Dir: Dario Argento
Cast: Stefania Rocca, Liam Cunningham, Fiore Argento,
Silvio Muccino
Not Rated, Approx: 104 minutes
Anchor Bay Entertainment DVD
Surprising Restraint in His
Most Recent Work. Will His
Audience Approve?
we’ve perhaps come to enjoy from the director’s previous breadth of work; instead it’s a very straightforward film.
Natural lighting replaces the outrageous color schemes; bloodless murders occur mostly off camera and the lurid,
voyeuristic tone that Argento is typically fond of is greatly muted here. The Card Player isn’t like anything that
Argento has done before, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s just unfortunate that while different, it’s also a dull and
boring affair.
Card Player.” The murderer abducts young women and challenges the police to a game of internet poker while the
victim is tied; her struggling captured via web cam. If the police manage to win three rounds of video poker, the
victim is set free, should they loose, they get a front row seat to a brutal (and off camera) murder. Soon an Irish
forensics expert (Liam Cunningham, Dog Soldiers) joins them in their hunt for the killer and the typical game of cat
and mouse ensues.
for said realism in the lighting, with his main characters (our heroes Rocca and Cunningham are both depicted as
being burdened with life problems) and in the rapid-fire storytelling and editing. For the intended effect, all of these
techniques work toward his goal. For much of the length, the storyline is tightly written (although there are a few
holes in the last act) even if Argento recycles some story elements from his earlier films, particularly The Bird With
the Crystal Plumage. Unfortunately, there are other factors that work against the film and drive the picture down
several pegs and it can all mainly be attributed to his characters in one way or another.
actors who are rendered embarrassing thanks appalling dub jobs that fail to compliment their performances. The
voice acting is so synthetic and indifferent that it becomes impossible to remain in Argento’s straightforward world of
serious police procedure. Just wait until you see the moments where the characters huddle around a computer to
intently watch a game of poker played for a life of a young women (actually, this happens two or three times in the
film). The dialogue that flies from their mouths is cringe inducing and unintentionally hilarious. I don’t feel entirely
comfortable in blaming Argento for this detriment, but it’s my understanding that the English dub is the same one
everywhere. I have no idea if the weak dialogue comes from Argento’s script, or from some loose interpretation of
his words, but the way it’s presented here is pretty poor.
actors are pretty appealing in their roles and that’s true. However, Argento’s realist approach to writing the parts
also saddles them with some of the most clichéd troubles of all time. The idea here is to show how real heroes are
just like you and I. But it’s hard to be astounded by this intent when one of them is haunted by the fate of their father
and the other has a drinking problem. I’ll leave the surprise of what dysfunction goes with which character to you, the
viewer.
Consider the police chief who becomes aware of the killer’s threat to kill a woman on the Internet if the cops loose at
poker or refuse to play. Immediately the chief tells our young heroine to play the game. She protests that she knows
too little about poker but he nonchalantly tells her to give it a shot. Now the stake of the game is the life of a young
woman, and you’d think this guy could be a little less devil may care! If that’s not enough, the chief then decides that
they won’t comply with the killer and calls his bluff. I wasn’t aware that the police were allowed to gamble with the
lives of young, kidnapped tourists, but I guess if you’re an asshole police chief, then anything goes. My gripe with
this stems from the fact that its entirely out of place and stupid. The chief isn’t supposed to be an evil character, nor
is he an obstacle of resistance at any other point in the film. This little display at the film’s start just felt cheap and
silly, negating any impact the scene could've had.
Claudio Simonetti. Mr. Simonetti’s score is one of the film's most inspired elements. The driving, electronic beat of
this composition is a perfect compliment to the fast pace of the proceedings and has remained in my head hours
after watching the film. Simonetti’s scores are always superb (I found his work on Argento’s last giallo, Nonhosonno
to be among his best work), and this is no exception.
certainly shown us a riskier side of his artistry than ever before. Not all of his risks have paid off (Phantom of the
Opera), but some certainly have (The Stendhal Syndrome) and I would say that The Card Player falls somewhere
between the two of those films. It’s not the disaster that people like to gripe about, nor does it succeed in earning a
spot next to the director’s most memorable works. Regardless of what you’ve heard, I’d strongly urge the director’s
fans to seek this one out so to make up your own mind on the matter.
Anchor Bay Entertainment provided the American video market with a very crisp and sound DVD. The 5.1 audio
track is excellence as Simonetti’s score assaults you from all sides. The picture quality is pristine as well and
rounding out the package is a wealth of extras: a behind-the-scenes look at making the film, a nice interview with the
director regarding the film, another interview with Simonetti and much more. No matter what one thinks of the film,
Anchor Bay’s package is a worthy release and recommended for Argentophiles.
* * * out of 5
Reviewed by Matt Serafini 8/25/05
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