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While low budget filmmakers in California were making films like "Psych-out" and "The Trip" with Fonda and Nicholson and Hopper it was different in New York. Low budget filmmakers on the east coast took a more tougher look at drugs and it usually took place on the streets of New York. This film is about a drug addict named J (George Segal) who has the tattoo "Born to Win" on his arm and he's always doing favors for a local dealer named Vivian (Hector Elizondo) who is becoming annoyed by J. One day J meets Parm (Karen Black) who is a free spirited girl and they both become attracted to each other right away. J is becoming more desperate and he even resorts to robbing some of the people he does favors for. Two dirty cops (Robert Deniro and Ed Madsen) tell J that they want to bust Vivian and they want him to help. They won't bust J because they want to keep him on the streets but they do make his life even worse than it is. This film was directed by Ivan Passer who is a competent director but has only had a mediocre career making movies. But he does a good job here and all the characters are portrayed as lowlifes. Even Paula Prentiss is a drug addict in this film and it's a strange bit of casting to have her in such a role. Good use of New York locations as it was shot right in the middle of downtown and it gives this film that authentic street look. One of the reasons that this is interesting to view is spotting the actors in early roles. Segal had already broke through with an Oscar nomination in 1966 and he obviously was trying new ground as an actor and Black was fresh off an Oscar nomination herself. Early look at Deniro and Elizondo and Burt Young pops up as a thug about midway through. This has that sad and ambiguous ending but that adds to the impact of this tough and gritty little film. All the performances are pretty good and I would have been interested in seeing Prentiss in a larger role. This doesn't get discussed much when people talk of the New York films of the 1970's but it is a well made low budget entry that others should view.

This is one of those movies where there isn't much to pull for. Like Taxi Driver, it takes place in a cesspool. Those who are trapped in their lives have no place to go. The die is cast and that's it. George Segal does an excellent performance as a small time addict who is powerless to overcome what he has become. He hooks up with Karen Black, who accepts him for what he is. She is the one bright spot in his existence. But the power of the drug world has its tentacles in him and no matter how happy he may feel, he can't move from the addiction. The first part of the movie shows his day to day existence. He seems like a good man. He has a kindness in him that comes through on his face. When confronted, he becomes really passive and powerless. The big boys don't see him as a player. There are also a couple of cops who want to use him, one of them being a young DeNiro. His relationship with Black is doomed (by the way, she comes across as a pretty interesting character) because when it is a contest between the drugs and her, she is going to come in a distant second, even thought intellectually, it sounds pretty sad. Good acting but don't expect an uplifting event. George Segal was really a hot actor at this time, even in a minor picture like this shows his talents.

It's interesting to see something as grainy and badly lit as this still bubble to the surface once in a while, particularly in this age of independent films produced on multi-million dollar budgets. This one obviously wasn't; from the outset, with its dated music and hokey effects, you can be sure you're in for low-tech.

What sets Born to Win apart is its solid writing and steady, well-thought out performances. George Seagal, who, strangely, might be best remembered as a cliche on the old Tonight Show, has his character down cold. Karen Black is winning, and with the two of them in the lead, the rest of the movie skims along well. I found myself ignoring the stiff camera work and the Sly and the Family Stone-styled soundtrack to actually watch actors act, to see them sometimes apparently ad-lib entire sequences and do it with gusto.

De Niro is too young for the part in which he's cast, and it shows. He looks like a child and has none of the edge we associate with his later performances. By Taxi Driver he'd toughened up, lost the baby-fat and the boy-next-door haircut. Born to Win should be the movie that argues against Seagal and Black being marginalized in film history as also-rans--Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller would both do well to take a look at this before they try another independent, just to see what people of their caliber were doing 30 years ago with nothing more than a cheap camera, a couple of lights and a boom mic. Well done.

I have a great interest in American movies of the 1970s, many of my all time favourites being made during that decade, both within and without Hollywood. Several movies from that period are so well known, and so discussed, especially those of Scorsese and Coppola, that many fine movies are overlooked - 'Hi Mom!', 'Scarecrow', 'The Panic In Needle Park', 'Tracks', 'Fingers',etc.etc. Add 'Born To Win' to that list. Director and co-writer Ivan Passer was a recent Czech immigrant, but he manages to conjure up a very realistic and believable look at the seedy underbelly of NYC. Only 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'The Panic In Needle Park' come close. This isn't the New York of Woody Allen, it's the New York of Lou Reed. Passer displays a lot of talent in this movie, but I know little about his subsequent work apart from his 80s sleeper starring John Heard and Jeff Bridges 'Cutter's Way', which I also highly recommend. George Segal will surprise a lot of people with his performance in 'Born To Win', especially those who only have a one dimensional idea of him from his comedy work. Segal plays JJ, a hairdresser turned junkie hipster, who is, well one has to say it, a born loser. Segal is both funny and cool and sad, and he's just as good in this as Pacino, De Niro or Keitel were in more celebrated roles from this period. De Niro in fact pops up in a small supporting role as a cop, something which is exploited on the DVD cover. He's okay but has a very small role, so fans beware. Hector Elizondo has a much more important part as a drug pusher, and Karen Black, hot off 'Five Easy Pieces', plays JJ's girlfriend, who he meets in a funny scene where he steals her car. Both Elizondo and Black give excellent performances. Also in the supporting cast are Paula Prentiss ('The Parallax View') who plays JJ's junkie wife, and one of the first jobs for character actor Burt Young, who plays a hood. I also liked JJ's pal Billy Dynamite played by Jay Fletcher. If you like gritty and realistic 1970s movies you'll love 'Born To Win', a film which doesn't deserve to languish in such obscurity.

Poor JJ, every time he scores some junk or pulls a job he gets screwed over. It's not easy being a junkie, but it CAN be funny!! This movie is listed as a drama but it flows like a well made comedy. If you can overlook the so-so editing, lighting, and cinematography you will be able to relax and enjoy an extremely well acted film. The dialogue is superb. George Segal is in top form as JJ, a Heroin addict on the streets of NYC in 1971. Robert De Niro has a supporting role as an undercover vice cop. I haven't looked it up yet but I assume that this is one of De Niro's first films as his name doesn't appear in the credits until about the halfway point. De Niro does the best he can with the small role he's given but keep in mind that this isn't a De Niro film. The real joy in this movie is George Segal's performance as JJ. He plays an excellent dope-fiend. Both JJ and Billy Dynamite (Jay Fletcher) are in love with the needle. Billy Dynamite put it best: "It's like we have a purpose in life. Every morning we wake up and know EXACTLY what we're gonna do... hustle up another bag!!!... "I wouldn't trade this life for nothing man... Nothing!!" It's almost as if he genuinely loves being an an addict. JJ (Segal) has been up to no good and is afraid someone might try to pass him a hotshot. A "hotshot" is a shot of heroin that the dealer has cut with strychnine or battery acid. The sole purpose of giving someone a hotshot is kill them, and JJ has a couple of dealers that would like to see him dead. Does JJ get the hotshot... or not??? I won't tell. Check it out and see for yourself!

******** (8 out of 10 stars)