IMDb RATING
7.2/10
6.9K
YOUR RATING
A master gambler loses his memory and is befriended by a street hustler who discovers his supernatural gambling abilities.A master gambler loses his memory and is befriended by a street hustler who discovers his supernatural gambling abilities.A master gambler loses his memory and is befriended by a street hustler who discovers his supernatural gambling abilities.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
Chow Yun-Fat
- Ko Chun
- (as Chow Yun Fat)
- …
Sharla Cheung
- Janet
- (as Man Cheung)
Tse Lin Yang
- Nam
- (as Chak Lam Yeung)
Shing Fui-On
- Kau
- (as Fui-On Shing)
Yasuhiro Shikamura
- Seung San (Ueyama)
- (as Chuen Luk)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
This is an amazing all round film containing just the right amounts of comedy, drama and gunplay.
Although the Uk edition of VHS suffers terrible subtitling it is still a must see.
Although the Uk edition of VHS suffers terrible subtitling it is still a must see.
10TD-11
All I can say is WOW! This movie has it all. There is action, comedy, drama, suspense. I have never seen a movie combine all elements as well as this one. I've seen about 10,000 movies in my life and this one rates in the top 5. It is that great! Chow Yun Fat is brilliant and certainly would have deserved an Oscar if this film had a proper US release. His comic genius is present in all aspects of his character. The supporting cast does a fine job, but he is the God of Actors and not just the God of Gamblers. The direction is superb as well. The timing, the camera angles and the music make this movie an absolute pleasure to watch. I just finished watching the DVD and will order the remainder of the series as soon as I'm finished typing here. WATCH THIS FILM!
One of Wong Jing's better directorial efforts, GOD OF GAMBLERS sees man-of-the-moment Chow Yun Fat playing an ultra-slick gangster/gambler who has a kind of supernatural ability to win at gambling. His activities soon bring him into contact with small-time crook Andy Lau, and after a bout of amnesia he finds himself caught up in a completely unpredictable adventure.
GOD OF GAMBLERS is a bit of an odd movie, plot-wise. Part of it feels like a slick John Woo thriller, complete with a lengthy and violent shoot-out in a multi-storey car park which wouldn't be out of place in the likes of THE KILLER. The other part of it is a more traditional Hong Kong comedy, a bit like the Jackie/Sammo flick HEART OF THE DRAGON, with some low brow humour and lots of situational stuff mixed in.
I have to say that I found the amnesia sub-plot to be overlong; it dragged the pacing of the film down as a whole, so my favourite parts were the first and final thirds. Saying that, it's still a pretty good little movie, with strong acting from Yun Fat and Lau, who make a good tag-team. The best bits are inevitably the stylish gambling sequences, which are funny and exciting in equal measure, filled with neat twists and some wonderful card tricks. Given this film's success at the box office, numerous sequels followed.
GOD OF GAMBLERS is a bit of an odd movie, plot-wise. Part of it feels like a slick John Woo thriller, complete with a lengthy and violent shoot-out in a multi-storey car park which wouldn't be out of place in the likes of THE KILLER. The other part of it is a more traditional Hong Kong comedy, a bit like the Jackie/Sammo flick HEART OF THE DRAGON, with some low brow humour and lots of situational stuff mixed in.
I have to say that I found the amnesia sub-plot to be overlong; it dragged the pacing of the film down as a whole, so my favourite parts were the first and final thirds. Saying that, it's still a pretty good little movie, with strong acting from Yun Fat and Lau, who make a good tag-team. The best bits are inevitably the stylish gambling sequences, which are funny and exciting in equal measure, filled with neat twists and some wonderful card tricks. Given this film's success at the box office, numerous sequels followed.
No, not much is missing at all. The movie has great actors performing great all around whether it is comedy or action. The action wasn't much emphasized as in rather friendship, but when the action does kick in, it brings you to the same level as John Woo's bullet exchange, and heck, even Dragon (the bodyguard) knows some kick ass moves when he fights.
I did not expect much of this movie at first knowing it wasn't john woo who directed it, but after just the first 5 min i was totally into the movie and had forgotten who directed the movie, because it was equally great, and i couldn't ask for more
get this movie! i can't wait til i get my hands on it's sequels
I did not expect much of this movie at first knowing it wasn't john woo who directed it, but after just the first 5 min i was totally into the movie and had forgotten who directed the movie, because it was equally great, and i couldn't ask for more
get this movie! i can't wait til i get my hands on it's sequels
Here is one of Chow Yun-Fat's Hong Kong movies. In it he plays a supreme gambler who is tasked with defeating a crime lord at cards but winds up losing his memory after an accident and is taken under the wing of some low level card sharks. This one begins and ends really well, with a good mixture of humour and suspense. The problem is the part in the middle, where Chow Yun-Fat loses his memory and is reduced to acting like a little kid. Even though it is quite interesting having Yun-Fat totally playing against type and stretching his acting range somewhat, the humour does get a bit grating and annoying after a bit (Hong Kong comedy is very broad in general). So, the movie is a bit of a mixed bag, but there is definitely good stuff in here, mainly at the beginning and the end.
Did you know
- TriviaBoth Chow Yun-fat and Andy Lau did their own card manipulations.
- GoofsIn the opening scene, Ko appears to play baccarat in a casino in San Francisco whilst other gambling machines are visible. Casino gambling is illegal in most parts of the United States including California. This caption, mentioning San Francisco at the start, is excluded in English language print.
- Alternate versions41 seconds of cuts were applied for UK cinema and VHS releases to remove shots of a butterfly knife being twirled and to shorten the sight of a man using one to threaten a woman. The DVD released in 2003 is uncut, as the BBFC waived all previous cuts in December 2002.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Rewind This! (2013)
- SoundtracksRaindrops Keep Falling On My Head
(Instrumental)
- How long is God of Gamblers?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $4,751,175
- Runtime
- 2h 6m(126 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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