Directed by:
Karel ReiszScreenplay:
James TobackCinematography:
Victor J. KemperComposer:
Jerry FieldingCast:
James Caan, Paul Sorvino, Lauren Hutton, Jacqueline Brookes, Morris Carnovsky, Burt Young, Steven Keats, Vic Tayback, M. Emmet Walsh, James Woods (more)Plots(1)
THE GAMBLER, directed by Karel Reisz, stars James Caan in a difficult role as Alex Freed, a compulsive gambler with many inner demons, who is completely out of control. He can't resist a bad bet because that's where the "juice" is. While his irrational rationalizations--largely influenced by Dostoyevsky, whose novel, THE GAMBLER, he teaches to his students at City College--might seem like a lot of existential hot air, they are well dramatized, making his descent downward believable even as his actions become increasingly frenetic. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Videos (1)
Reviews (1)
I know quite a lot of gamblers, and I know their psyche. That’s why I don’t consider this film any kind of remarkable feat. I think that even though James Caan delivered a decent acting performance, he failed to portray a true addict. Those look a bit different. But maybe there is a difference between a 1970s American gambler and a Czech gambler of today, one that I cannot tell because I wasn’t yet born in the 1970s and I’ve never been to the US. So it could actually be a decent movie but I’m unable to tell objectively. If I, however, wanted to see a true gambler’s story, I’d go to a local pub where there are dozens of them. If I give them a hundred for the slot machine, they’ll gladly tell me their whole story, even shaking my hand and thanking me for my interest. And that would be something.
()
