"The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" isn’t your typical mobster film per se. That is to say, people coming to this film looking for action, violence, suspense and so on, will come away disappointed when they find it has none of those things. This is not meant to be a thrilling and suspenseful action sequence. That’s where The Killing of a Chinese Bookie does in fact succeed – and spectacularly so. It is a good twenty minutes of screen time before the actual killing happens. This shifts the film into genre territory, including an extended suspense sequence that’s functional at best (it’s like Cassavetes attempting DIY De Palma). He is given a gun and a car by the gangsters. But this is not a glamorous Las Vegas casino, full of luxurious sound and fury. We are taken backstage, behind the scenes… We see how Cosmo is everything to everyone. Cassavetes was the spark that ignited the rise of Independent filmmaking and his approach to directing and financing his own movies paved the way for more films that didn't conform to the standards set by mainstream Hollywood. But what ends up happening is you have an interesting, almost surreal look at the world of a night club constantly interrupted by a half-baked gangster thriller that ultimately lacks momentum. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. ENTER CITY, STATE OR ZIP CODE GO. Ben Gazzara gives a masterclass of a performance, truly one of … the one dancer he seems to be closest to, walks in on him auditioning another woman, things get violent. That “logline” could describe the basic premise of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Money is exchanged, then Cosmo hisses, with the tenor of a death threat, “You have no style.” (If there’s anything Cosmo values, it’s style.) There’s a sad moment in which Cosmo, busy across town on other business, calls the club to make sure that night’s show is proceeding as planned. We see a lot of the club and the people who work there. ( Log Out / The audience, though? The title of this film immediately suggests a genre piece – specifically – a gangster film or crime thriller. He is not a man of action. This has more characteristics of a repertory theater company, not unlike the companies that Cassavates himself often tried to get going throughout the 60s and 70s. There are films that are timeless and there are films that are of their time, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie somehow manages to be both. Because this is Cosmo’s world. 1978. But it does not mean that he wasn’t going to be presenting such a work entirely on his own terms. Reportedly, this film was born out of a conversation John Cassavetes had with his friend Martin Scorsese. And this was a “gangster film” – a commercially viable genre film. These are very clearly terrible pieces of stage entertainment. He has to. Sophistication. I discussed earlier about there being two versions. It’s important to consider, however, that Cassavetes did intend to make a traditional genre film with this piece. We are told repeatedly that Cosmo creates and choreographs each number himself, and we are given a brief glimpse into the audition process, which consists in Cosmo sitting alone in front of the stage while a hopeful girl struts her stuff for him. After a rushed editing period, it was launched – in its full 135-minute form – in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles. With a score of 73%, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is above the average Cinafilm score for movies made in 1976, which stands at 59%. And so Cosmo is sympathetic, but he’s no innocent. The Suits who stop the artist from doing what he wants to do. 1 hr 48 mins. This to appease the guard dogs that are an obstacle at the Chinese mobster’s house. It’s also important to consider that Cassavetes himself was aware of the film’s failure to connect with audiences. Cassavetes opens the film with an elegant single take that follows Cosmo from his car, across a parking lot, and to an outdoor table at a restaurant where a shady character awaits. 2:00. It seems simple enough, but he refuses to do it until finally strong-armed by one of the thugs. Of course the gangsters represent the studio executives, with their attention to money and power. Cosmo is essentially signing over his business – his entire life – to them, after which he shakes their hand and says, “thank you.”. A clothesline on which to hang the narrative, which is ultimately concerned with presenting Cosmo Vittelli to audiences and asking for empathy and understanding; free of the usual cathartic thrills of a gangster film. Traditional genre film, then, the journey to accomplish the “ simple hit ” becomes and! In Paris or a reenactment of the world of Cosmo ’ s safe say! 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