Atlantic City

Atlantic City videos

Cast & Crew

Burt Lancaster

Lou

Susan Sarandon

Sally

Kate Reid

Grace

Michel Piccoli

Joseph

Hollis McLaren

Chrissie

Robert Joy

Dave

Al Waxman

Alfie

Robert Goulet

Singer

Moses Znaimer

Felix

Angus MacInnes

Felix

Sean Sullivan

Buddy

Wallace Shawn

Waiter

Harvey Atkin

Bus Driver

Louis Del Grande

Mr. Shapiro

John McCurry

Fred

Eleanor Beecroft

Mrs. Reese

Cec Linder

President of Hospital

Sean McCann

Detective

Vincent Glorioso

Young Doctor

Louis Malle

Director

Denis Héroux

Producer

Gabriel Boustani

Producer

Justine Heroux

Producer

Jean-Claude Laureux

Sound Recordist

Richard Ciupka

Cinematographer

Michel Legrand

Original Music

Jacques Maumont

Sound Mixer

John Guare

Screenwriter

Suzanne Baron

Film Editing

Anne Pritchard

Production Design

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Critic Reviews for Atlantic City

Audience Reviews for Atlantic City

• Aug 04, 2014

  "Everything dies, baby, that's a fact, maybe everything that dies some day comes back. Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty, and meet me tonight in Atlantic City". You don't realize how far back Lancaster's career goes until it hits you that he was already old in this film, yet this film is still older than that song. Nevertheless, I just had no choice but to make that reference in this case, because, Bruce Springsteen, in all of his liberalism, seems to be all about sharing American culture with foreigners. This film is not simply Canadian, but French-Canadian, although it shouldn't be too hard to tell that, because anyone from here can tell you that the real place to go for gambling in Las Vegas. Susan Sarandon is by no means a Canadian, but rather, so American that she's from Queens, so I can't believe that they managed to convince both her and Manhattan's own Burt Lancaster to go to New Jersey. I for one am glad that they because we got some seriously good performances and a seriously good film out of their betrayal, and yet, it still stands to carry a little more maple (That's for you Canucks out there who, I don't know, consume maple like juice), at least to development. You don't get much immediate insight into the background of the characters and their stories, and gradual exposition is a little questionable, being barely that much of an issue by its own right in this generally well-characterized drama, but still falling before conflicts which might feel melodramatic without the character motivations' being tightly fleshed out in the context of the narrative. I can't entirely buy in on the film, and it doesn't help that it doesn't sell all that much unique material, at least consistently, having some refreshingly tasteful spots to punctuate a formulaic-feeling gangster and romantic-drama plot, whose familiarity is blanding enough when not accompanied by dry spells. Although the thoughtfulness to Louis Malle's storytelling pays off in the long run, this drama is nonetheless predominantly subdued in its atmosphere, and although that is rarely, if ever all that boring, it leads to cold spells in resonance and bland spots in entertainment value upon Malle's running out of material to draw upon with his meditativeness. Running just a little over 100 minutes, this film really isn't that long, let alone all that overlong, but it does drag its feet just enough to get repetitious, and even uneven, with too many layers to juggle all that organically. Jarring from one segment to the next, and bringing certain characters in and out of the mix, the storytelling gets to feeling, not simply unevenly focused, but all-out unfocused, and it really doesn't need to be, yet it still chooses to devolve to fat around the edges which actually stress how there should be only so much meat to storytelling to begin with. There are some natural shortcomings to this crime drama of surprisingly limited consequence, and if there is depth, then it is drawn out by inspiration found on and off of the screen, and challenged by questionable structuring and pacing which threaten reward value. The final product ultimately secures your investment pretty firmly through all of its shortcomings, both consequential and natural, as it delivers on plenty of inspiration, even offscreen. Louis Malle's only moderately European sensibilities at least compliment the subtle aesthetic value of this film, by placing Richard Ciupka's well-lit cinematographic lensing over a tasteful exploration of the lovely location of Atlantic City, and therefore keeping your eyes occupied, until all of the thoughtful storytelling pays off by overcoming dry spells through lightly powerful touches. The delicate tone of this drama is a little repetitious and blanding, but when it works, it pierces, subtly, but surely resonating and salvaging as much depth as it can from a narrative of only so much momentum, even in concept. The crime-themed tensions and, for that matter, dramatic intensity of this subject matter (There are a few shocking turn of events that seem to be brushed off as moderate inconveniences) go played down in this often conventional story concept, thus, the natural shortcomings stand firm, but through all of them and the consequential shortcomings is promising themes about age, new love, being a protector, escapism and the dangers of the crime world, and despite their going obscured by the missteps, they go brought to life by both Malle and John Guare. Guare's script may be unevenly structured and periodically formulaic, to where it offers only so much material for Malle to draw upon with his thoughtfulness, but it is clever, with memorable dialogue and some subtle twists in formula which keep you guessing as to what's the come. Only so much is fleshed out in Guare's script, yet once the writer does latch onto important aspects of storytelling, he milks them for all their worth, and that particularly goes for distinguished characterization. Even then, the characterization may feel so distinguished because the performances are so inspired, and that particularly goes for leads Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon, whose subtle, nuanced portrayal of an old man finding a new grip on life, and a young woman seeking a new life, respectively, and whose solid chemistry, drive much of the heart of this character drama. Quite frankly, most all of the strengths of the film are subtle, but they stand firm enough in quantity and resonance to transcend shortcomings and reward the patient. Bottom line, there's a touch too much underdevelopment to sell certain histrionics, in addition to a few conventions, and too many dry spells for you to disregard the uneven excesses to the telling of a narrative of only so much consequence, but there's also enough inspired direction, writing and acting to bring life to intriguing subject matter, and secure Louis Malle's "Atlantic City" as a generally quite compelling crime drama. 3/5 - Good

