House of Games (1987)

Regisseur:

David Mamet

Drehbuchautoren:

Jonathan Katz (story) &
David Mamet (story) ...
(mehr)

Premierendatum:

11. Oktober 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Krimi | Mystery | Thriller

Werbezeile:

Nothing is as it seems.

Plot:

A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led my a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.

Plot Keywords:

Poker | Con | Professor | Sharpster | Compulsive Gambler

Filmpreise:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

Nutzerkommentare:

The Con Never Ends In "House Of Games"

Besetzung

Lindsay Crouse	...	Margaret Ford
Joe Mantegna	...	Mike
Mike Nussbaum	...	Joey
Lilia Skala	...	Dr. Littauer
J.T. Walsh	...	The businessman
Willo Hausman	...	Girl with book
Karen Kohlhaas	...	Prison ward patient
Steven Goldstein	...	Billy Hahn
Jack Wallace	...	Bartender, House of Games
Ricky Jay	...	George / Vegas Man
G. Roy Levin	...	Poker player
Bob Lumbra	...	Poker player
Andy Potok	...	Poker player
Allen Soule	...	Poker player
Ben Blakeman	...	Bartender, Charlie's Tavern
Scott Zigler	...	Western Union clerk
William H. Macy	...	Sgt. Moran (as W.H. Macy)
John Pritchett	...	Hotel desk clerk
Meshach Taylor	...	Mr. Dean
Johnny 'Sugarbear' Willis	...	Hotel doorman (as Sugarbear Willis)
Josh Conescu	...	Garage attendant
Julie Mendenhall	...	Late student
Rachel Cline	...	Student
Patricia Wolff	...	Patient / Ford's office
Paul Walsh	...	Man in restaurant
Roberta Maguire	...	Restaurant hostess
Jacqueline de La Chaume	...	Woman with lighter
übrige Besetzung in alphabetischer Reihenfolge:
Julie Michaels	...	(uncredited)

Regie
David Mamet

Buch
Jonathan Katz		(story) &
David Mamet		(story)
David Mamet		(screenplay)

Produktion
Michael Hausman	....	producer

Originalmusik
Alaric Jans

Kamera
Juan Ruiz Anchía

Schnitt
Trudy Ship

Casting
Cyrena Hausman

Szenenbild
Michael Merritt

Bühnenbildner/Ausstatter (set decorators)
Derek R. Hill		(as Derek Hill)

Kostüme
Nan Cibula

Maske/Frisuren
Laurent Delouya	....	hair stylist: Mr. Mantegna
Erin Lyons	....	hair stylist
Gregory Villamil	....	hair stylist: Miss Crouse
Pamela S. Westmore	....	makeup artist (as Pamela Westmore)

Produktionsleiter (production managers)
Lee R. Mayes	....	unit production manager

Regieassistenten
Ned Dowd	....	first assistant director
Michael Hausman	....	second assistant director

Ausstattung (Stab)
Jeff Balsmeyer	....	storyboard artist (as Jeffrey Balsmeyer)
Valerie Ross	....	property assistant
Samara Schaffer	....	property master
J. Grey Smith	....	lead man
Jeffrey P. Soderberg	....	set dresser (as Jeff Soderberg)

Ton Stab
Douglas Axtell	....	boom operator
Suki Buchman	....	assistant sound editor (as Susan Buchman)
Anthony J. Ciccolini III	....	supervising sound editor
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Pam DeMetruis-Thomas	....	assistant sound editor (as Pam DeMetruis)
Kathleen Earle Killeen	....	assistant sound editor (as Kathy Killeen)
Thomas A. Gulino	....	sound editor
John Pritchett	....	sound mixer
John Pritchett	....	sound
Marc S. Shaw	....	adr editor
Gail Showalter	....	assistant sound editor
Jeffrey Stern	....	sound editor
Jacqueline Tager	....	assistant sound editor (as Jacqui Tager)
Dick Vorisek	....	sound re-recording supervisor

Spezialeffekte
Robert G. Willard	....	special effects (as Robert Willard)

Kamera und Elektrik (Stab)
Michael F. Barrow	....	gaffer (as Michael Barrow)
Michael F. Barrow	....	grip equipment
Michael F. Barrow	....	lighting equipment
Martin Bosworth	....	grip (as Marty Bosworth)
Chris Centrella	....	key dolly grip
Henry Cline	....	second assistant camera
Geoffrey Coburn	....	electrician
Robert Diehl	....	electrician
Bill Flick	....	grip
Lars Larson	....	grip
Mark Lorge	....	electrician
Hugh McCallum	....	best boy grip
Robert McClure	....	electrician
John Merriman	....	best boy electric
George Mooradian	....	first assistant camera
Lorey Sebastian	....	still photographer
Michael Sudmeier	....	electrician
Greg White-Wiegand	....	electrician
Quintin Woo	....	electrician

Kostüm und Garderobe (Stab)
Candace Blake	....	wardrobe assistant
Dawn Johnson	....	costumer
Sally Roberts	....	wardrobe assistant
Sally Roberts	....	assistant costume designer (uncredited)

Schnitt (Stab)
Peter B. Ellis	....	apprentice editor
K.F. Ligammari	....	apprentice editor
Colleen Sharp	....	apprentice editor
Barbara Tulliver	....	assistant editor

