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Special Features
- 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 film’s release
- Stills gallery featuring rare behind-the-scenes production photos
- A booklet featuring an essay by Phillip Lopate
Editorial Reviews
Review
Things we have never
seen on screen before. --David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
Visually stunning, stylistically extravagant. --Newsweek
seen on screen before. --David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
Visually stunning, stylistically extravagant. --Newsweek
Product Description
John Cassavetes engages film noir in his own inimitable style with The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Ben Gazzara brilliantly portrays gentlemen s club owner Cosmo Vitelli, a man dedicated to pretenses of composure and self-possession. When he runs afoul of a group of gangsters, Cosmo is forced to commit a horrible crime in a last-ditch effort to save his beloved club and his way of life. Suspenseful, mesmerizing, and idiosyncratic, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is a thought-provoking examination of desperation and masculine identity. Available for the first time as a stand-alone release, from the box set John Cassavetes: Five Films.
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
Restored high-definition digital transfer of John Cassavetes original 1976, 135-minute edit of the film
Restored high-definition digital transfer of Cassavetes 108-minute edit from the 1978 theatrical rerelease
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 film s release
Stills gallery featuring rare, behind-the-scenes production photos
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Phillip Lopate and interviews with Cassavetes
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
Restored high-definition digital transfer of John Cassavetes original 1976, 135-minute edit of the film
Restored high-definition digital transfer of Cassavetes 108-minute edit from the 1978 theatrical rerelease
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 film s release
Stills gallery featuring rare, behind-the-scenes production photos
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Phillip Lopate and interviews with Cassavetes
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
God bless the Criterion Collection and their decision to release The Killing of a Chinese Bookie as a two-disc set, featuring the original 1976-theatrical version and 1978-director's cut. Director John Cassavetes considered the film a failure and had it removed from theatrical distribution seven days after its release. The 1978-cut of the film is nearly 30 minutes shorter in length and is truly a "director's cut." This is not some money making scheme; Cassavetes constructed an entirely different film, using scenes not present in the theatrical version and removing entire sequences that were. This review is for both versions.
Ben Gazzara plays Cosmo Vittelli, owner of Crazy Horse West, a strip joint.
This much the two versions agree on. In the theatrical version, Cosmo meets Mort (Seymour Cassel) at his club. Mort tells Cosmo about a gambling joint and invites him to check it out. Cosmo does and ends up with a $23,000 debt. In the director's cut, Cosmo doesn't meet Mort at Crazy Horse West. Instead, he simply goes to a gambling joint and loses $23,000. Cassavetes establishes who has control over the gambling joint with a scene where some gangsters confront an urologist who has accumulated a $5,000 debt.
In both versions, the men from the gambling joint arrive at Crazy Horse West and tell Cosmo about a Chinese bookie, along with an offer that will help him significantly reduce his debt. Cosmo doesn't like the idea and, at first, refuses. The gangsters insist he reconsider and give him a gun, a car, and no wiggle room.
This synopsis could indicate a thriller, a character study, a thrilling character study...Something of this nature. While it is a character study, by the time you reach the 50-minute mark of the theatrical version you won't have a clue what you're watching and it wouldn't be out of line for me to say that many people will have turned it off by this point.
Many of the scenes in the theatrical version do feel too long or unnecessary. This cut has many long, unbroken shots, and sometimes tedious dialogue. The upside was that the dialogue didn't feel written (and indeed, some of it was improvised) and, as such, many scenes achieved a sort of reality. Be that as it may, reality is not always as entertaining as fiction.
Cassavetes does bring some genuine excitement and tension to a few scenes though, notably the scene where Cosmo goes to the title character's house. The excitement and tension are heightened much more by the director's cut, as we reach this point in the film much sooner.
