CASINO + 21 + ROUNDERS + CROUPIER + THE CINCINNATI KID: What Are the Top Five Films Ever Made About Gambling?
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Cinema is all about providing high octane thrills for viewers. This can be done in several ways, such as through gunfights and frantic car chases. These exciting occurrences translate well to the screen and don’t require much exposition for viewers to understand the stakes. In some circumstances, gambling can provide the people playing it with similar levels of thrills. However, this feeling isn’t something that can be experienced by an outside observer. Some filmmakers have managed to provide a sense of what it feels like to gamble, though, and the movies that have done it successfully stand out against the many others that failed.
Casino
It wouldn’t be a list of the best gambling films ever made if Martin Scorsese’s Casino wasn't mentioned. The 1995 offering carried on the director’s incredible form of the 1990s that started with Goodfellas in 1990, Cape Fear the following year and The Age of Innocence in 1993. Casino was almost like a sequel to Goodfellas, another top gangster offering but this time set in Las Vegas.
As we covered at fancarpet.com, Scorsese takes the viewer through the everyday workings of a casino and provides a real insight into what it is like to run a flourishing gambling house in Sin City. The film details all the roles on the casino floor, from croupier to floor manager. It also perfectly displays the excitement that players feel when they bet on the games.
21
To say that blackjack is the most popular card game ever invented, there have only been a few movies over the years that have used it as a central theme. This doesn’t really reflect the high number of people that play it online. The game has even broken out into emerging markets like India, and this is highlighted by the number of sites recommended by Asiabet.org. There are numerous online casinos to choose from in the country, each with its own unique welcome bonus. Those new to the game will several guides and strategies for the game, which will help give context when viewing this film.
Anyone who hasn’t played blackjack may feel the urge to do so after seeing Robert Luketic’s 2008 picture. The film is based on a true story and features a group of expert blackjack players who take their skills to the tables of Las Vegas. The swooping camera angles that quickly cut between first and third-person perspectives help to encapsulate the rush of playing in a buzzing casino. The rules of the game are explained as well so that even a layperson can follow the action.
Rounders
Rounders is easily the best-known poker film ever made, and it has even been credited with helping to kick-start the poker boom. The 1998 John Dahl picture follows an expert card player as he hustles his way through many high stakes games. It focuses on the psychological side of poker, and how an adroit player can deduce what his opponents may be holding.
Upon its release, Rounders was only moderately successful. However, it became a cult classic later on after the internet poker scene blew up in the 2000s.
Croupier
Croupier is similar to Casino in the way it aims to give viewers an insight into the games from the point of view of the house. This was another 1998 release, directed by Mike Hodges. It features a young Clive Owen as a croupier in a bustling casino, who gets sucked into the vibrant and electric nightlife. Along with launching Owen’s career in North America, the film was also recognized by critics and has a 96 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Cincinnati Kid
The Cincinnati Kid is one of the golden oldies that is just crying out for a modern remake. The 1965 offering from Norman Jewison perhaps didn’t get the credit it deserved back when it was released. This could have been because its central theme, poker, was only played by a relatively small number of people at the time. Jewison even described it as his “ugly duckling film.”
The picture stars Steve McQueen as the title character, who rises through the ranks of the poker scene in New Orleans. The strain of poker in the movie is a five-card stud, which was the most popular variant at the time. If it were remade, the new director would have to change that to Texas Hold’em to appease modern audiences.
For an industry that attracts such high playing numbers, it’s shocking that there haven’t been many more successful gambling films. Directors who want to make a film in the genre should take some inspiration from these offerings, as they manage to capture the thrills incredibly well.
