Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
John Cassavetes’s uncompromising character study of a gangster, with Ben Gazzara as the small-time club owner whose life begins to spin out of control.
Gangster 1976 109 mins
Director: John Cassavetes
Overview
In an absorbing performance, Ben Gazzara plays small-time Sunset Strip entrepreneur Cosmo Vitelli, owner of the Crazy Horse West night spot. An obsessive showman, Cosmo navigates a murky world of loan sharks and crooks to keep his club afloat, but when a gambling debt spirals out of control he is blackmailed into accepting a murderous commission.
Featuring stand-out turns by Seymour Cassel and Timothy Carey as the underworld racketeers out to fleece Cosmo, John Cassavetes’s portrayal of one man’s hubristic descent subverts the conventions of its genre to explore the darker side of the American dream. Arguably the most plot-driven of his films, Cassavates withdrew The Killing of a Chinese Bookie shortly after the initial release and subsequently re-cut a shorter version with a different opening. The re-cut version is available on the Blu-ray and the DVD includes the long version amongst the special features.
Contains moderate nudity and violenceAccessibility
Related
Gangster
Shinjuku Triad Society Shinjuku Triad Society
Gangster 1995 102 mins Director: Takashi Miike
Amid a war between Taiwanese Triads and Japanese Yakuza, a mixed-race cop hunts a psychotic criminal who traffics in children's organs.
Sonatine Sonatine
Crime 1993 94 mins Director: Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano's masterful and meditative gangster film, about a yakuza sent to the beautiful beaches of Okinawa where he has time to ruminate on his fate.
Face Face
Crime 1997 101 mins Director: Antonia Bird
Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone are members of a criminal gang that tears itself apart after a heist goes wrong, in Antonia Bird’s stylish thriller.
BFI London Film Festival
Catch Me Daddy Catch Me Daddy
Thriller 2013 112 mins Director: Daniel Wolfe
A young couple whose relationship has divided a community are forced on the run through the streets and moors of nocturnal Yorkshire.
A Bigger Splash A Bigger Splash
Thriller 2015 125 mins Director: Luca Guadagnino
Ralph Fiennes delivers a sensational performance as one of four passionate souls sharing a villa in the Sicilian sunshine, with jealousy, intrigue and violence simmering beneath the surface.
Little Joe Little Joe
Science Fiction 2019 105 mins Director: Jessica Hausner
Jessica Hausner’s cool, witty and unsettling sci-fi starring Emily Beecham and Ben Whishaw.
Lynn + Lucy Lynn + Lucy
Drama 2019 88 mins Director: Fyzal Boulifa
A lifelong friendship is tested by tragedy in this atmospheric and intense first feature from acclaimed British shorts director Fyzal Boulifa.
Wolf Children Wolf Children
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2013 118 mins Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Single mother Hana must bring up her wolf children away from the prying eyes of the neighbours in this stunning anime.
Koko-di Koko-da Koko-di Koko-da
Horror 2019 89 mins Director: Johannes Nyholm
If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a very nasty surprise…
Featuring Ben Gazzara
Opening Night Opening Night
Drama 1977 144 mins Director: John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes’s emotionally charged film stands as one of the great American movies about theatre and the art of performance.
Directed by John Cassavetes
A Woman Under the Influence A Woman Under the Influence
Drama 1974 146 mins Director: John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes's powerful drama stars Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk as a blue-collar couple struggling to cope with the wife's slide into mental illness.
Opening Night Opening Night
Drama 1977 144 mins Director: John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes’s emotionally charged film stands as one of the great American movies about theatre and the art of performance.
Faces Faces
Drama 1968 130 mins Director: John Cassavetes
Richard and his wife Maria seek solace from their disintegrating marriage in the arms of other lovers in John Cassavetes's powerful 1968 feature.
Shadows Shadows
Drama 1959 82 mins Director: John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes' directorial debut follows the relationship between a mixed-race woman and a white man.
New
All About My Mother All About My Mother
Drama 1999 101 mins Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Almodóvar's dazzling study of grief, motherhood and female solidarity, winner of an Oscar® for Best Foreign Language Film.
System Crasher System Crasher
Drama 2019 120 mins Director: Nora Fingscheidt
An intensive drama about a pre-pubescent girl who actually crashes Germany’s child and welfare system whilst on her quest for love and security.
Prevenge Prevenge
Comedy 2016 88 mins Director: Alice Lowe
Alice Lowe directs and stars in this riotous tale of a pregnant serial killer, hellbent on revenge.
Only God Forgives Only God Forgives
Crime 2013 90 mins Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Ryan Gosling takes on Bangkok’s criminal underworld in this kaleidoscopic revenge fantasy from cult director Nicolas Winding Refn.
Talk to Her Talk to Her
Drama 2002 113 mins Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Two men are brought together while caring for women in comas, in one of Almodóvar's most acclaimed and moving features.
A White, White Day A White, White Day
Drama 2019 109 mins Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Iceland’s finest actor Ingvar Sigurðsson gives a heart-breaking and Cannes award-winning performance as widowed cop who becomes increasingly obsessed with his wife’s death.