Musik (Stab)
Warren Bernhardt	....	musician: piano solom, "Fugue From the Toccata in C Minor"
Suzana Peric	....	music editor

Transporte
Gregory W. Anderson	....	driver (as Gregory Anderson)
Jerry Jackson	....	transportation coordinator
Jon McCarthy	....	driver (as Jon R. McCarthy)
David Milchen	....	driver captain

Restlicher Stab
Alexa Albert	....	production assistant
Rachel Cline	....	assistant to producer
Liz Dixon	....	coach
Liz Dixon	....	consultant
Peter Hutcheson	....	production assistant
Kevin Hyman	....	production accountant
Ricky Jay	....	consultant: confidence games
Richard Lorenzana	....	financial representative
Ron Lynch	....	location manager
Susan McBrine	....	caterer (as Susan MacBrine)
Ivan Passer Jr.	....	production assistant
P.J. Pettiette	....	dailies courier
Deborah Pritchett	....	production office coordinator
Cathy Sarkowsky	....	production office coordinator
Sheila Thompson	....	craft service
Lynn Wegenka	....	key production assistant
Christine Wilson	....	script supervisor
Patricia Wolff	....	production assistant
Scott Zigler	....	production assistant
Randall Balsmeyer	....	title designer (uncredited)

Produktionsfirmen

• Filmhaus

Verleihfirmen

• Orion Pictures Corporation (1987) (USA) (theatrical)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Orion Pictures Corporation (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1988) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• GoodTimes Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Spezialeffekte

• Special Effects Unlimited

Weitere Firmen

• Balsmeyer and Everett  titles
• DeLuxe Laboratories  prints
• Mac B's Catering  catering
• Michael Barrow  grip and lighting equipment
• Trans / Audio  post-production services

Alternativ:

Haus der Spiele (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) [de]

Länge:

102 Min

Produktionsland:

USA

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe

Seitenverhältnis:

1.85 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Mono

Altersfreigabe:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Finland:K-14 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Drehorte:

Seattle, Washington, USA

Firma:

Filmhaus

Dies und das:

According to Mamet, despite the excellent reviews the film received in a limited showing in four theaters, Orion decided against spending the money for the prints and publicity that would have accompanied a general release and sent the film almost directly to TV and video.

Pannen:

Abfolgefehler: Margaret asks the House of Games's barman to call Mike out. Then he enters in the game room and closes the door. We don't see him comes back. So Mike opens the door and comes to talk her. During the conversation we don't see the barman behind the counter. But after Mike went to the game room, the barman appears behind the counter.

Dialogzitate:

George: South Street Seaport, the man says. He can't stand the heat. He can't stand it.

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Verweist auf/spielt an auf/erwähnt Meteor (1979)

Soundtrack:

Fugue from the Toccata in C Minor

The Con Never Ends In "House Of Games"

David Mamet wrote the screenplay and made his directorial debut with `House of Games,' a character study fraught with psychological overtones, in which a psychiatrist is lured into the dark world of the confidence game. Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse) has a successful practice and has written a best-selling novel, 'Driven.' Still, she is somewhat discontented with her own personal life; there's an emptiness she can neither define nor resolve, and it primes her vulnerability. When a patient, Billy Hahn (Steven Goldstein), confides to her during a session that he owes big money to some gamblers, and that they're going to kill him if he doesn't pay, she decides to intervene on his behalf. This takes her to the `House of Games,' a seedy little dive where she meets Mike (Joe Mantegna), a charismatic con-man who wastes no time before enticing her into his world. Instead of the `twenty-five large' that Billy claimed he owed, Mike shows her his book, and it turns out to be eight hundred dollars. And Mike agrees to wipe the slate clean, if she'll agree to do him one simple favor, which involves a card game he has going on in the back room. In the middle of a big hand, Mike is going to leave the room for a few minutes; while he is gone, her job is to watch for the `tell' of one of the other players. By this time, not only Margaret, but the audience, as well, is hooked. The dialogue, and Mamet's unique style and the precise cadence with which his actors deliver their lines, is mesmerizing. As Mike leads Margaret through his compelling, surreal realm of existence, and introduces her to the intricacies of the con game, we are swept right along with her. From that first memorable encounter, when he demonstrates what a `tell' is and how it works, to the lessons of the `short con,' to the stunning climax of this film, Mamet keeps the con going with an urgency that is relentless. And nothing is what it seems. In the end, Margaret learns some hard lessons about life and human nature, and about herself. She changes; and whether or not it's for the better is open to speculation. Mantegna is absolutely riveting in this film; he lends every nuance possible to a complex character who must be able to lead you willingly into the shadows, and does. Crouse also turns in an outstanding performance here; you feel the rigid, up-tight turmoil roiling beneath that calm, self-assured exterior, and when her experiences with Mike induce the change in her, she makes you feel how deeply it has penetrated. She makes you believe that she is capable of what she does, and makes you understand it, as well. The dynamic supporting cast includes Mike Nussbaum (Joey), Lilia Skala (Dr. Littauer), J.T. Walsh (The Businessman), Ricky Jay (George) and William H. Macy (Sergeant Moran). `House of Games' is the quintessential Mamet; he's written and directed a number of high-caliber plays and films since, and will no doubt grace us with more in the future. But this film will be the one that defines him; and you can go to the dictionary and look it up. You'll find it under `Perfection.' This is one great movie you do not want to miss. I rate this one 10/10.