• Quotes (2)
• Trivia (1)
• Plot Description
• Soundtrack
• Wallpapers
• Popularity
MPAA Rating
R
Running Time
2 hours, 15 minutes
Country USA
Studio Faces Distribution Corporation
More info on IMDb.com
Other Titles
• The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
• Die Ermordung eines chinesischen Buchmachers (1976)
• L'Assassinio di un allibratore cinese (1976)
|
Genre: Drama, Serial Killer, Deception, Gangsters
Plot: John Cassavetes’s THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE is a genre-shattering drama that combines elements of the thriller and crime picture to create something wholly distinct and original. Ben Gazzara stars as Cosmo Vittelli, the proud owner of a Los Angeles strip club called Crazy Horse West. A gambling addict, Cosmo spends his free hours betting. After losing $23,000 one night, he realizes that his addiction might have cost him his club, the one thing in the world he truly loves. To retain control of it, he accepts an offer to murder a rival bookie; if he fulfills this request, his debt will be lifted. In a tense scene--enhanced by Cassavetes’s insistence on using location sound--Cosmo carries out his order while suffering a minor wound. Confident that he is in the clear, reality proves him to be naive in his assumption. Gazzara’s Cosmo is a striking characterization of a man who will do anything to save his one true passion; his portrayal may in some measure symbolize Cassavetes’s take-no-prisoners attitude toward his films.
More Plot Descriptions
 Discussion forum for this movie
|
| |
|
| Cast |
Ben Gazzara
Dogville, The Thomas Crown Affair, Happiness |
 | Seymour Cassel
The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Rushmore |
 | | | Morgan Woodward
Cool Hand Luke, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Battle Beyond the Stars | | Al Ruban
Swamp Thing, Love Streams, Opening Night | |
[more] |
|
| Music By |
Bo Harwood
A Woman Under the Influence, Happy Birthday to Me, Opening Night |
|
|
|
Movie Database
In Theaters