The performances in both versions are terrific. Gazzara turns in an Oscar worthy performance as Cosmo, which is rather remarkable as he reportedly struggled with the role. Cosmo is a complicated character; simultaneously self-assured, charismatic, and conflicted. He's not a bad guy, but by the end you're not entirely sure if he's a good guy either. In the director's cut, the greatness of his performance is even more fully realized as it focuses more on his character. Cassavetes changed the opening scene in his cut to Cosmo walking out of Crazy Horse West to reassure the bouncer that "it'll pick up." This is a far superior way of establishing the character.
Seymour Cassel is also impressive as the snake-like, conniving Mort...Much of his screen-time is cut in the director's version, leaving little time for one to take much notice of him. However, he's particularly effective in the scene where he explains things to Cosmo from inside his car.
Martin Scorsese collaborated with John Cassavetes on the idea for this film. It's hard to deny a Scorsese influence, even many characters seem like descendants of characters from earlier Scorsese films. However, if Scorsese had directed The Killing of a Chinese Bookie we'd have a much different film. Probably a masterpiece, but a very different film; the theatrical version has a loosely constructed plot with all the pieces for a masterpiece present, just not connected properly. The puzzle is finished with the director's cut, which has even more of a Scorsese-feel to it.
Other changes made for the director's cut include revealing Cosmo is a Korean War vet who killed in the war, the details the gangsters give about the hit are much more elaborate...And Cosmo's girls and Mr. Sophistication (I won't bother explaining who these people are) only have one scene. The multiple scenes of them were what really weighed down the theatrical version, so this was a brilliant creative decision.
What's remarkable is that many filmmakers wouldn't complain if they had made the theatrical version. It's not the most entertaining film in the world, but it's more accessible than a film like Woman Under the Influence - Criterion Collection. Beyond that, you can see how this film may have influenced later films. It's proof that a character study, even one involving murder, can be slow and methodical...It doesn't have to cut right to the chase. Both the style and structure of this film evoked memories of Vincent Gallo's Buffalo '66, which also starred Gazzara.
However, many filmgoers have complained about how the film doesn't have much of a plot, but simply an outline that's filled with unnecessary, pointless dialogue. The ending sums up what this film felt like for me. It's like walking into someone's life for a period of time and than just leaving unannounced. In the 1976-cut, we walk into Cosmo's life for 2 hours and 12 minutes. In the 1978-cut, we walk into Cosmo's life for 1 hour and 46 minutes.
The 1976 cut of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is not a masterpiece, due in large part to its loose structure. It clearly had the potential to be a masterpiece and many of the scenes are very inspired. Even though Cassavetes hated this version, the theatrical version is something. What it is, I couldn't say. With the 1978 cut, Cassavetes did something incredible. With the tightened structure, more even-handed narrative, and increased focus on the Cosmo character Cassavetes turned this film into a masterpiece. In this form, it is a great film. It's still likely to disappoint those intrigued by the title/synopsis as it's still slow, methodical, and with a meditative structure. However, it is a cinematic treasure that is both entertaining and powerful. This is the definitive version of the film, as it was meant to be seen...And it would be a shame if you missed it.
THEATRICAL-VERSION: B+
DIRECTOR'S CUT: A
Ben Gazzara plays Cosmo Vittelli, owner of Crazy Horse West, a strip joint.
This much the two versions agree on. In the theatrical version, Cosmo meets Mort (Seymour Cassel) at his club. Mort tells Cosmo about a gambling joint and invites him to check it out. Cosmo does and ends up with a $23,000 debt. In the director's cut, Cosmo doesn't meet Mort at Crazy Horse West. Instead, he simply goes to a gambling joint and loses $23,000. Cassavetes establishes who has control over the gambling joint with a scene where some gangsters confront an urologist who has accumulated a $5,000 debt.
In both versions, the men from the gambling joint arrive at Crazy Horse West and tell Cosmo about a Chinese bookie, along with an offer that will help him significantly reduce his debt. Cosmo doesn't like the idea and, at first, refuses. The gangsters insist he reconsider and give him a gun, a car, and no wiggle room.
