Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

mitch2209 Forget that the film was directed by John Cassavetes or that it starred Ben Gazarra and just look at the story. From the title we know that a Chinese Bookie is killed and we eventually discover that the Gazarra character must carry out a murder to pay off his gambling debt. Unfortunately, by the time this is revealed in the film, most of the audience will be asleep. The main problems with this movie are that the story is ridiculous and the main character is not someone 'to root for'. Cosmo Vittelli (Gazarra) is a delusional, poor gambler who owns possibly the world's lousiest strip club and is not someone we dearly want to have succeed. He takes three of his strippers to watch him lose $23,000 at a gambling club and then we're supposed to hope he gets away with murdering a 'Chinese bookie' as a way of paying it off? I felt sympathy for the protagonist (Gazarra), but the guy was simply a fool. If he was someone to be admired and he accidentally got into debt to some criminals, then yes, I may have wanted him to succeed or maybe to get even. But the idiot paid off a huge debt at the start of the movie and then goes about getting into another one immediately after! By far the worst aspect of this movie (apart from the story) is the dialogue. It seems that Cassavetes wanted plenty of impromptu acting in this movie to make it more 'lifelike' and 'realistic', but it simply didn't work. The actors clearly don't know what to say and end up repeating lines over and over. The scene where Gazarra is talking to his barman in a telephone booth after his car breaks down is just awful and unnecessary. The only redeeming feature of this movie is the lighting, which I thought was quite good. The rest of the movie (the story, the acting, the dialogue, even the editing) is so bad it is hard to describe. If I had paid to watch this movie, I would have seriously asked for my money back. There was a good reason why it was pulled from cinemas after only 6 days - because it was absolute rubbish.

Steve Pulaski NOTE: This film was recommended to me by John Henry Westhead for "Steve Pulaski Sees It," and the following review is a review of the 108 minute cut of the film instead of the 135 minute cut.The opening shot of John Cassavetes' The Killing of a Chinese Bookie lingers on Cosmo Vittelli (Ben Gazzara) as he leans against a wall that has a painted mural of a scantily clad woman, a fitting metaphor for the film that follows. Through subtle yet clear, distinct photography, Cassavetes shows that nudity and sexuality are the backbone for Vittelli and his business, a local nightclub. Without the reliance on being provocative and the presence of arousal, Vittelli's dime-a-dozen nightclub is nothing. This would all seem so obvious and self-explanatory if Vitelli wasn't so opposed to thinking that the half-naked dancers are the reason the house is jammed on a Friday or Saturday night.The film revolves around Cosmo's descent into dirty business with a sleazy loanshark (played by the film's producer Al Ruban) to pay off longstanding gambling debts, a recurring habit of Cosmo's in conjunction with running his club. Vitelli, who is always one to make deals that benefit both parties, decides to allow his loanshark and his friends to have one great night at the club, all expenses paid, even going as far as to allow them to gamble for free. With this, Vitelli has ostensibly paid off all of his debts, so to celebrate, he begins gambling again, eventually ending the night $23,000 in the hole and right back to the same place he freed himself from moments ago.The Killing of a Chinese Bookie shows the cyclical drudgery of gambling addiction; what begins as a casual, and even carefree, bout of seeing high highs and low lows turns into a vicious, compromising addiction that too often results in the gambler discovering his worst victim/enemy is himself. Vitelli loves his nightclub, but he loves the simultaneous thrill and laidback qualities of gambling even more to repeatedly put himself and his business in jeopardy.Vitelli is also delusional about his nightclub, not in the sense that his finances are in the best possible standing, but that people come to see the talent of the exotic dancers and not just their bodies. Vitelli and his team have the ladies put on elaborate shows with decorative set designs and costumes, and despite his team telling him otherwise, Vitelli believe it's the stories and the costumes that bring people in above anything else. Deep down, one wonders if he can regretfully admit that's not the case, but even so, that doesn't stop him from stringing together elaborate sets in the meantime.Ben Gazzara gives a strong, subtle performance as Vitelli. His character is often quiet, reserved, and even occasionally passive as he allows his actions to rightfully damn himself instead of fighting them, and Gazzara communicates the traits largely through facial expressions and his ability to convey power through his stature and presence. Vitelli is your typical club owner rather than your average bar owner in that he's quiet and he listens; he studies things around him, as we can tell when he's intently observing the activities at his poker table. These are all very low-key, conservative traits that Gazzara needs to embody to prevent his character from becoming too bombastic or too impressionistic and he nails the challenge beautifully.Encompassing Gazzara's performance is Cassavetes' and cinematographers Ruban and Mitchell Breit, who help detail the environment of this local nightclub. Cassavetes directs the shows with a lovely emphasis on essence and environment, showcasing the anomaly of such a medium-budget production being put on centerstage for a rather seedy nightclub. Actresses Alice Friedland and Azizi Johari, playing dancers decorated from top to bottom in fancy decor, are the stars of these lengthy scenes that do nothing but linger, like smoke expelling off of a cigarette. The result has the ability to put the most seasoned moviegoer (or Cassavetes fan, for that matter) into a deep-seated trance of admiration.The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is a nicely told story of disillusionment and delusion, two of the heaviest and most mentally taxing emotions a human being can bear alongside depression and stress. Embodying such lofty emotions is Gazzara at the center of a film that moves gracefully and liberally at just under a hundred and ten minutes, and encapsulating the film are lovely set designs that compliment the film's motions and interworkings. If only the film wasn't so disproportionately focused on Vitelli, even when nothing truly significant is occurring with his character, and we got more insight into the lives of his dancers could this be an all-encompassing long at a nightclub and not just the central part of it.Starring: Ben Gazzara, Al Ruban, Timothy Agoglia Carey, Seymour Cassel, Alice Friedland, and Azizi Johari. Directed by: John Cassavetes.

