The killing of a Chinese bookie

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Summary

John Cassavetes engages with film noir in his own inimitable style with The killing of a Chinese Bookie. Ben Gazzara brilliantly portrays a gentleman's club owner, Cosmo Vitelli, desperately commit...

John Cassavetes engages with film noir in his own inimitable style with The killing of a Chinese Bookie. Ben Gazzara brilliantly portrays a gentleman's club owner, Cosmo Vitelli, desperately committed to maintaining a facade of suave gentility despite the seediness of his environment and his own unhealthy appetites. When he runs afoul of loan sharks, Cosmo must carry out a terrible crime or lose his way of life. Mesmerizing and idiosyncratic, the film is a provocative examination of masculine identity. It is presented here in two versions: Cassavetes's original 1976 edit and his 1978 one, nearly thirty minutes shorter.

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