Killing Of A Chinese Bookie, The Dvd

John Cassavetes engages with film noir in his own inimitable style with The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Ben Gazzara brilliantly portrays a gentleman’s club owner, Cosmo Vitelli, desperately committed to maintaining a facade of suave gentility despite the seediness of his environment and his own unhealthy appetites. When he runs afoul of loan sharks, Cosmo must carry out a terrible crime or lose his way of life. Mesmerizing and idiosyncratic, the film is a provocative examination of masculine identity. It is presented here in two versions: Cassavetes’s original 1976 edit and his 1978 one, nearly thirty minutes shorter.

TWO-DVD SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
High-definition digital restorations of the 1976 and 1978 versions of the film
Interview program featuring actor Ben Gazzara and producer Al Ruban
Audio interview with Cassavetes from the 1970s
Stills gallery
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing