Product Details

• Actors: David Krumholtz, Tory Kittles, Carmine Giovinazzo, Jennifer Morrison, Nicholas Turturro
• Directors: Ernest R. Dickerson
• Writers: Jason Keller, Michael Ritchie
• Producers: Kevin J. Messick, Michael Lindenbaum, Steven R. McGlothen
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: December 17, 2002
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006AUJN
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,736 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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• For more information about "Big Shot - Confessions of a Campus Bookie" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Based on actual events, Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie plays like a frat-house blend of Casino and Goodfellas. Originally broadcast on FX, it's got the sanitized veneer of a TV movie, but it's an honest, R-rated appraisal of Bennie Silman, a Brooklyn-born student at Arizona State University who reaped--and lost--a fortune in 1994 by fixing basketball games with the help of star player Stevin "Hedake" Smith. Perfectly cast as Silman, the always-interesting David Krumholtz ("Bernard" from the Santa Clause movies) speaks to the camera, inviting us into his first-person account of money, girls, and the Mafia. It's a party animal's fantasy until the bloody-nosed climax, directed with edgy energy, but not enough substance, by Ernest R. Dickerson (who fared marginally better with his Showtime film Our America). Krumholtz and Tory Kittles (as Smith) make this a compelling enterprise, however, and the real Bennie Silman appears in a coda that roots the movie in harsh, cautionary reality. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

When Benny Silman left Brooklyn for Arizona State University, he felt like he was stepping into a Coppertone commercial. The Sun, the beautiful girls?life was good. Once he discovered the bright lights of Vegas and the adrenaline rush of gambling, things got even better. Soon he was the "campus bookie" making good cash and having a blast with his buddies. It wasn't until he began to fix basketball games that his high stakes life began to spin out of control. This is the real-life story of the 1994 Arizona State University point-shaving scandal that rocked the NCAA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really good flick, February 15, 2004

By	K. Stuckey "kateling" (Port Huron, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This movie, based on a true story is interesting and Ernest Dickerson's direction is superb - I like the 'shaky' camera effects. David Krumholtz is awesome as Benny Silman! He starts out as a naive freshman, moving across the country to go to college, but the freedoms get the best of him. He starts gambling, then works for a bookie, then goes out on his own. He ends up hooking up with a b-baller to assure the house wins everytime, but the wrong people find out about his scheme and it gets complicated.

The subplot with Callie is cute, especially when she mocks him. This movie is great, even after repeated viewings.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars edited subsequent to price drop; still 4 stars, December 30, 2002

By A Customer

originally i said this was a very good movie to buy if you could stomach the then-high price, which i could. i went to ASU around the time the hedake smith story was reaching full media realization. this is an interesting take on the whole mess.

the DVD's best extra, of the real benny silman explaining what happened, is a raw take on the situation from a guy who genuinely seems to understand he did wrong. (note that, as best i could tell, no footage was added or subtracted from the TV version of the actual movie, in case you hoped to see callie nude or witness benny brutally unloading a machine gun on big red and his posse.)

flaws: the video transfer, though generally glossy and praiseworthy, is a little messy in a couple spots (most noticeably when benny is selling suits). and the spanish subtitles consistently refer to ASU as the university of arizona - an obvious sore spot for any ASU alum!

anyway, i watched it twice the first day i bought it, and this was a movie i'd already seen once on TV.

highly recommended. thanks for releasing this, FX.

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Sportsbetting? You will like this movie!, November 10, 2009

By	Dustin (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

If you like sports betting or are into gambling you will enjoy this movie. I like the fact it's based on a true story. No this isn't a major blockbuster but if you are into any kind of gambling I think you will have a high appreciation for this movie. Going from rags to riches in a very short period of time only to come crashing back down. Just shows how fast you can get caught up in something and how greedy people really are. After watching this it really makes you think how much point shaving in college games actually is going on. This is a must have dvd for all the gamblers out there!