This synopsis could indicate a thriller, a character study, a thrilling character study...Something of this nature. While it is a character study, by the time you reach the 50-minute mark of the theatrical version you won't have a clue what you're watching and it wouldn't be out of line for me to say that many people will have turned it off by this point.
Many of the scenes in the theatrical version do feel too long or unnecessary. This cut has many long, unbroken shots, and sometimes tedious dialogue. The upside was that the dialogue didn't feel written (and indeed, some of it was improvised) and, as such, many scenes achieved a sort of reality. Be that as it may, reality is not always as entertaining as fiction.
Cassavetes does bring some genuine excitement and tension to a few scenes though, notably the scene where Cosmo goes to the title character's house. The excitement and tension are heightened much more by the director's cut, as we reach this point in the film much sooner.
The performances in both versions are terrific. Gazzara turns in an Oscar worthy performance as Cosmo, which is rather remarkable as he reportedly struggled with the role. Cosmo is a complicated character; simultaneously self-assured, charismatic, and conflicted. He's not a bad guy, but by the end you're not entirely sure if he's a good guy either. In the director's cut, the greatness of his performance is even more fully realized as it focuses more on his character. Cassavetes changed the opening scene in his cut to Cosmo walking out of Crazy Horse West to reassure the bouncer that "it'll pick up." This is a far superior way of establishing the character.
Seymour Cassel is also impressive as the snake-like, conniving Mort...Much of his screen-time is cut in the director's version, leaving little time for one to take much notice of him. However, he's particularly effective in the scene where he explains things to Cosmo from inside his car.
Martin Scorsese collaborated with John Cassavetes on the idea for this film. It's hard to deny a Scorsese influence, even many characters seem like descendants of characters from earlier Scorsese films. However, if Scorsese had directed The Killing of a Chinese Bookie we'd have a much different film. Probably a masterpiece, but a very different film; the theatrical version has a loosely constructed plot with all the pieces for a masterpiece present, just not connected properly. The puzzle is finished with the director's cut, which has even more of a Scorsese-feel to it.
Other changes made for the director's cut include revealing Cosmo is a Korean War vet who killed in the war, the details the gangsters give about the hit are much more elaborate...And Cosmo's girls and Mr. Sophistication (I won't bother explaining who these people are) only have one scene. The multiple scenes of them were what really weighed down the theatrical version, so this was a brilliant creative decision.
What's remarkable is that many filmmakers wouldn't complain if they had made the theatrical version. It's not the most entertaining film in the world, but it's more accessible than a film like Woman Under the Influence - Criterion Collection. Beyond that, you can see how this film may have influenced later films. It's proof that a character study, even one involving murder, can be slow and methodical...It doesn't have to cut right to the chase. Both the style and structure of this film evoked memories of Vincent Gallo's Buffalo '66, which also starred Gazzara.
However, many filmgoers have complained about how the film doesn't have much of a plot, but simply an outline that's filled with unnecessary, pointless dialogue. The ending sums up what this film felt like for me. It's like walking into someone's life for a period of time and than just leaving unannounced. In the 1976-cut, we walk into Cosmo's life for 2 hours and 12 minutes. In the 1978-cut, we walk into Cosmo's life for 1 hour and 46 minutes.
The 1976 cut of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is not a masterpiece, due in large part to its loose structure. It clearly had the potential to be a masterpiece and many of the scenes are very inspired. Even though Cassavetes hated this version, the theatrical version is something. What it is, I couldn't say. With the 1978 cut, Cassavetes did something incredible. With the tightened structure, more even-handed narrative, and increased focus on the Cosmo character Cassavetes turned this film into a masterpiece. In this form, it is a great film. It's still likely to disappoint those intrigued by the title/synopsis as it's still slow, methodical, and with a meditative structure. However, it is a cinematic treasure that is both entertaining and powerful. This is the definitive version of the film, as it was meant to be seen...And it would be a shame if you missed it.
