The Gambler 4K 1974 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

For $10,000, they break arms; for $20,000, they break legs. With a salary of $1,500, Axel Fried, a college literature professor, is $44,000 in debt.

Review 4K Movie

The first thing you notice when watching is the accuracy and realism of the main character's behavior and motivation. The documentary nature of the events described is also reinforced by references to real historical facts—the game between Seattle and the Lakers, on which Axel Fried bets $50,000, was actually played in November 1970 and ended with a score of 111-110 in favor of Seattle. The same technique was later used in the film Buffalo 66, where Billy Brown loses a bet and ends up in prison because of Scott Norwood's miss in the 1991 Super Bowl final.

It is immediately clear that someone who had never been in similar situations could not have written such a script or made such a film. Indeed, screenwriter James Toback himself was involved in the world of gambling, casinos, and sports betting, and the script for this cult film is partly autobiographical.

In my opinion, the filmmakers' primary goal was to show the true motivation of the main character, the reasons for his self-destructive, antisocial, and sometimes insane behavior. Of course, they succeeded in many ways. From the list of sometimes completely idiotic and fantastical films on the theme of gambling and gambling addiction, the film ‘The Gambler’ certainly stands out, its realism is captivating, and the quality of the images and the creators' attention to detail are pleasing to the eye and inspire admiration.