Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Simply Perfect

Boring

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Apart from drugs and booze, probably the most costly addiction there is out there is Gambling. And yet it is an addiction that a hell of a lot of people can't seem to break, any more successfully than some can at the other two vices. One wouldn't think that such a grim subject matter could make for a good, let alone compelling film. But back in the experimental, anything-goes world of 1970s Hollywood, screenwriter James Toback, who by his own admission had been a compulsive gambler prior to his realizing how much better off he was at writing, made it compelling in the form of THE GAMBLER.In this 1974 film, directed by the Czech-born Karel Reisz, known for such films as 1966's MORGAN, James Caan portrays Axel Freed, a highly respected professor of literature at City College of New York who seems to have it all. He has a great girlfriend (Lauren Hutton, in one of her earliest roles), and a line of work in which he regales his students in George Washington, and even the Russian writer Fyofor Dostoyevsky's classic 1866 short novel "The Gambler". Unfortunately, he himself is a gambler, in the most literal sense possible. And not just any typical here-and-there type, but one addicted to the rush of betting on casino games in Las Vegas (or Lost Wages, according to many a wag), and on sporting events. He gets so caught up in the rush, explaining that there is no "juice" in not risking, that pretty soon he realizes he is up to his eyeballs in gambling debts of up to $44,000-and to the kind of people who don't take their clients not paying up particularly well, including, among others, Paul Sorvino and Burt Young. It comes down to asking one of his students basically to throw a basketball game to get him out of his fiduciary jam; but by then, his self-destructiveness is pretty much a foregone conclusion.Such an unsavory character just wouldn't fly these days in Hollywood, even though this film was remade exactly 40 years later with Mark Wahlberg in Caan's role (and was not all that memorable). But Caan, who up to this point had already gained a sizeable reputation as an actor via his role as Brian Piccolo in the 1971 TV film BRIAN'S SONG, and then as Sonny Corleone in THE GODFATHER, does such a good turn at playing the addicted teacher that we definitely feel for him in a lot of ways, even though we can despise what he does to others through that habit, not only to Hutton, but also to his mother (Jacqueline Brooks) and father (Morris Carnovsky).By today's standards, even at 111 minutes, and with a fair amount of four-letter words in Toback's script, this film isn't exactly a fast film. But not films have to be fast to be compelling; and it is because of Caan's performance, Reisz's direction, and the steady editing of Roger Spottiswoode, who had worked with Sam Peckinpah on, among other things, STRAW DOGS, that THE GAMBLER works well enough to make even the slow spots more than bearable. It also doesn't hurt to have James Woods here, in one of his earliest roles, along with M. Emmett Walsh, Stuart Margolin, and Vic Tayback, either.The other notable thing about THE GAMBLER is that the psychological and self-destructive dynamics of Caan's character are manifested via the underrated composer Jerry Fielding's chilling interpolation of Gustav Mahler's Titan Symphony (no. 1) into his score (it is also heard on the soundtrack as performed by the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam under Bernard Haitink). The use of this ultra-popular Mahler symphony enhances the almost nightmarish quality of Caan's gambling addiction.In summation, while it is not exactly the most rapidly-paced film ever made, and is sometimes quite disturbing, THE GAMBLER is also exceptionally compelling, and a solid look at the experimentalism of 1970s filmmaking, in a way that far too many Hollywood films of the 21st century are not.

Much criticism and disappointment has been expressed over the new remake of this movie that was released over Christmas. Having seen this version over the remake already in theaters, I understand where the disappointment is coming from. Why on earth would you even dare to remake a film as incredible as this? This original version with James Caan went largely ignored when released, but it stands to me as one of the greatest films to ever come out of the 70's. It has that gritty, NYC, 70's feel that made films like Mean Streets and Serpico so great. The performances are masterful. You can't go wrong with James Caan, or Paul Sorvino either. I HIGHLY recommend, you see this one first before you even think about seeing, what is probably, a useless remake of this classic.