THEATRICAL-VERSION: B+
DIRECTOR'S CUT: A
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Cosmoetica
John Cassavetes' The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie is a film that is one of those overlooked gems that is not only a great film, but a great record of its time, even if it might have more properly been titled The Murder Of A Chinese Bookie. As much as I love the early, raw films of Martin Scorsese- who reputedly thought up this tale with Cassavetes a few years earlier, no film I've ever seen so perfectly captures the mid-1970s Underworld as I knew it as a child. There is a sense that on can even smell the cheap liquor and cigaret smoke that pervades its images. While Scorsese's Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas are also great films, they are so highly stylized, scored, and choreographed that they attain mythic qualities, and are shorn of much of the realism Cassavetes' filmic world inhabits. What set Cassavetes apart from his contemporary American peers was that his films did not mythologize- they simply depicted. In this sense, he did for modern urbanity what German filmmaker Werner Herzog does for historical films- i.e.- brings them down to `eye level realism'. He also depicted his society with the same level of universal realism as Yasujiro Ozu did Post-War Japan.
In watching the two versions of this film, made available as part of The Criterion Collection's five disk John Cassavetes Five Films collection- the original 135 minute 1976 release, and the 109 minute 1978 re-release, one also gets a good representation of how greatness can be achieved. The longer version has only a few scenes more than the shorter version, and some of the same scenes go on a bit longer, but the tale is basically the same, for the extra scenes- while interesting, are not essential; such as Cosmo's banter with a cabby about their New York pasts, a tale on a gopher tail's causing botulism, and scenes outside a club. Even though the order of several scenes change, or are altered a bit, and there are a few segments unique to the 1978 version, the editing on the later version is generally superior. Rarely has a film- either version, cored so deeply into masculinity and the idea of territoriality. The longer version features a deeper portrait of the film's main character, Los Angeles strip club owner Cosmo Vitelli (Ben Gazzara)- a low man in the Underworld, and greater details his connections to the mobsters of the old guard who resent the rising criminal power of different ethnic groups.
The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie succeeds as a great piece of cinema because its lead character is one of the most realistically drawn characters in film history- he's a thug and a killer, yet one who is explicable. He is a businessman who cannot separate work from personal lives- his girlfriend is the bar's top stripper, and twenty or more years his junior. Yet, it is not a film noir, as so often called, for Cassavetes transcends the simpleminded techniques of that genre, and delivers a film of intellectual heft and psychological breadth, where murder blossoms from the seemingly most inane, perfunctory, and inconsequential of moments, and leads to an examination of masculinity and territoriality that has no peers in film. Sometimes his scenes go on a tad too long, but, like Walt Whitman's poetry, there is beauty and strength in even his excesses- something that many other so-called artists' most focused works lack. Cassavetes consistently served up his art at `the grown ups table,' as Woody Allen called drama vis-à-vis comedy, but so few film fans are used to real, or pure, drama, for Hollywood has so dissolved their minds with mid-level melodramas, that they simply are overwhelmed by his best films audacious pseudo-verité. That The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie may be his very best film is all the explanation needed for its lack of popularity in a deliterate age.
In watching the two versions of this film, made available as part of The Criterion Collection's five disk John Cassavetes Five Films collection- the original 135 minute 1976 release, and the 109 minute 1978 re-release, one also gets a good representation of how greatness can be achieved. The longer version has only a few scenes more than the shorter version, and some of the same scenes go on a bit longer, but the tale is basically the same, for the extra scenes- while interesting, are not essential; such as Cosmo's banter with a cabby about their New York pasts, a tale on a gopher tail's causing botulism, and scenes outside a club. Even though the order of several scenes change, or are altered a bit, and there are a few segments unique to the 1978 version, the editing on the later version is generally superior. Rarely has a film- either version, cored so deeply into masculinity and the idea of territoriality. The longer version features a deeper portrait of the film's main character, Los Angeles strip club owner Cosmo Vitelli (Ben Gazzara)- a low man in the Underworld, and greater details his connections to the mobsters of the old guard who resent the rising criminal power of different ethnic groups.
