THE CINCINNATI KID (1965) notwithstanding, my own lack of interest for (and knowledge about) the game of poker - though, as it turns out, it deals with a number of other activities (boxing, basketball, casinos, horse races) where gambling is rife - and my mistaken impression that it was a minor film has kept me away from this one several times on Italian TV but when Sony opted to put it out-of-print, I decided to give it a try regardless.
Well, while it was as easy-going, rambling and plot less as I had been anticipating, it was also surprisingly compelling and very enjoyable. George Segal and Elliott Gould are perfectly cast as the two gamblers forever searching for that elusive winning streak. Segal is the more cautious of the two who, despite run-ins with bullying bookmakers and muggers, invariably finds himself sucked into another bet by his optimistic partner but, by the end of it, even if his luck does turn around, he is a hollow man yearning to return home to his uncomplicated lifestyle as a columnist for a magazine.
I can certainly understand why Elliott Gould took it upon himself to personally ask Sony what was holding up the release of this film on DVD as he is simply terrific and so charismatic in the film as the fast-talking schemer, who thinks nothing of leaving his partner and girlfriend at a moment's notice and relocate to Mexico for a week just because he had had a dream of him winning it big over there and they weren't in it! This was Altman's first experiment with "multi-track" recording (in which various conversations going on at once overlap on each other and create a cacophonous muddle of a soundtrack!) which would henceforth become a trademark of his. Likewise, the director allows his actors the freedom to improvise and open up their characters leading to some memorable routines: betting that they can remember the names of all of Snow White's seven dwarfs (and its hilarious punchline), the ebullient dance Segal bursts into after his first meeting with Gould, etc.
The film also offers notable roles to Altman regular Gwen Welles (as Segal's sensitive girlfriend), screenwriter Joseph Walsh (as Segal's flustered bookmaker), Ed Walsh (as a bad loser who beats both of the leads up after a game, though Gould eventually manages to get back at him) and Bert Remsen (as a transvestite who gets booked by Segal and Gould posing as members of the Vice Squad); it was also Jeff Goldblum's film debut (as Segal's boss!). Besides, its vivid milieu is effectively created through the use of real-life gamblers and addicts.
An unfortunate result of the film's DVD release, however, was the loss of some three minutes of footage (condoned by Altman himself) because some of the music rights could not be cleared; though considerable changes - listed on "DVD Beaver" - appear to have been made, since I had never watched the film before I wasn't affected by them!
Well, while it was as easy-going, rambling and plot less as I had been anticipating, it was also surprisingly compelling and very enjoyable. George Segal and Elliott Gould are perfectly cast as the two gamblers forever searching for that elusive winning streak. Segal is the more cautious of the two who, despite run-ins with bullying bookmakers and muggers, invariably finds himself sucked into another bet by his optimistic partner but, by the end of it, even if his luck does turn around, he is a hollow man yearning to return home to his uncomplicated lifestyle as a columnist for a magazine.
I can certainly understand why Elliott Gould took it upon himself to personally ask Sony what was holding up the release of this film on DVD as he is simply terrific and so charismatic in the film as the fast-talking schemer, who thinks nothing of leaving his partner and girlfriend at a moment's notice and relocate to Mexico for a week just because he had had a dream of him winning it big over there and they weren't in it! This was Altman's first experiment with "multi-track" recording (in which various conversations going on at once overlap on each other and create a cacophonous muddle of a soundtrack!) which would henceforth become a trademark of his. Likewise, the director allows his actors the freedom to improvise and open up their characters leading to some memorable routines: betting that they can remember the names of all of Snow White's seven dwarfs (and its hilarious punchline), the ebullient dance Segal bursts into after his first meeting with Gould, etc.
The film also offers notable roles to Altman regular Gwen Welles (as Segal's sensitive girlfriend), screenwriter Joseph Walsh (as Segal's flustered bookmaker), Ed Walsh (as a bad loser who beats both of the leads up after a game, though Gould eventually manages to get back at him) and Bert Remsen (as a transvestite who gets booked by Segal and Gould posing as members of the Vice Squad); it was also Jeff Goldblum's film debut (as Segal's boss!). Besides, its vivid milieu is effectively created through the use of real-life gamblers and addicts.
An unfortunate result of the film's DVD release, however, was the loss of some three minutes of footage (condoned by Altman himself) because some of the music rights could not be cleared; though considerable changes - listed on "DVD Beaver" - appear to have been made, since I had never watched the film before I wasn't affected by them!