The best gambling films not to be missed
Are you a gambler? This betting guide can help you but maybe you’re tired of betting odds, strategies, daily predictions, etc. Why not refresh your brain by watching some gambling films?
There are many films that have focused on the theme of gambling: whether it was with the tones of comedy, biopic or with an almost educational and moralizing intent, cinema has brought to the big screen stories of gamblers, of people who bet money, freedom and sometimes even their lives on the whim of fate, that gamble capable of giving an adrenaline rush.
Known by humanity as a means of knowing the will of unattainable divinities, gambling presents itself in different aspects: on the one hand, the world of betting, focusing on one’s skills, as was shown for example by Paul Newman of Lo Spaccone (The Hustler), on the other hand, the glittering and adrenaline-pumping world of casinos.
And it is precisely to the world of casinos that the imagination of gambling is very often linked, as shown, for example, by the saga of Ocean’s Eleven. So if you are an avid gamer, here is a list of the best films focused on gambling.
21
Directed by Robert Luketic and starring Kevin Spacey and Jim Sturgess, 21 is inspired by the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team, which was active between 1980 and 1990.
They were students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), but also from Harvard University, who obtained numerous winnings and large amounts of money by resorting to their intellectual skills and using card counting techniques in the game of Black Jack.
Molly’s Game
Molly’s Game is a film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin and based on the autobiographical book Molly’s Game: From Hollywood’s Elite to Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker, signed by Molly Bloom who, on the big screen has the features of Jessica Chastain.
The story is that of a woman who, after having seen her dream of becoming an Olympic ski champion fade, finds herself organizing poker games in Los Angeles for rich personalities from the world of entertainment, sport, and public life in the United States.
Her network of players and affiliates opens like wildfire, making her a real pro in the world of gambling, until the FBI comes to investigate her business.
Hard Eight
Hard Eight is a title that is certainly not unknown to aficionados of the seventh art or to fans of Paul Thomas Anderson, since it represents the directorial debut of one of the most gifted mistresses in recent years.
Premiered in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, Sidney owes its title to the name of its protagonist, played by Philip Baker Hall, who one evening finds himself in the company of John (John C. Reilly), who is at the search for six thousand dollars to pay for his mother’s funeral ceremony.
For Sidney, a former gambler, it is a chance to teach John some tricks that will bring him winnings in the Las Vegas casino. But Sidney may not know that this is just the beginning of a much larger story.
The Gambler
In The Gambler, James Caan plays a university professor who is not happy with his life and who, above all, has a rather serious problem with gambling.
The film, which was remade with Mark Wahlberg in 2014, is actually a real race against time: full of debt, the professor has only seven days to pay the sum he owes to a very disreputable man.
So… won’t you watch them?
