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Best Buy > Music & Movies > Movies > Action & Adventure > General Action & Adventure > Product Info

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie - DVD

SKU: 17134085 | Release Date: 10/14/2008
Rating: R for Violence, Nudity, Not For Children, Adult Language

Shipping: Usually leaves our warehouse in 1 business day Estimate Arrival Time

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List Price:
$39.95
Our Price:
$29.99

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Rating
R for Violence, Nudity, Not For Children, Adult Language
Format
DVD
Theatrical Release
1976
Length
243 minutes
Screen Formats
Enhanced Widescreen for 16x9 TV
Genre
Action & Adventure
Studio
Criterion
Aspect Ratio
1.85:1

Synopsis

John Cassavetes takes a contemporary film noir turn (which he would return to in Gloria) after exploring domestic melodrama in A Woman Under the Influence with The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Ben Gazzara plays Cosmo Vitelli, the owner of a sleazy Los Angeles strip joint, who loses $20,000 at a mob gambling club owned by a small time gangster (Seymour Cassel). Since Cosmo doesn't have the $20,000, he is forced to murder a Chinese bookie in order to clear his debt to the mob. What Cosmo doesn't know is he's part of a set-up. The bookie is actually a West Coast mob boss protected around the clock by bodyguards. The mobsters figure that Cosmo will be killed in an impossible hit and they can take over his nightclub. But Cosmo proves luckier than the mobsters think -- he manages to kill his target, and now the mobsters have to track down Cosmo and kill him. Initially, at 133 minutes, the movie was subsequently re-edited by Cassavetes to 109 minutes. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Version Details

Sound
monaural
Languages/Sound
Eng
Screen Formats
Enhanced Widescreen for 16x9 TV
Additional Features
Disc 1: Restored high-definition digital transfer of John Cassavetes' original 135-minute edit of the film Disc 2: Restored high-definition digital transfer of Cassavetes' 108-minute edit for the 1978 theatrical re-release Video interviews with star Ben Gazzara and producer Al Ruban Audio interview with Cassavetes by film historians Michel Ciment and Michael Wilson, conducted after the films release Stills gallery featuring rare behind-the-scenes production photos Plus: A booklet featuring as essay by Phillip Lopate
Chapters
Disc #1 -- The Killing of a Chinese Bookie - The 1976 Cut
1. Paid in Full [:17]
2. Scotch and Water [4:29]
3. Crazy Horse West [4:20]
4. "It'll Pick Up" [4:30]
5. Picking up the Girls [7:44]
6. Casino [4:54]
7. Audition [11:01]
8. Gay Paris [9:07]
9. Debt Reduction [8:51]
10. Further Instruction [5:02]
11. En Route [7:15]
12. Killing [1:19]
13. Damage Control [6:26]
14. "Imagination" [9:02]
15. Shootout [7:43]
16. A Rose for Betty [4:52]
17. Backstage [13:14]
18. A Whole New Trip [7:24]
Disc #2 -- The Killing of a Chinese Bookie - The 1978 Cut
1. "It'll Pick Up"/Paid in Full [:17]
2. Scotch and Water [3:25]
3. Picking up the Girls [4:22]
4. Casino [4:11]
5. Audition [10:28]
6. Gay Paris [7:45]
7. Debt Reduction [6:01]
8. Further Instruction [8:55]
9. En Route [5:49]
10. Killing [6:18]
11. Damage Control [2:20]
12. "Imagination" [:55]
13. Shootout [4:07]
14. A Rose for Betty [6:49]
15. Backstage [4:47]
16. A Whole New Trip [10:04]
1. Color Bars

Cast

  • Jack Ackerman - Musical director
  • Vincent Barbi - Vince
  • Val Avery - Blair Benoit
  • Timothy Carey - Flo
  • John Kullers - Eddie "Red" (Gangster)
  • Ben Marino - Sonny Venice
  • Robert Phillips - Phil
  • David Rowlands - Lamarr
  • Al Ruban - Marty Reitz
  • Meade Roberts - Mr. Sophistication
  • Virginia Carrington - Betty the Mother
  • Jean-Pierre Cassel
  • Seymour Cassel - Mort Weil
  • Elizabeth Deering - Lavinia
  • Hugo Soto - The Chinese Bookie
  • Frank Thomas
  • Kathalina Veniero - Annie
  • Jason Kincaid - Parking Lot Attendant
  • Donna Gordon - Margo
  • Alice Friedland - Sherry
  • John Finnegan - Cabbie
  • Ben Gazzara - Cosmo Vitelli
  • Haji - Haji
  • Azizi Johari - Rachel
  • Morgan Woodward - John the Boss
  • Gene Darcy - Commodore
  • Soto Joe Hugh - Chinese Bookie
  • Benny Marino - Sonny Venice
  • Allan Ruban - Marty Reitz

Crew

  • Composer (Music Score): Bo Harwood
  • Sound/Sound Designer: Bo Harwood
  • Composer (Music Score): Anthony Harris
  • Art Director: Phedon Papamichael
  • Cinematographer: Michael Stringer
  • Producer: Al Ruban
  • Cinematographer: Al Ruban
  • Production Designer: Bryan Ryman ,Sam Shaw
  • Cinematographer: Mike Ferris
  • Editor: Tom Cornwell
  • Costume Designer: Mary Hurne
  • Screenwriter: John Cassavetes
  • Director: John Cassavetes
  • Cinematographer: Frederick Elmes
  • Producer: Allan Ruban
  • Cinematographer: Allan Ruban

Related Movies

  • Money Kings - DVD
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie: AMG Review
Brendon Hanley , AMG

John Cassavetes's elliptical mid-1970s picture walks a fine line between self-indulgent and inventive. Fascinating in its originality, the film is somewhat undercut by an unsteady blend of naturalism and artifice. Originally developed with Martin Scorsese, the movie is ostensibly a gangster film, but the genre is bent into a demented character study. Cassavetes regular Ben Gazzara delivers an absorbing performance as the man forced into a moral quandary and barely aware of it. The movie was originally released in 1976 at 135 minutes, but it was re-edited in 1978 to 109 minutes. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide

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