This is my favorite John Cassavetes movie, perhaps because it's the most appealingly sleazy. Certificate: GP

Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com June 28, 2005 With a heavily improvised script Cassavetes gets the most from his actors, each giving emotive performances. A renowned actress teeters on the edge of a breakdown as she counts down the days toward a big Broadway opening. See who else started out in horror films. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. He's laconic, vet, and a gambler. Chinese Bookie is the more insouciant, involuted and unfathomable of the two; the curdled charm of Gazzara's lopsided grin has never been more to the point. Title: Was this review helpful to you? This film just lets him be the slime he is. Mabel, a wife and mother, is loved by her husband Nick but her mental illness proves to be a problem in the marriage. In Philadelphia, a small-time bookie who stole mob money is in hiding and he begs a childhood friend to help him evade the hit-man who's on his trail. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer.

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Like all of Cassavettes' losers, Gazzara is easy to hate. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy It's rather like a shaggy dog story operating inside a chase movie. This FAQ is empty. and the Terms and Policies, [John Cassavetes] undercuts his own abilities with a passionate belief in non-structured cinema, meandering story lines, poor camerawork and overindulgent acting styles. Dr. Clark is sympathetic ... See full summary », Cosmo Vitelli owns the Crazy Horse West, a strip joint in Los Angeles. Written by Sophistication, Meade Roberts, a screenwriter Cassavetes tapped to act, created an unforgettable figure. Use the HTML below. Directed by John Cassavetes. What is he trying to say? When we meet him, he's making his last payment on a gambling debt, after which, he promptly loses $23,000 playing poker.

Gazzara exudes cool and calm while also stinking of panic.
Brad Pitt and Keira Knightley both scored early roles in scary movies. This was Cassavetes' attempt to make a film with more commercial elements, but the melding of a conventional narrative with his own abstract musings doesn't completely work. The night club manager, player by Gazzara, has just finished paying for his joint, as he would say.

Psychologist Dr. Matthew Clark is the head of the Crawthorne State Training Institute, one of the first boarding schools for developmentally challenged children.

For even more, visit our Guide to Horror ... if you dare. 12 of 21 people found this review helpful. How many directors can say that? Vitelli and the film move back and forth between the double-crossing, murderous insincerity of the gamblers and the friendships, sweetness, and even love among Vitelli, the dancers, a dancer's mother, and the club's singer, Mr. With Ben Gazzara, Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassel, Robert Phillips. This is the oddest of his films, a strange riff on gangster/noir pictures that starts at the end and takes us right back there. There's no cinematography credit, which suggests Cassavetes either added that hat to his writer-director wardrobe, or the real culprit left town ahead of the posse. Ghost is an ideological musician who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. Cosmo Vitelli owns the Crazy Horse West, a strip joint in Los Angeles. Most films, even great ones, leave you feeling one way or another about a character, but Cassavettes' films leave you stumped. He goes out and loses some money gambling and finds that he has to kill someone in order to pay off his debt. Gazzara plays a strip-club owner committed to staging sad, unsexy, decidedly personal semi-nude musical revues. buy this soundtrack from cdandlp.com Search eBay for Killing Of A Chinese Bookie, The : Killing Of A Chinese Bookie, The (1976) Composer(s): Bo Harwood Released in: 1976 Country: United States Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller: Other Resources: Other information: Total number of members who have this title in their: Collection: 0 Wish list: 0 There are no labels for this title.

When he's not able to do so, they suggest he kill a Chinese bookie to wipe away his debt. Add the first question. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Comedy.

He doesn't have to be a louse and a loser, but he is. A normal Hollywood film would make the owner an anti-hero, one to pity. Not so with this one. Sign up here. The Accountant Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site?

Shortly after, his ex-wife also begins a relationship with a younger partner.

Watching the film is like listening to someone use a lot of impressive words, the meanings of which are just wrong enough to keep you in a state of total confusion, but occasionally right enough to hold your attention. Cassavetes' films can be annoying and enigmatic, but they are usually creative and interesting.

. A museum curator falls in love with a crazy parking attendant. When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. John Cassavetes, who made much of his money performing in action films, put that experience to work as the director of this hard, brooding crime drama. When Cassavetes is really cooking, even the moments that are awkward and forced can become electric.

Vitelli and the film move back and forth between the double-crossing, murderous insincerity of the gamblers and the friendships, sweetness, and even love among Vitelli, the dancers, a dancer's mother, and the club's singer, Mr. The genre elements are mostly subterfuge because otherwise [Cassavetes would] basically be bleeding on the screen. All rights reserved. View production, box office, & company info. Sophistication. Sophistication. Chinese Bookie is the more insouciant, involuted and unfathomable of the two; the curdled charm of Gazzara's lopsided grin has never been more to the point. It's a movie about a testy, outsider artist and his gang of misfit collaborators, the John Cassavetes biopic once removed. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! As challenging as his films can be, he found humanity in gangsters and villains as well as in regular guys. Check out some of the IMDb editors' favorites movies and shows to round out your Watchlist.

In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie


The guys he owes this time aren't so friendly, pressuring him for immediate payment. American Society of Cinematographers to Honor Frederick Elmes, Notebook Soundtrack Mix #6: The New Hollywood Mixtape, Seymour Cassel, Frequent John Cassavetes and Wes Anderson Actor, Dies at 84.

In Mr.

She tells him that she doesn't care and he should leave. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Ironically, he gives a speech later about choosing who we are and being comfortable, two things that he has failed at miserably.

This was [John] Cassavetes' gift. When we meet him, he's making his last payment on a gambling debt, after which, he promptly loses $23,000 playing poker. (1976).