eShop USA > VHS > The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
List Price: $19.99Price: $8.38 You Save: $11.61 (58%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302794304
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
ISBN: 6302794307
Label: Touchstone Video
Languages: English (Original Language), Analog
Manufacturer: Touchstone Video
Publisher: Touchstone Video
Release Date: September 19, 1995
Studio: Touchstone Video
Related Items: Featured Listmania!
Editorial Review:
Anyone expecting The Killing of a Chinese Bookie to be an action-packed film about a gangland murder is going to be sorely disappointed--the title is the only commercial element in this fascinating character study by writer-director John Cassavetes, who once again finds his cinematic soulmate in actor Ben Gazzara. Doing for sleazy Hollywood strip-joints and underworld bullies what Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets did for the denizens of New York's Little Italy, the film uses verité technique to tell the story of Cosmo Vitelli (Gazzara), a strip-club owner whose growing debt to a local gangster (the chilling Morgan Woodward) can only be erased if he agrees to kill a rival Chinese gangster. Reluctantly, Cosmo carries out the job with startling efficiency.
As usual, Cassavetes employs his favorite actors (including Seymour Cassel and the fearsome Timothy Carey) and vivid improvisation to give Chinese Bookie a tense atmosphere of emotional urgency--the film's tone is one of keen desperation, as if we've been invited to witness Cosmo's dark night of the soul. Anyone who's unfamiliar with Cassavetes's style may find this film grating and impenetrable, but those in tune with the director's defiant independence will surely appreciate his emphasis on character, psychology, and revealing flashes of human behavior, captured on film as only Cassavetes could capture them. Watching this film, you can readily understand why Cassavetes has had such a steady influence on Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, and a host of like-minded independent filmmakers. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Ben Gazzara plays so well the club owner with a personal touch
Ben Gazzara's character is a classic in this story of a strip club owner's troubles with the underworld. It's one of my favorites too with its dark and sleazy atmosphere and the characters that drive this story. The gangsters are not cartoon characters. They actually have personalities. In fact, this film has many colorful characters. The Criterion version is longer and exposes more of this tawdry world but it is part of an expensive five film collection. This film deserves to be seen in the longer ... Read More
Rating: - Behind-the-scenes info for Cass buffs
For a fascinating behind-the-scenes info about The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and a list of books about Cassavetes' work, go to Ray Carney's website dedicated to John Cassavetes (found through any search engine).
Rating: - Fine film noir
an indebeted club owner has to knockoff a prolific underworld figure as means of settling his tab. subtext abounds in this noir classic.
Rating: - Its A Mood And A Feeling It Gives You
One of my favorite films ever. Gazzara gives an incredible performance. One of Cassavetes' best films. I have been greatly influenced by this film in my wanting to become a film director.
Rating: - One of the best I have seen
This is a great starter into John Cassavette's films. If you have not seen any of his films, start here. Casavettes has made a masterpiece that truly looks at life and not the glorification of life. No Hollywood over-dramatisation here. The people are sleeze and yet out of the sleeze comes a story. This must have been a very big influence to Quentin Tarantino in making Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.
Related Categories:
|
