Rating: 
Summary: Why not quit while you¿re ahead?
Review: I grew up amongst gamblers, spending much of my time hustling bowling and gin rummy throughout the Midwest, until, at 17, I shuffled off to the Ivy-covered walls of a prestigious Eastern College.This gives me much simpatico with Axel Freed, the central character and portrait of self-destruction, the gambler, and James Toback, the film's author. Toback's own reflections suggest that Axel is in many ways auto-biographical. As a film, The Gambler is shortsighted, an ambitious but nonetheless failed attempt by a first-time screenwriter in difficult waters. It is not without its brilliance-its relentless dedication toward conveying that any gambler's true goal is not success, but utter humiliation-destruction of one's self, and anything and anyone around him. It can be no other way. In the 1990's where independent film has achieved an emergence and respect in its own, a film like this might have found the strength among the very talented people involved, (Toback, James Caan, Karel Reisz) to emerge into a true gem. Alas this 70's neglected studio cast-off didn't have that opportunity. London Lee is great in support, Paul Sorvino and Burt Young are well cast as Freed's mob-ties. Young's performance as a mob leg-breaker includes quite a raw, and shocking collection scene. Probably a pass for any but the gambling addict, for them, a head (as in tape-head) burner. For those who are intrigued by Toback's intelligent approach to the seedier side, try his next effort, Fingers (1978), a diamond in the rough.
Rating: 
Summary: A Gambling addict throwing his life away
Review: James Caan is brilliant as Educated Professor Axel Freed who cant stop himself from his gambling addiction. Caan gets deeper and deeper in debt thru his addiction and raises the stakes by betting more and more to get out.In the end he makes the ultimate gambles with his life. This movie is highlited by a great supporting cast and is obviously written by someone who once went thru this nightmare experience.
Rating:
Summary: The Essence of Life is Risk
Review: James Caan is superb as a college professor obsessed with putting his money and his psyche on the line because of the rush he gets from gambling. In debt up to his ears, Caan wins the money he owes back only to lose it again in a bizarre roller coaster ride. As he tells his students, 2 plus 2 may equal 4, but he has the right to say that it may equal 5 tomorrow, if his will is strong enough. Caan's willingness to place himself at risk because he believes he can alter the outcome of events by force of will is linked to his study of Dostoevsky's The Gambler. His journey corrupts and alienates everyone around him as his own quest for purity remains intact. The viewer may find Caan's character insane and reckless, but the philosophy at the core of this thrilling psychological drama (written by James Toback) is one worth living. This is the only film I know of other than Hannah & Her Sisters by Woody Allen to use a quote from e.e. cummings.
Rating:
Summary: This is a gambling movie for people who gamble themselves.
Review: Most gambling movies are obviously phony. The screenwriters and directors are gambling observers, not gamblers themselves. This was written by someone who understands the mindset of a person who is gambling with money they cannot afford to lose. If you have ever had to borrow money to gamble, or had to take a risk to pay your debts, you will agree that this movie captures the emotions that you went through.
Rating:
Summary: Overambitious or Underdelivered
Review: Obstensibly about gambling addiction, this film is in fact a portrait of the addictive personality. Caan's character (Axel Freed) represents a complex individual who is a study in contadictions. His chaotic spiral into the depths of his addiction both mirrors and contrasts with the insightful portaits of his classroom lectures. His societal role as gifted college professor and child of a nouveau-riche immigrant family contradicts a wholey individualistic and reckless lifestyle in constant search for the emotional rush of living on the edge. This, his true addiction, is revealed at the end of the film when his gambling "career" has seemingly ended. A rare sub-commentary contrasts the humanly personal sides of Axel's mob associates with their violent career personas, bringing to mind the movie Mean Streets (with the youthful pairing of Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro). Indeed, the movie may suffer from attempting to deal with these general themes on too many levels.
A few graphic scenes and raw emotionalism give this film an edge that is appropriate to its themes. Some viewers may be put off by racial stereotypes stemming from this era of blaxploitation. Otherwise, acting and direction are adequate to the task, although characters are somewhat one dimensional; and the plot is thought provoking, if not always engaging.
