Cheaters (1984 film)

Last updated
Cheaters
Tricheurs.jpg
Film poster
French Tricheurs
Directed by Barbet Schroeder
Written byBarbet Schroeder
Pascal Bonitzer
Steve Baes
Produced by Margaret Ménégoz
Starring Jacques Dutronc
Bulle Ogier
Cinematography Robby Müller
Edited byDenise de Casabianca
Music by Peer Raben
Distributed by Les Films du Losange
Release date
  • 8 February 1984 (1984-02-08)
Running time
94 minutes
CountriesFrance
Portugal
Germany
LanguageFrench

Cheaters (French : Tricheurs) is a 1984 drama film directed by Barbet Schroeder. Starring Jacques Dutronc and Bulle Ogier, it tells the story of two gamblers, a man and a woman, who team up in a casino and eventually realise that, however clever you think you are, you will always lose unless you cheat.

Contents

Plot

Elric, who lives in Madeira on his erratic winnings at roulette, is attracted to Suzie, another gambler, but succumbs to the persuasion of Jorg, a third gambler who has a system for cheating. Abandoning Suzie, he embarks on a worldwide tour with Jorg, their method being to move in and after a quick coup to move on fast. In an Italian casino he sees Suzie and the two start a romance.

Abandoning Jorg, the couple go back to Madeira with a system that Elric has devised. A croupier is bribed to use a radio-controlled ball, which Suzie operates from a transmitter in a cigarette packet. The first night they try it, Elric has three huge wins in succession and, losing his head, then loses the lot. Deeply upset at his stupidity, Suzie says she will only continue if she places the bets and he operates the transmitter. After another huge coup, Elric immediately flies to France with a case full of their winnings and Suzie follows later. They meet up at the chateau he has bought, where his father used to be an employee.

Cast

Reception

In The New York Times Vincent Canby called it "a long overdue treat", "another entertaining, weirdly elegant tale about people moving too fast, living too intensely, along the thin line that separates elation from despair." [1] The Los Angeles Times said it is "an existential love story that also laments the loss of honor and meaning in contemporary life." [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casino</span> Facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities

A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, concerts, and sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roulette</span> Casino game of chance

Roulette is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the color red or black, whether the number is odd or even, or if the number is high or low.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slot machine</span> Casino gambling machine

A slot machine, fruit machine, poker machine or pokies is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baccarat</span> Gambling card game

Baccarat or baccara is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup has three possible outcomes: "player", "banker", and "tie".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Online poker</span> Virtual card game

Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a huge increase in the number of poker players worldwide. Christiansen Capital Advisors stated online poker revenues grew from $82.7 million in 2001 to $2.4 billion in 2005, while a survey carried out by DrKW and Global Betting and Gaming Consultants asserted online poker revenues in 2004 were at $1.4 billion. In a testimony before the United States Senate regarding Internet Gaming, Grant Eve, a Certified Public Accountant representing the US Accounting Firm Joseph Eve, Certified Public Accountants, estimated that one in every four dollars gambled is gambled online.

<i>More</i> (1969 film) 1969 film by Barbet Schroeder

More is a 1969 English-language romantic drama film written and directed by Barbet Schroeder in his directorial debut. Starring Mimsy Farmer and Klaus Grünberg, the film deals with heroin addiction as drug fascination on the island of Ibiza, Spain. Made in the political fallout of the 1960s counterculture, it features drug use, "free love", and other references to contemporary European youth culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stu Ungar</span> American poker player (1953–1998)

Stuart Errol Ungar was an American professional poker, blackjack, and gin rummy player, widely regarded to have been the greatest gin player of all time and one of the best Texas hold 'em players.

<i>The Gambler</i> (1974 film) 1974 film

The Gambler is a 1974 American crime drama film written by James Toback and directed by Karel Reisz. It stars James Caan, Paul Sorvino, and Lauren Hutton. Caan's performance was widely lauded and was nominated for a Golden Globe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Ivey</span> American poker player (born 1977)

Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eleven World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title, and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables. Ivey is regarded by numerous poker observers and contemporaries as the best all-around player in the world. In 2017, he was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Dutronc</span> French musician and actor

Jacques Dutronc is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. Some of Dutronc's best-known hits include "Il est cinq heures, Paris s'éveille", "Le Responsable", and "Les Cactus".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulle Ogier</span> French actress and screenwriter (born 1939)

Bulle Ogier is a French actress and screenwriter.

<i>Ace High</i> (1968 film) 1968 film by Giuseppe Colizzi

Ace High is a 1968 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed and written by Giuseppe Colizzi and starring Terence Hill, Bud Spencer and Eli Wallach. The film is the second in a trilogy that started with God Forgives... I Don't! and ended with Boot Hill.

<i>Bob le flambeur</i> 1956 film by Jean-Pierre Melville

Bob le flambeur is a 1956 French heist gangster film directed by Jean-Pierre Melville and starring Roger Duchesne as Bob. It is often considered both a film noir and a precursor to the French New Wave, the latter because of its use of handheld camera and a single jump cut.

<i>California Split</i> 1974 film by Robert Altman

California Split is a 1974 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and starring Elliott Gould and George Segal as a pair of gamblers. It was the first non-Cinerama film to use eight-track stereo sound.

The mathematics of gambling is a collection of probability applications encountered in games of chance and can get included in game theory. From a mathematical point of view, the games of chance are experiments generating various types of aleatory events, and it is possible to calculate by using the properties of probability on a finite space of possibilities.

<i>Games Gamblers Play</i> 1974 Hong Kong film

Games Gamblers Play is a 1974 Hong Kong comedy film directed by and starring Michael Hui, with action direction by Sammo Hung. The film also co-stars Sam Hui, who also served as one of the film's music composers.

Advantage gambling, or advantage play, refers to legal methods used to gain an advantage while gambling, in contrast to cheating. The term usually refers to house-banked casino games, but can also refer to games played against other players, such as poker. Someone who practices advantage gambling is often referred to as an advantage player, or AP. Unlike cheating, which is by definition illegal, advantage play exploits innate characteristics of a particular game to give the player an advantage relative to the house or other players. While not illegal, advantage play may result in players being banned by certain casinos.

<i>Confessions of a Cheat</i> 1936 French film

Le Roman d'un tricheur is a 1936 film starring, written and directed by Sacha Guitry. It was adapted from Guitry's only novel, Les Mémoires d'un tricheur, published in 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casino security</span> Security staff and equipment at casinos

Casino security refers to the measures that are taken at casinos to protect the establishment's money, property and patrons. The security protects the casino and its customers from violent crime, theft, and other inappropriate behavior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edge sorting</span> Advantage gambling technique

Edge sorting is a technique used in advantage gambling where a player determines whether a face-down playing card is likely to be low or high at casino table games by observing, learning, and exploiting subtle unintentional differences on the backs of the cards being dealt. The technique requires the player to trick the dealer into rotating specific, high-value cards so that they are distinguishable from lower-value ones after shuffling.

References

  1. Canby, Vincent (1986-11-14). "Screen: 'Tricheurs,' from Barbet Schroeder". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  2. Thomas, Kevin (1987-05-04). "Schroeder's 'Tricheurs' at Nuart". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-09-05.