Before Steve McQueen's "Shame" was director Karel Reisz's "The Gambler". Both films watch as an addict and masochist descends into self-obliteration, only here we have actor James Caan as Alex Freed, a Jewish professor who is addicted to gambling.Several sequences flesh out Freed's state of mind. Before his students he relates two stories, one in which human willpower is trumpeted over "reality" - the gambler's steadfast self-belief – and another in which Freed essentially states that "Americans don't take risk". Freed, of course, takes irrational risks. That's his modus operandi.James Caan has stated that he regards "The Gambler" as containing his finest performance. He's excellent, but the film itself consists of nothing but sequences in which Freed makes bets, loses and then proceeds optimistically to the next bet. The film then climaxes with a powerful sequence in which Freed visits a prostitute and provokes a fight with a pimp. This pimp slashes Freed's face with a blade. Interestingly, Freed seems to delight in being cut, simultaneously aroused by his desires for self-destruction and unconsciously disgusted with his life (he seems to deplore his wealthy family members, seeking penance for both "their behaviour" and his own oppositional lifestyle choices). The film costars Burt Young as Carmine. He's terrific as a loan shark who shifts from close friend to terrifying brute.7/10 – See "The Hustler" and "California Split".

The Gambler is still after thirty years the definitive movie about the gambling experience. I remember the first time i saw this movie when i was in my mid-teens. I had just started my own personal gambling journey, attending my local dog track. There was something very special about this movie and i knew it would have a profound effect on my life. From the beginning, The Gambler is a very dark movie. The opening scenes are of James Caan leaving a casino in the early hours of the morning after losing heavily at the tables. He drives his car recalling his losses and curses to himself. The movie soundtrack plays Gustav Mahler's 1st Symphony (this piece sets the whole tone for the movie in my opinion). Mahler is great for tragedy (remember Death in Venice). Caan's character, Axel Freed, then wipes himself out completely, losing his last 20 bucks to some guys playing basketball for small change. This is the first indication as to Axel's self-destructiveness, that he is always looking for a 'result', be it good or bad. We learn that Axel is a an educated man, very educated. He teaches English as a University Professor. In his gambling though he chooses to play the fool, perhaps purposely. He avoids the 'locks' and sure things and instead courts uncertainty in his never ending craving for thrills and experience. Unless his bet is good for 'action', then it is no good at all. Unfortunately for Axel and everyone he loves (mother, girlfriend, grandfather) this cavalier style of play leads to nothing but financial misery and breakdown of valued relationships (particularly that with his mother, which is also key to the whole film). He is a martingale player in the true sense (double or nothing). One day everything seems to go right and he reaches a plateau when doubling on 18 and drawing a 3! He wins enough to break free from his shylocks, but is still not satisfied and he risks all his profits from his good day on a game of basketball. The scene when he loses this bet in the last second of the game listening to the commentary in the bath is incredibly real to anyone who has gambled for 'proper' money and lost will testify. That feeling of being absolutely sick to your stomach, not to mention the feelings of isolation, guilt and plain stupidity. The film could of ended there in a way, but it goes to another level. To finally free himself of the money lenders (local mob), Axel agrees to fix a college basketball game where he teaches by bribing one of his English students who is the star player on the team. In a close game Axel's student comes through and his debts are cleared. As at the start of the film though, Axel is still looking for a result. The only gamble left to him, is that of his own life. He walks into a bar and picks up a prostitute in the Harlem district of New York. Then he purposely does not pay her which provokes her pimp (Antonio Fargas a.k.a Huggy Bear) into drawing a knife on him. Caan pushes himself onto the knife, daring the pimp to kill him. Fargas pushes him away and Caan begins to beat on him relentlessly. As he drops his knife, the hooker picks it up and slashes Caan. Staggering from the building, Axel sees his reflection. Blood pours from the wound. He smiles to himself, he has his result! Mahler plays... Also watch out for the scene in the film when Axel and leg-breaker for one of the loan sharks visit a guy who cant pay. The first time you watch this its terrifying.