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THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE
From John Cassavetes: Five Films
Review by Ed Nguyen
Stars:
Ben Gazzara, Seymour Cassel, Azizi Johari, Timothy Carey, Meade Roberts
Director: John Cassavetes
Audio: English monaural
Subtitles: English
Video: Color, widescreen 1.85:1
Studio: Criterion
Features: 1978 re-edited version, interviews, stills gallery
Length: 135 minutes (re-edited version 108 minutes)
Release Date: September 21, 2004
“Karl
Marx said opium was the religion of the people.
I got news for him. It’s
money.”
Film
*** ˝
Remember
the early scene from The Godfather
where a humble shopkeeper begs Marlon Brando’s Godfather for help?
The Godfather acquiesces upon the condition that someday in the future,
he might call upon the shopkeeper to perform a “favor,” however unpleasant,
for him in return. John
Cassavetes’ The Killing of a Chinese
Bookie (1976) is a film about such a favor.
The shopkeeper in question, however, is a lowlife who runs a small strip
club along the dark streets of a big city.
His profession may not be entirely praiseworthy, but that shopkeeper,
Cosmo (Ben Gazzara), gives it an earnest effort - managing the club, performing
emcee duties, arranging the song and dance numbers, even providing occasional
pep talks to his dancers as needed. Career
choice not-withstanding, Cosmo prides himself on his honesty and his work
ethics. The club is his life, his
only reason for existence, and any money he earns (or borrows from loan sharks)
goes back into the club.
Unfortunately,
one day Cosmo runs afoul of the local crime syndicate after he builds up a big
debt at a gambling parlor. The sum
is $23,000 (a hefty sum back in the 1970’s), and Cosmo proves unable to pay
off the debt on the spot. It is a
grave situation for which Cosmo is offered a choice - pay immediately, or
perform a small “favor” for the mobsters in return.
As
the film’s title implies, that favor involves a hit job.
The storyline follows the events leading up to Cosmo’s debt, the night
of his reluctant deed, and its fateful aftermath.
In this sense, The Killing of a
Chinese Bookie is very much in the vein of many other suspense thrillers of
the 1970’s. Photographed
progressively in darker, grainy shadows as Cosmo falls deeper into the tangles
of the crime syndicate, this film illustrates the grime and dirt festering just
beneath the cheerful daytime facade of most big cities.
The
Killing of a Chinese Bookie
is a film that would seem more within the domain of Martin Scorsese than John
Cassavetes. As it turns out, both
men had come up with the storyline years prior in a brainstorm together.
After completing A Woman Under the Influence, Cassavetes turned to this story of a
nightclub owner who must kill in order to pay off a debt, infusing it not only
with the taut suspense typical of the genre but also with his trademark
understanding of the human psyche.
As
the anti-hero of The Killing of a Chinese
Bookie, Cosmo is a flawed man who nonetheless tries to eke out a small
living in a dreary world. There is
something seemingly simple about his outlook - the nightclub is his world and
his escape. Even during the fateful
night of the assassination, Cosmo finds time to call his nightclub, inquiring
which stage number is currently being performed. Later, as he bleeds from a gunshot wound, he returns to the
nightclub to give a proper pep talk to his stripper-dancers and a lengthy stage
introduction for them, too. Events
in Cosmo’s life may spiral out of control (he is eventually kicked out of his
girlfriend’s home, the gangsters double-cross him, etc.), but Cosmo finds
comfort within the club milieu. It
is a world that he understands.
In
a way, Cosmo is similar to the classic Hitchcockian hero.
He is thrust involuntarily into a situation of which he wishes no part.
He is not a completely innocent man (his gambling debt is real), but his
destiny is seemingly controlled more by the machineries of crime and intrigue
around him than by his own hand. The
film’s ending is also ambiguous in this sense, too - with the deed done and
Cosmo wounded, retribution cannot far off, yet Cosmo's fate is left undecided.
Where a Hitchcock film might start, this film ends, just as the pinchers
of the underworld start to close in around Cosmo.
As
far as Cassavetes films go, The Killing of
a Chinese Bookie depicts a relatively pessimistic, violent, and seedy
underworld of criminals, gamblers, and strippers.
It is a departure from Cassavetes’ usual stagey, theatrical films but
nevertheless bears his recognizable touch.
Although the film was not a success on its initial release and is often
overlooked today, The Killing of a Chinese
Bookie holds up quite well compared to the other suspense thrillers of the
day, like the French Connection films.
BONUS
TRIVIA: Some viewers may recognize
Timothy Carey, who plays a hit man in The
Killing of a Chinese Bookie, from his memorable roles as a marksman in
Stanley Kubrick's The Killing and as a
cowardly soldier in Paths of Glory.
Video
*** ˝
The
DVD cover artwork proudly boasts of the stunning new transfer for this film, and
it is not exaggerating. The
Killing of a Chinese Bookie is presented in its original widescreen format,
and the transfer itself is quite excellent, with solid colors and no compression
artifacts. Scenes are very crisp
and clear, and even nocturnal sequences, though slightly grainy, show no
evidence of image break-up. Criterion
has also cleaned up this print of virtually any dirt or age spots.
Kudos for a job well done!
Audio
***
The
film’s soundtrack is monaural. While
it will not tax current speaker systems, it is adequate, with clear dialogue
over the ambient background noise. The
sound effects are not sweetened either, so gunshots actually sound like the
crack of real gunshots and not the typical Hollywood mini-explosions.
Features
****
The
Killing of a Chinese Bookie
is offered as a double DVD selection. The
first DVD contains the original 135-minute theatrical release version of the
film. However, Cassavetes disliked
this theatrical version, which he felt had been rushed during the editing
process. In 1978, he re-released
the film in a 108-minute cut that was more focused and tightly-edited.
The
1978 version is a highly unusual “director’s cut,” as it is not only
significantly shorter than the theatrical version but still contains additional
scenes not found in the 1976 version! This
1978 version is located on the second DVD and excises some thirty minutes of
footage while re-arranging the sequence of early scenes.
Most of the deleted scenes are early character development scenes
concerning Cosmo and his relationship with his girls.
The new scenes mostly focus on Cosmo’s interactions with the gangsters.
I
recommend watching both versions. The
theatrical version has more soul and provides a better sense of Cosmo as a
three-dimensional, sympathetic character, whereas the 1978 version is more
dramatically edited for pacing and trims away much of the excess fat (including
portions of the stripper musical numbers which, while titillating, are somewhat
dull). Coincidentally, the transfer
on this 1978 version is as solid as for the 1976 version.
Next,
there are interviews (18 min.) with Al Ruban and Ben Gazzara.
They discuss the poor audience reception to the film and Cassavetes’
displeasure with the theatrical version. Gazzara
also expresses an opinion that the film is not really a gangster movie at all
but rather an allegory about Cassavetes’ own struggle to remain a true artist
despite all obstacles.
The
second interview is an audio-only segment with Cassavetes and film historian
Michel Ciment. It is sub-divided
into sections entitled A genre film, Young
filmmakers, Revolutionary, and Better than
living. (Note - there is no way
to fast-forward, reverse, or pause during these recordings; the only option is
to click on a different menu option. This
also applies to audio interviews between Cassavetes and Ciment found on the DVDs
for A Woman Under the Influence and Opening
Night).
Lastly,
there is a stills gallery (40 entries) containing production stills and
behind-the-scene shots.
Summary:
