Special Screenings - Classics / The Killing of a Chinese Bookie / USA 1978
“Years ago, Martin Scorsese and I were talking and in one night made up this gangster story about this nightclub owner who owes a lot of money and is talked into killing someone who isn’t really the person he thinks he’s going to be killing.” Thus describes John Cassavetes the origins of this film, with which the Karlovy Vary film festival continues its ongoing Cassavetes master class. Ben Gazzara shines as the charismatic owner of a strip club in this dark character study passing itself off as a neo-noir crime drama. With his melancholic glimpse into the male psyche, Cassavetes created a metaphor likening the captains of Hollywood (whom he detested) to gangsters.
Karel Och
109 min / Color, DCP
Director John Cassavetes
/ Screenplay John Cassavetes
/ Dir. of Photography Mitch Breit, Al Ruban
/ Music Bo Harwood
/ Sound Bo Harwood
/ Editor Tom Cornwell
/ Art Director Phedon Papamichael
/ Producer Al Ruban
/ Production Faces Distribution Corporation
/ Cast Ben Gazzara, Seymour Cassel, Morgan Woodward, Timothy Carey, Robert Phillips, John Kullers, Al Ruban, Azizi Johari, Virginia Carrington, Meade Roberts
John Cassavetes (1929–1989). Selected filmography: Shadows (1958), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976), Gloria (1980).
First-hand brews throughout the year.
Be among the first to learn about upcoming events and other news. We only send the newsletter when we have something to say.
