Croupier (1998)

Director:

Mike Hodges

Writer:

Paul Mayersberg (written by)

Release Date:

21 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Life's a Gamble

Plot:

An aspiring writer is hired as a croupier at a casino, where he realizes that his life as a croupier would make a great novel.

Plot Keywords:

Casino | Croupier | Gambler | Writer | Novel

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Clive Owen	...	Jack Manfred
Nick Reding	...	Giles Cremorne
Nicholas Ball	...	Jack Snr.
Alexander Morton	...	David Reynolds
Barnaby Kay	...	Car Dealer
Gina McKee	...	Marion Nell
John Radcliffe	...	Barber
Sheila Whitfield	...	Manicurist
David Hamilton	...	Casino Supervisor
Carol Davis	...	Table Supervisor
Eddie Osei	...	West Indian Punter
Doremy Vernon	...	Woman I
Claudine Carter	...	Woman II
Ursula Alberts	...	Madame Claude
Neville Phillips	...	White Haired Man

Also Known As:

Der Croupier (Germany)
Crupier (Spain) [es]
Il colpo - Analisi di una rapina (Italy) (video title) [it]
Kasinokeikka (Finland) [fi]
Krupije (Serbia) [sr]
La jugada (Argentina) [es]
O kroupieris (Greece) [el]
Rulet smrti (Croatia) [hr]

Runtime:

94 min | Poland:91 min

Country:

France | UK | Germany | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Ireland:15 | Poland:15 | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Infostudios, Monheim, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company:

Arte

Trivia:

Disqualified from the Academy Awards after being shown on Dutch television.

Quotes:

Jack: "The world breaks everyone, and afterwards, some are strong at the broken places"-Ernest Hemingway.
Matt: Wasn't he the one who shot himself?

Stylish and clever

I liked some things in this movie. One was that it was narrated in the 3rd person by the star (usually it's someone else who narrates in the third person), another is that I saw a world I didn't know about before. Sure, I know about casinos and bosses and workers, but I didn't know how it worked in Britain. In fact, I saw this as a British version of Casino (except without the mob and violence, though there is some violence). Also, Clive Owen makes a great lead as Jack, who goes through changes in his careers as a writer and a croupier. Possibly the best film to come from Britain this year (so far).