Rating: 
Summary: On the edge
Review: One of the most uncompromising American dramas of the 70s, this takes a penetrating look at the addictive mindset of the gambler as no film did before that and none since as well. The writing by James Toback is superb and the direction by Karel Reisz is just as good. James Caan, in one of his best roles, plays a professor of literature--an ivory tower guy who drives himself right to the edge. The story implies that the possible reason for this is his patrician upbringing; his mother's a successful and respected physician and his uncle, an extremely successful businessman. And Axel Freed--Caan's character--needs much more than all the myriad assumptions that a blue-blooded background provides. Even his girlfriend, Mickey (broadly played by Lauren Hutton), is upscale. Caan deftly and convincingly portrays someone who takes advantage of his class and its privileges and at the same time obsessively needs the "juice" of danger. The ending is a strong finish to a great movie; Axel tests the waters of what could very likely bring the ultimate danger. The real question is, Does he want that or not? It's interesting to see both James Woods and M. Emmett Walsh in small and early roles here, as well as some 70s stalwarts: Paul Sorvino, Vic Tayback, and Steven Keats. The mix of the highbrow and the street is a great one. All actors do a terrific job. Recommended
Rating:
Summary: On the edge
Review: One of the most uncompromising American dramas of the 70s, this takes a penetrating look at the addictive mindset of the gambler as no film did before that and none since as well. The writing by James Toback is superb and the direction by Karel Reisz is just as good. James Caan, in one of his best roles, plays a professor of literature--an ivory tower guy who drives himself right to the edge. The story implies that the possible reason for this is his patrician upbringing; his mother's a successful and respected physician and his uncle, an extremely successful businessman. And Axel Freed--Caan's character--needs much more than all the myriad assumptions that a blue-blooded background provides. Even his girlfriend, Mickey (broadly played by Lauren Hutton), is upscale. Caan deftly and convincingly portrays someone who takes advantage of his class and its privileges and at the same time obsessively needs the "juice" of danger. The ending is a strong finish to a great movie; Axel tests the waters of what could very likely bring the ultimate danger. The real question is, Does he want that or not? It's interesting to see both James Woods and M. Emmett Walsh in small and early roles here, as well as some 70s stalwarts: Paul Sorvino, Vic Tayback, and Steven Keats. The mix of the highbrow and the street is a great one. All actors do a terrific job. Recommended
Rating:
Summary: An excellent look at a compulsive gambler
Review: The so called film experts that pan this movie just dont understand the life of a gambler. This movie is an excellent study of a compulsive gambler and his road to self destruction. James Caan is outstanding as the tragic Axel Freed and the supporting cast is even better. The emotional roller coaster ride of a compulsive degenerate gambler is shown from the ultimate high of winning to the rock bottom low of losing and is portrayed superbly by Caan with a stellar performance.
This movie was extremely well written,directed and acted and is flawless in its presentation from beginning to the end. The climatic ending where Axel takes the ultimate gamble risking his life is brilliant. There has never been a more realistic look at a lost soul gambler and the effect it has on friends and family. This is a rare gem of a movie that was way ahead of its time. A must see for anyone that appreciates a true to life gritty story, great performances and not some Hollywood big budget nonsense that is routinely served up today.
Rating:
Summary: A Winner In Every Sense...
