CROUPIER tells the complex story of an aspiring writer who must take a job in order to pay the bills. Experienced as a professional croupier, Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) is hired by an upscale casino in London, where he intends to silently observe the goings on while continuing to work on his latest novel. Tensions begin to emerge between Jack and his girlfriend, Marion (Gina McKee), when he finds himself succumbing to the temptations that the gambling world presents; most notably, the gorgeous Jani (Alex Kingston), whose mysterious intentions eventually make themselves clear. As the story unfolds, Jack begins to realize that he is becoming the immoral hero of his novel, and is, in fact, giving in to these temptations to provide him with subject matter that will make for a memorable work of fiction.

Mike Hodges and Paul Mayersberg have crafted a taut thriller that keeps the twists unfolding until the film's very last shot. As a tribute to Mayersberg's script, Hodges insisted that he share the film's author credit with the scribe. This unprecedented decision, combined with Clive Owen's seductive, highly irresistible performance, results in a motion picture that is an intelligent throwback to the crime films of yesteryear.

Paul Mayersberg's script was inspired by Akira Kurosawa's THE HIDDEN FORTRESS.

The casino was constructed over the course of three weeks in Germany's Monheim studio.

Clive Owen, Kate Hardie, and Paul Reynolds were all trained for two weeks by a professional casino trainer.

The National Board of Review, Rolling Stone, Jan Stuart and Gene Seymour of Newsday, Desson Howe of the Washington Post, Matt Zoller Seitz and Godfrey Cheshire of the New York Press, Owen Glieberman of Entertainment Weekly, and Jeff Strickler of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune named CROUPIER one of the 10 best films of 2000.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.0 - English

Distributor Notes: All bets are off in London's gambling world when struggling writer Jack Manfred (Gosford Park's Clive Owen) accepts his father's offer of a job as a croupier, out the cards of fate and fortune each night to casino patrons. As his relationship with his girlfriend, Marion (Notting Hill's Gina McKee), suffers from the strain of his new job, Jack finds his eye roving to a seductive gambler, Jani (ER's Alex Kingston), who lures him into a dangerous robbery scheme with Jack positioned as the inside man. A critical and commercial smash, this delicious British thriller from director Mike Hodges (Get Carter) and writer Paul Mayersberg (The Last Samurai) is a solid winner from start to finish!

Source: Image Entertainment, Inc.

Clive Owen: British actor, CLOSER
Gina McKee: Actress
Alex Kingston: British Actress, ER
Alexander Morton: Actor
Kate Hardie: Actress/"Mona Lisa"
Paul Reynolds: British Actor
Nick Reding: Actor
Nicholas Ball: 
Ozzi Yue: Actor
Tom Mannion: Actor, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES (2001)
James Clyde: Actor
Emma Lewis: 
Kate Fenwick: Actress
Ciro De Chiara: Actor
Barnaby Kay: Actor
Sheila Whitfield: Actress
John Radcliffe: Actor
Eddie Osei: Actor
Doremy Vernon: Actress
Claudine Carter: Actress
George Khan: Actor

Mike Hodges: British Director/Writer

Jonathan Cavendish: 

Christine Ruppert: Producer

Paul Mayersberg: American Screenwriter/Director

Simon Fisher Turner: Composer

Les Healey: Editor

"...The choice of Clive Owen as the star is a good one. He's got the same sort of physical reserve as Sean Connery in the Bond pictures..."
"...Absorbing....Hodges is unfailingly professional in matching style to story..."
"...A taut, stylish study of a man who tries but fails to keep human involvements at a comfortable distance....[CROUPIER] survives on the subtle, smoldering charisma of Clive Owen as the coldhearted croupier..."
"...Clive Owen is the coolest guy in the movies....This absorbing drama hooks you early and keeps you guessing..." -- 4 out of 5 stars
"[A] treasure..."
"Intense, hypnotic, assured, THE CROUPIER mesmerizes....This enigmatic, beautifully made film crosses the traditions of film noir with a distinctly modern anomie..."