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intereact!Director: John Dahl
Actors: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Turturro, Paul Cicero, and Ray Iannicelli
Rated: R (Restricted)
Retail Price (not our price): $19.99
Release Date: 1999-02-09
Theatrical Release Date: 1998-09-11
Studio: Miramax
Run Time: 121 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Discs: 1
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Amazon.com
A little drunk on its own arcane exotica as a gambling movie, Rounders is a film that takes us inside a world of high-stakes card players but falls short on such essentials as character development, relationships, that sort of thing. Still, it is a real curiosity, written by a couple of guys (David Levien and Brian Koppelman) who appear to know something about the dark underbelly of card hustling for fun and profit. Matt Damon stars as a reluctant law student who can't put aside his subterranean career of playing poker and blackjack for big money. After he loses his post-grad nest egg to a weird Russian kingpin (John Malkovich)--and also loses his disgusted girlfriend (Gretchen Mol) in the process--Damon's character turns to an unreliable old buddy (Edward Norton) for a dangerous game of sharking wherever there happens to be a game underway: frat boys, cops, bad dudes, you name it. Norton appears to be living out every young actor's fantasy of re-creating Robert De Niro's prototypical head case in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, and while his performance is burdened by obvious quotation marks, his estimable talent still shines through. Damon's charm and intelligence bring some oomph to the curiously flat proceedings, and while his hushed, soul-bearing scenes with Martin Landau (as a law professor who takes a shine to the kid) seem gratuitous, they're still nice to watch. Behind all this is director John Dahl (Red Rock West), who is not exactly at the top of his game here but who brings his distinctive toughness to the crime-noir tone. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
1) Far from being thrilling in any way [Rating: 4 out of 5]
A small film on gambling. It does not really bring anything about gambling itself as an addiction, as a total lack of judgment and reason. And the end of the film is both a total illusion because you never really win in gambling because winning is only there to make you lose even more, and a fatal last move that announces the final descent into hell, a hell that is named Las Vegas. The only strange element, original element, is the Jewish dimension introduced by the judge who should have been a rabbi and couldn't because he could not see God. He actually lent money to that poor Mike knowing that Mike was going to gamble with it and was killing his dream of ever being anything noticeable in a court of justice apart from eventually being an accused or a convicted criminal. For a judge and a law student that is particularly sorry, sad and crude.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines2) Best fiction movie about poker... [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This is the best fiction movie ever made about poker. John Malkovich is perfect as Teddy KGB. The movie is full of poker theory and beaultiful for poker lovers...3) You gotta have a love for the game [Rating: 4 out of 5]
Had I seen this movie prior to my (current) addiction to the World Series of Poker, I probably would have panned this movie. I love the philosophy and the playing tips more than I like the acting. Malkovich was killing me with that Russian accent-but still the film comes out to be very entertaining. Recommended to poker lovers.4) Excellent Service [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Ordered this item around the holidays and received it just in time for Christmas in its original packaging and in excellent condition.5) "We can't run from who we are. Our destiny chooses us..." [Rating: 5 out of 5]
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to the movie "Rounders" is assume that if you have no interest in cards or poker, or don't even know how to play the game that you'll hate the movie or have no desire to want to see it. When I first saw it a few years back, the only card game I knew how to play was blackjack, and yet there was something that really drew me in. Something that clicked for me, and now it is one of my favorite movies. One of those rare movies I could literally leave on all day.Mike makes a living and supports his tuition by grinding it out every night at the poker tables. The goal, he tells us, is to only win one big bet an hour. Still, the dream for him is to make it to the World Series of Poker and face off with the pros. That dream clouds his judgment when he faces off with a dangerous and no-nonsense taking Russian, Teddy KGB and leads him to lose every penny of his money. After that night, he swears off cards for good and promises his girlfriend that he'll never play again.Things get complicated when his buddy, Worm gets out of jail. Worm is a card player who refuses to play "straight up." He's what they call a "mechanic," meaning he usually cheats when he plays. He's got a serious debt to pay and feels the only way he can make the scratch is to play the game. Mike wants to help him out, but he's made promises, but that slowly starts to deteriorate and he ends up being in the game again. While it could very well be a blessing in disguise that Worm has gotten him back into the world of poker, the stakes couldn't be higher and he will end up putting the both of them into the worst kind of trouble.What makes "Rounders" work are the characters and the actors. You'll find a top-notch cast that includes Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Turturro, John Malkovich and Martin Landau. All are amazing in their roles and really bring their characters to life on the screen. There will be times where you feel sorry for Norton's character and other times where you feel nothing but complete disgust and shame. I think it's one of his best performances, and "Mike" sums it up best when he says that "Worm" knows how to play the part of the loser, because he does it to absolute perfection in this film. The movie isn't about plot, or at least not a complex ones. Sometimes, those are the kinds that work out the best so long as you have an all-star cast that can make it work. Smart writing also is a gigantic help, and I'm happy to say that can be found in here as well.Some cool extra features can be found on this version of the movie, like a behind the scenes featurette, a featurette about Professional Poker, a brief "Head's Up" game that's a nice little introductory to the game and some tips from the pros. There are also two different commentary tracks. The first one features the director, writers and Edward Norton; the second features pros Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, Johnny Chan and Chris "Moneymaker." I really enjoyed listening to the commentary by the pros. They're not there to really discuss the scenes or lighting, but more about poker itself and getting inside of some of the characters' heads during some of the games.Do you have to know how to play poker to enjoy "Rounders?" Absolutely not. Will it make you want to learn the game? It's possible. It happened to me. Still, it doesn't matter if you end up wanting to play or not. This is a solid movie with great performances all around. It's no wonder that it is one of my favorites, and it is one that I will never get sick of. Take a gamble and give it a shot. -Michael Crane