so dont import region a(saves me a fortune), also love Klute, donald sutherland is so different than his usual in that.
Speaking of which, im.gonna order the bergman cinema boxset from ebay next week, do you know if its region free? Could be an expensive blunder for me if its not.
@@floydianpink2524 yes klute is really good too. I believe the Bergman box is region free. My copy certainly is.
@@leocoh89 thank you, going to order it at the end of the week.
Gutted I haven't heard of this before. James Caan really is a great actor, and really enjoyed him as Sonny Corleone so I'll need to pick this up
Thanks for watching. It's one of his best performances I think and such a great underappreciated 70s film.
Although I need to curb spending some time in my life! I'm very tempted to buy this, I remember seeing it years ago on BBC 2 if I'm not mistaken and it feels like time for a rewatch.
Thanks mr Ed. This was my first imprint title. I just had to as it’s one of my favourite seventies underrated films. Great extras too, not that I’m trying to lead you astray haha.
Got that lurid street smell and meta obsession more than Taxi Driver plus absurdism . Shout out for Caan In Killer Elite and Thief . The old men's TV . Dinero's rep has declined in retro for me - hasn't aged well . Fatalism and also anti fatalism ? The acte gratuit free act - very common in the French .
Thanks for watching. Hard to believe thief just turned 40!
@@leocoh89 The scene with the postcard always cracked me up had a mate who thought it was definitive of his divorce - walking away from it all with just a plastic bag .
How you could like this; dread. misery, predictable downfall of a person over 2 hours. Not for me. Parallax was better production value, some really nice filming, and some very original ideas about conspiracy and assassination. Parallax was not predictable like this film. I wrote on another review here, that the acting was good. Caan played his part well, as in so many other of his works, but they are always so dark and miserable, and predictable, like the film 'Misery' in which he also drove a Mustang. You should check out Thief as well, if you like Caan as a doomed flawed character. He does that so well over his whole career.
Thanks very much for the comments. Different strokes for different folks. i love Parallax too. Thief is magnificent. You have to have a code.