There’s nothing quite like the glitz, glamour and palpable excitement of a casino floor. Where else do you find people from all walks of life, dressed up to the nines, gathered around a table whooping and shouting in a frenzy of crazed anticipation? It’s no wonder that Hollywood has often turned to the casino to create a scene that oozes with tension and evokes an atmosphere brimming over with the feeling that ‘anything could happen’.
We’ve seen plenty of moments in film where the main character is embroiled in a game of high stakes poker with a villainous opponent. And we’ve ridden the highs and lows of card-counting blackjack players trying to take down the casino in David and Goliath-style storylines that pull on our heartstrings and have us rooting for the underdog.
But we think that the high-octane buzz of roulette table captures the intoxicating thrill of ‘risking it all’ like no other game. In honour of the glorious game of chance that is roulette, we’ve put together a list of our top 3 most iconic roulette scenes on the silver screen.
Casablanca
Set against the backdrop of World War II, Casablanca tells a story of love, friendship and escape. The plot centres on a love triangle involving Rick; the owner of Rick’s Café Américain – a nightclub/gambling den, Ilsa; Rick’s ex-lover and Ilsa’s husband, Victor Laszlo.
During the course of one evening, the film introduces us to an eclectic mix of characters that frequent the nightclub. One of whom is a man named Jan. Jan is desperate to escape Europe and the War and in order to do so he must purchase a visa to the United States for himself and his wife.
Jan cannot afford the exorbitant price of freedom and so turns to the roulette table to try and win the money he needs. This paves the way for one of the most beautiful roulette scenes in cinematic history, not only for the glamour of the surroundings but also for the humanity shown by Rick.
Run Lola Run
Imagine you had just 20 minutes to save the love of your life from execution, and in order to do so you have to raise $100,000 – seemingly out of thin air. This is the task set for Lola and the film follows three possible scenarios. The first scenario sees Lola rob a supermarket with her boyfriend Manni, but the robbery is foiled by police and results in Lola’s death.
The second scenario sees Lola rob a bank by holding her own father hostage, but although she escapes with the money the scene ends with Manni’s death. In the third and final scenario, Lola runs to a casino and winds up standing in front of the roulette table. Will Lola win the money and save Manni? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out and we highly recommend that you do!
Deer Hunter
Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War this time, Deer Hunter tells the story of a group of American soldiers captured by the Vietcong and interned in a prisoner of war camp. Ok, we admit we’ve taken a step outside of the casino floor for this one, but the game of Russian roulette that is played in one of this film’s most dramatic and iconic scenes could not be overlooked.
Roulette is a game of chance, and Russian roulette takes the idea and turns it up by at least a thousand notches. Rather than spin the wheel, in this game the prisoners must spin the barrel of a gun. The prisoner must then turn the gun to his own head and shoot – the winner lives, the loser dies. The audience held their breath throughout the whole scene and so will you!
There is nothing quite like the sound of the ball drop, especially when it lands on your number. But before you head over to a fancy casino, we suggest you sign up to an online casino and get to grips with all the different betting strategies. You’ll find plenty of new casinos online to practice at, and if you’re not sure where to start, we suggest you check out https://new-casino.ca/ for a list of recommendations. We wish you the best of luck!
One Reply to “Top 3 Most Iconic Roulette Scenes on the Silver Screen”