wes-connors When Los Angeles strip club owner Ben Gazzara (as Cosmo Vittelli) can't pay a $23,000 gambling debt, mobsters order him to carry out "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie". At first, this seems like a grossly deficient plot, because Seymour Cassel (as Mort Weil) and his cronies have more than enough muscle to carry out the task. However, when you see how the deed is done, you'll understand why Mr. Gazzara is chosen. Like the viewer, he is in the dark. This film includes some extraneous material, and the there are several instances when an edit is seemingly missed. This is how you know director John Cassavetes is there, behind the curtain, slowly revealing his protagonist's naked psyche; it's a strip tease.******** The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (2/15/76) John Cassavetes ~ Ben Gazzara, Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassel, Robert Phillips

bob_meg It's been said by many that "Chinese Bookie" is the toughest of any Cassavetes films to digest. There are many slow passages (here I'm referring to the 1976 original version), many moments of embarrassing awkwardness, as you are forced to watch extended sequences filled with players who aren't any more talented or skilled than those at your local summer stock production or junior high school play.Yet, it's very difficult not to be compelled by the story, especially as embodied in the character of Cosmo Vitelli, who Ben Gazzara seems to channel effortlessly, as if he were a second, transparent skin.Cosmo is a fascinating character. He owns a rather ratty strip club/cabaret joint on the Sunset Strip that fronts production values and performers of the qualities mentioned earlier, does middling business, and spends nearly every dime he makes "living the high life" or the "the image" of what someone in his profession should espouse. He swills $100 bottles of Champagne, cruises around town in his plush chauffeured Caddy, an entourage of bimbettes in tow, usually to a dive mob-run poker joint that inevitably lands him in massive debt.He would be an easy character to scorn or mock in another film, but not as Gazzara and Cassavetes portray him. Cosmo is proud of his little world and his accomplishments, and further more, could not give a damn if anyone doesn't approve of them. "You have no style," he sneers at gangster Al Ruban early in the film after the thug condescends to him.As weird as it sounds, you have to respect someone like that, even when he finds himself increasingly trapped by circumstances and succumbing to self-doubt. At the end of the picture he says how important it is to "feel comfortable" with oneself and while we don't believe for a second that Cosmo really feels this way, we know he *wants* to. It's a refreshingly human response in a movie that only contains more of the same.It's not a conventional audience pleaser by any means, but if you've watched other Cassavetes pictures and like his candid stream-of-consciousness style, give the 1978 edited version of "Bookie" a watch before you see the original. Cass not only cut half an hour of footage, he did it with (what else?) incredible style and creativity, really tightening the structure of the film as a whole, considerably juicing its already engaging premise.Quite possibly the most overlooked gem from one of the '60s and '70s most commercially under-appreciated directors.