Rounders (1998)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

John Dahl

Writers (WGA):

David Levien (written by) &
Brian Koppelman (written by)

Release Date:

11 September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

You've got to play the hand you're dealt.

Plot:

A young man (Damon) is a reformed gambler who must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks. |

Plot Keywords:

Loan Shark | Poker | Narration | Judge | Russian Mafia

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Matt Damon	...	Mike McDermott
Edward Norton	...	Lester 'Worm' Murphy
Paul Cicero	...	Russian Thug
John Turturro	...	Joey Knish
Ray Iannicelli	...	Kenny
Gretchen Mol	...	Jo
Famke Janssen	...	Petra
Merwin Goldsmith	...	Sy
John Malkovich	...	Teddy KGB
Martin Landau	...	Abe Petrovsky
Sonny Zito	...	Tony
Michael Rispoli	...	Grama
Melina Kanakaredes	...	Barbara
Mal Z. Lawrence	...	Irving
Josh Mostel	...	Zagosh

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong language, some sexuality and brief drug use.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Worm was originally supposed to smoke but avid nonsmoker Edward Norton refused.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first part of the final poker game between KGB and Mike, when KGB has just reraised $5000, Mike starts pushing all his chips forward to go all in, the shot is taken from behind KGB and you can see KGB's left hand touching his face. The next shot from the opposite direction (when you see the continuation of Mike pushing his chips forward) KGB's hand is down on the table.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mike McDermott: Listen, here's the thing. If you can't spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: John Malkovich/T.I. (#34.10)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Brandenburg Concerto #1

Who would have thought a film about Poker would be so good?

There is a lot of good stuff in this film. You have a great story, an excellent cast, excellent directing, and a couple great games of poker.

When I first heard about this film, I was a bit skeptical. It's a game about poker, how exciting can it be? The fact that Edward Norton was in the film was the prime reason I wanted to see "Rounders". After seeing the film, I couldn't believe how much I liked it. The film flows very well from start to finish and you can't wait to see what happens in the next scene. Also, the film is filled with interesting, well-written characters.

As I mentioned above, the cast is fantastic. You have Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Malkovich, John Turturro, Gretchen Mol, Famke Janssen, Martin Landau and some small roles by Melina Kanakaredes (of "Providence") and Goran Visnjic (of "ER"). Matt Damon is quite a good actor and this is just another great film to add to his list of already impressive roles. Edward Norton is fantastic as "Worm", he plays a truly unlikeable person, but at the same time you respect him for taking the fall for his friends. John Tuturro is excellent, as always, he has such a cool style about him. John Malkovich is superb in his portrayal of Teddy KGB. And the rest of the cast does a great job as well in their respective roles.

If you are a poker fan, then I recommend you see this film, hopefully you'll enjoy it. I myself am not a huge fan of poker, but I do play the occasional game and I loved this film. I loved the characters, the dialogue, the acting, EVERYTHING. I truly hope you enjoy the film. Thanks for reading,

-Chris