The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie succeeds as a great piece of cinema because its lead character is one of the most realistically drawn characters in film history- he's a thug and a killer, yet one who is explicable. He is a businessman who cannot separate work from personal lives- his girlfriend is the bar's top stripper, and twenty or more years his junior. Yet, it is not a film noir, as so often called, for Cassavetes transcends the simpleminded techniques of that genre, and delivers a film of intellectual heft and psychological breadth, where murder blossoms from the seemingly most inane, perfunctory, and inconsequential of moments, and leads to an examination of masculinity and territoriality that has no peers in film. Sometimes his scenes go on a tad too long, but, like Walt Whitman's poetry, there is beauty and strength in even his excesses- something that many other so-called artists' most focused works lack. Cassavetes consistently served up his art at `the grown ups table,' as Woody Allen called drama vis-à-vis comedy, but so few film fans are used to real, or pure, drama, for Hollywood has so dissolved their minds with mid-level melodramas, that they simply are overwhelmed by his best films audacious pseudo-verité. That The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie may be his very best film is all the explanation needed for its lack of popularity in a deliterate age.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Other commentators have favored the shorter "director's cut." I've only watched the longer, original version so cannot comment on how tightening it up through editing and removing the "boring" parts leads to an overall better product. With that disclaimer, it's my opinion not only that the original movie is a masterpiece but the so-called "flaws" are part of what makes it so good. Great art, as per the producer in the commentary on Disc 2, require an investment in time and attention on the part of the viewer. Less passivity. Among other things, this movie is a reflection on decrepitude, of life, dreams and even on a more visceral level, the American landscape. Set in L.A. in the mid-1970s, as the U.S. economy was falling apart (sound familiar?). L.A., America's dream factory and paradise, where in most films everything is beautiful, everything here, interior and exterior spaces, is dismal. Even the car used to get to the crime scene, which is rusty, breaks down. The filler that stretches on and on between action and plot development sequences -- silences, pointless dialogue, horrible cabaret scenes -- reflect what we see in the characters. The pace and look are lifelike, not a movielike. The empty spaces are not overly stylized (such as the "dull" moments in an Antonioni movie), although either approach is valid in the hands of a brilliant director. The way it's filmed, you can practically smell what's going on in the scenes.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
gritty and surprisingly romantic in some parts
Months before running across this movie -- I'd read about Cassavetes
and dismissed him as a "guy's director" whose movies probably wouldn't
interest me. Read more
and dismissed him as a "guy's director" whose movies probably wouldn't
interest me. Read more
Published 1 month ago by sparky_magic_rainbow
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Strugglin' Ta Keep The Show Alive"
Dark side of the American dream, that is. Cassavetes' interview focuses only on his metaphor of how Hollywood kills art, but I see it as a broader immigrant story. Read more
Published 13 months ago by mr. critic
4.0 out of 5 stars
Five stars for 108 minute version, three for the director's cut
It's still a fair movie at 135 minutes, but I liked the shorter version much more. I thought for once Cassavetes had exercised a little restraint and turned in a tight little crime... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Koreatown Krooner
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Opium was the Religion of the People."
According to interviews with Ben Gazzara and Al Ruban, and a contemporary audio interview with Cassavetes himself, audiences hated this film on its initial release. Read more
Published on February 27, 2010 by Bryan Byrd
3.0 out of 5 stars
A minority report
I didn't enjoy this as much as many others have, although I have seen other films by Cassavetes and would acknowledge that he is an important and original film maker. Read more
Published on June 1, 2009 by kevnm
5.0 out of 5 stars
Armed and Desperate
Of Cassavetes' 9 "personal" films, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is the most frustrating and revealing. Read more
Published on May 2, 2009 by Bradley Weismann
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