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The Gambler

1974 · 112 min

A slow, queasy descent into self-destruction, watching a clever man calmly gamble away everything while daring the world to hurt him.

Directed by
Karel Reisz
Genres
Drama, Crime
Starring
James Caan, Paul Sorvino, Lauren Hutton
Tagline
For $10,000 they break your arms. For $20,000 they break your legs. Axel Freed owes $44,000.
Overview
New York City English professor Axel Freed outwardly seems like an upstanding citizen. But privately Freed is in the clutches of a severe gambling addiction that threatens to destroy him.

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Rent or buy in the UK
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
  • Sky Store
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Karel Reisz
Genres
Drama, Crime
Starring
James Caan, Paul Sorvino, Lauren Hutton
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • addiction
  • obsession
  • isolation
  • guilt
  • class
Places
  • big city
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language strong
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror2
Humour2
Realism8
Romance3
Tension8
Darkness8
Complexity6
Emotional weight7

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Where to watch in the UK

Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
  • Sky Store
  • YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, crime
Directed by
Karel Reisz
Written by
James Toback
Starring
James Caan, Paul Sorvino, Lauren Hutton, Morris Carnovsky, Jacqueline Brookes, Burt Young, Carmine Caridi, Carl W. Crudup
Music
Jerry Fielding
Cinematography
Victor J. Kemper
Runtime
112 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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