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  cameron j Super Reviewer
• May 19, 2013

  Atlantic City is the story of Lou (Burt Lancaster) who has passed his prime as the top dog of Atlantic City. We soon find out he has become a wanna be, and he'll do anything to look like the tough guy he once was. The film is slow, but in this case I found that to be a plus. In the whole film there is only one extended action scene, so overall this flowed slowly. The cinematographer Ciupka reminded me of the work of Russel Metty who worked with Welles in Touch of Evil. What you can see in the background, is just as important as what the camera is centered on. Also I thought it was funny that Wallace Shawn had a small role as a waiter in this film, when the next year he'd be playing a diner in Louis Malle's next feature. The problem I had with this was a lack of emotional attachment, I appreciate what Louis Malle did in creating a colorful film, much more than I appreciate the story and characters.

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  Super Reviewer
• Feb 05, 2013

  I feel like my appreciation for "Atlantic City" will heighten upon watching it a second time. Here is a quirky, cute comedy that works almost entirely because of Burt Lancaster's honest performance and John Guare's screenplay, which contains elements of thriller, romance and black comedy. I don't think that any other actor could have pulled off what Lancaster does in "Atlantic City." His life parallels his character's so much that it introduces a whole different kind of emotional depth to the film, and it doesn't hurt that Lancaster is such a talented actor to begin with. "Atlantic City" is enjoyable and odd and plotted like a fine novel, and it grows on you.

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  Super Reviewer
• Jun 17, 2010

  An absolutely brilliant film by the Louis Malle, this production is pure class and never lets up: it concerns a small group of losers and fools in Atlantic City; in the early 1980s where the glory days are gone and the old hotel casinos are being torn down to make way for the new mega hotel casinos, each one of them is pursuing their own fantasies and facing the hash dangers of the ruthless world. The late great Burt Lancaster delivers a tour-de-force performance that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor; he plays Lou, an aging small-time mob numbers runner who dreams of being a big-time mobster; Sally, played by wonderfully by Susan Sarandon in an Oscar nominated turn is Lou's next door neighbor who works in a casino salad bar while she trains to be a casino croupie, her dream is to work in a casino in France. Her worthless husband Dave, played superbly by Robert Joy who ran away with Sally's younger sister Chrissie has now stolen a large amount of cocaine from some very dangerous modsters in Philadelphia

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  Super Reviewer