Review: Veteran legendary actor James Caan was at his peak 10 years into his on-screen career in this James Toback classic. Director Karel Reisz gets one of Caan's most convincing performances to date, as well as terrific support from the rest of this well recognized ensemble cast. ................. Caan plays Axel Freed, an English Lit professor, who comes from a well-to-do family. Although Axel has success in his career and a beautiful, but detached girlfriend played by70s covergirl Lauren Hutton, he's looking for something far LESS out of life. He is a hopeless gambling junkie. Caan is so terrific and tragic as a man who can't control himself in the face of any kind of risky wager. He'll take the worst odds, never quit while he's ahead, and certainly NEVER knows when to fold 'em. Axel seems to be happiest as the loser ironically, because he never keeps his winnings, just wagering again until the profit is lost. .............. Paul Sorvino, another veteran talent is in a very early role here as "Hips", Axel's bookie. Hips has done just about everything he can do to convince Axel of his self-destructive habit, but to no avail. In a terrific scene, Axel gets a good look at his future, as he is sent to collect a debt from a deadbeat with an enforcer played by real life buddy, Burt Young, more famous for being "Rocky" brother-in-law. Axel watches as the deadbeat has his furnishings demolished by an abusive Young, and gets a solid working over culminating in some broken bones. Does this spell the future for Axel? You have to see for yourself. .............. James Caan has never looked so good, or played such a gut-wrenching role. The scene where he's sitting in his bathtub listening to a game he's got a crucial bet on, causes you to actually feel his desperation. We are not so sure he actually wants to win though. He seems to crave the humiliation of being the loser more than the victory of being a winner. He even humiliates himself in front of his students by trying to fix a college basketball game, to pay yet another debt he's accrued. ................ Besides Sorvino, Hutton, and Young, there are also other classic screen veterans to catch in small roles. When Caan pleads with his doctor mom to give him her savings, they deal with the terrific James Woods, as a banker who asks for one too many forms of ID. Vic Tayback is seen as well. ............... If you are a James Caan fan, as I am, and you want to see an example of some of his finest dramatic work, I highly recommend "The Gambler" as well as his subsequent 1981 Michael Mann classic "Thief" (see my review) as two of my favorites in his vast filmography. For comedy, Caan is classic as ANOTHER gambler in the hilarious "Honeymoon In Vegas"(see my review for more). ................. "The Gambler" is without doubt, one of the finest dramatizations of the degradation, the hopelessness, the fleeting thrill, and the moral bankruptcy that awaits any individual with this addiction. We as viewers will become hooked on this amazing story, but, unlike Axel Freed, we will gain from this experience, with nothing to lose.
Rating:
Summary: A Winner In Every Sense...
Review: Veteran legendary actor James Caan was at his peak 10 years into his on-screen career in this James Toback classic. Director Karel Reisz gets one of Caan's most convincing performances to date, as well as terrific support from the rest of this well recognized ensemble cast. ................. Caan plays Axel Freed, an English Lit professor, who comes from a well-to-do family. Although Axel has success in his career and a beautiful, but detached girlfriend played by70s covergirl Lauren Hutton, he's looking for something far LESS out of life. He is a hopeless gambling junkie. Caan is so terrific and tragic as a man who can't control himself in the face of any kind of risky wager. He'll take the worst odds, never quit while he's ahead, and certainly NEVER knows when to fold 'em. Axel seems to be happiest as the loser ironically, because he never keeps his winnings, just wagering again until the profit is lost. .............. Paul Sorvino, another veteran talent is in a very early role here as "Hips", Axel's bookie. Hips has done just about everything he can do to convince Axel of his self-destructive habit, but to no avail. In a terrific scene, Axel gets a good look at his future, as he is sent to collect a debt from a deadbeat with an enforcer played by real life buddy, Burt Young, more famous for being "Rocky" brother-in-law. Axel watches as the deadbeat has his furnishings demolished by an abusive Young, and gets a solid working over culminating in some broken bones. Does this spell the future for Axel? You have to see for yourself. .............. James Caan has never looked so good, or played such a gut-wrenching role. The scene where he's sitting in his bathtub listening to a game he's got a crucial bet on, causes you to actually feel his desperation. We are not so sure he actually wants to win though. He seems to crave the humiliation of being the loser more than the victory of being a winner. He even humiliates himself in front of his students by trying to fix a college basketball game, to pay yet another debt he's accrued. ................ Besides Sorvino, Hutton, and Young, there are also other classic screen veterans to catch in small roles. When Caan pleads with his doctor mom to give him her savings, they deal with the terrific James Woods, as a banker who asks for one too many forms of ID. Vic Tayback is seen as well. ............... If you are a James Caan fan, as I am, and you want to see an example of some of his finest dramatic work, I highly recommend "The Gambler" as well as his subsequent 1981 Michael Mann classic "Thief" (see my review) as two of my favorites in his vast filmography. For comedy, Caan is classic as ANOTHER gambler in the hilarious "Honeymoon In Vegas"(see my review for more). ................. "The Gambler" is without doubt, one of the finest dramatizations of the degradation, the hopelessness, the fleeting thrill, and the moral bankruptcy that awaits any individual with this addiction. We as viewers will become hooked on this amazing story, but, unlike Axel Freed, we will gain from this experience, with nothing to lose.
|
