Bob Le Flambeur; The Gambler

In an interview contained on this aces Criterion disc, Daniel Cauchy, who stars as ill-fated partner in crime Paolo, says he thinks Bob Le Flambeur is too slow and that the acting is amateurish. So why does Jean-Pierre Melville's influential 1955 "one last score" thriller cast such a captivating spell? Cauchy thinks it's the ambience of France's nocturnal underworld, the bohemian back alleys that are home to weary, trenchcoated gambler Bob (Roger Duchesne with "a real hood's face"), a former bank robber who is drawn into a plot to rob the Deavulle casino. Shooting over the course of two years on actual locations, Melville paved the way for the French New Wave directors with this winning hand of hardboiled drama and iconic characters (Duchesne could teach Clooney and the young pups of Ocean's Eleven a thing or two about cool). This pristine-looking disc contains excerpts from a radio interview with Melville, as well as the original French theatrical preview. A sure bet, this is highly recommended and an Editor's Choice. (K. Lee Benson) Karel Reisz's 1974 Dostoevskian character study The Gambler, written by James Toback, stars James Caan (in one of his best performances) as gambling-addicted college English professor Alex Freed, who finds himself in debt to the mob for $44,000 after one disastrous night. Although enslaved to the rush brought on by gambling, Alex also believes that by sheer will, two plus two will equal five. But the numbers work against him after he takes his mother's life savings to pay back the debt and proceeds to agonizingly lose that as well. The film unfolds in sometimes unbearably intense scenes as Alex is faced with the choice of his own violent end or corrupting the life of one of his students, a star basketball player. Lauren Hutton is the film's Greek chorus as his girlfriend; better are character actors Paul Sorvino, as a concerned bookie, and Rocky's Burt Young, as a brutally efficient debt collector, who are totally in their element. Looking very handsome for its age, and sporting a solid Dolby Digital mono soundtrack, this otherwise extra-less disc is recommended. (K. Lee Benson) [Blu-ray/DVD Review—July 2, 2019—Kino Lorber, 94 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $29.99—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1956’s Bob Le Flambeur features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 2.0 soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton and a 'Diary of a Villain' making-of featurette (26 min.). Bottom line: this French classic sparkles on Blu-ray.]