Best Roulette Movie Scenes

Roulette Movie: No one can say that casino gambling is boring. Not knowing, the potential for players’ lives to change in seconds is exhilarating and a temptation few can resist once they have experienced its allure. There is inherent drama involved in gambling, which at moments can be massive. That is what makes this activity a perfect plot device for the silver screen. Hence, it should not surprise anyone that dozens of movies exist that utilize this pastime to build tension and create memorable set pieces within their fictional worlds.

Out of all the traditional casino games offered by gaming establishments, behind blackjack, roulette is likely the most popular one on a global level. Some might argue that it should rank number one, as its attractiveness to laypeople is greater than tables offering twenty-one fun. Roulette is super simple to play, and it is a game that emphasizes social togetherness. In most cases, when someone walks into a gaming floor, the roulette section is the loudest part of the casino, as the crowds in it cheer and shout each time the wheels stop spinning.

Know that Roulette Movie can also be played online, in different formats, including against a live dealer. That is the perfect option for gaming enthusiasts who want to get a slice of wheel gambling fun without leaving their homes. People who wish to experience some of the thrills associated with this game vicariously, without risking their hard-earned money, should check out the following movie scenes.

Casablanca

Without a doubt, Casablanca is one of cinema’s essential classics. Released in 1942, this romantic drama, directed by Michael Curtiz, and starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart, tells the story of a café owner who decides to help his former lover escape the Nazis in French Morocco. Thanks to the movie’s A-list cast, Casablanca was a smash hit at the box office and with critics. It went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and became an iconic film that virtually everyone knows. One of its most famous scenes is when Bogart’s character, Rick, tells a Bulgarian player to bet on twenty-two, helping him win enough money for an exit visa for himself and his fiancée.

Run Lola Run

Tom Tykwer is one of Germany’s most recognizable filmmakers. The Wuppertal native is best known as the director of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer for co-directing Cloud Atlas and creating the internationally acclaimed TV series Babylon Berlin. However, he rose to prominence via an experimental thriller released in 1998 titled Run Lola Run, starring Franka Potente. It is a gimmick film in that it features a loop-like structure where the protagonist, Lola, played by Potente, looks to earn 100,000 Deutschmarks, a sum necessary to get her boyfriend, Manni, out of a jam with his crime boss. Run Lola Run’s hyper-kinetic roulette scene where Potente’s character screams to influence on which position the white ball will land on the roulette movie wheel is a sight to behold.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Many film fans have seen Frank Oz’s comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, featuring the unlikely duo of Michael Caine and Steve Martin, starring as a pair of con men competing for the affection of Janet Colgate, played by Glenne Headly. Few know that this movie is a remake of a 1964 one with David Niven and Marlon Brando. It also got remade as the Hustle in 2019, with the grafter roles switched from male to female. Nevertheless, the Frank Oz version remains the superior of the three, as Caine and Martin drive it to spectacular comedic heights. The cast’s chemistry is evident in the film’s roulette scene, where Martin’s character pretends to be a disabled veteran who is in desperate need of money, asking if he could bet his medals on wheel spins.

Bad Times at the El Royale

Russian roulette is a potentially deadly game, where players place a single round in a revolver and spin its cylinder before attempting to shoot the gun at their heads. It first gets mentioned in fiction in Mikhail Lermontov’s 1840 story – The Fatalist. However, it entered the mainstream consciousness via Michael Cimino’s 1978 quintessential war picture, the Deer Hunter. Bad Times at the El Royale is a 2018 neo-noir featuring a stellar ensemble cast, led by Jeff Bridges and Chris Hemsworth. It offers a novel spin on Russian roulette by incorporating a table wheel and featuring only two players. It is a gory section of this film, which received critical praise, but ultimately failed to deliver at the box office.

Jack Ryan

Okay, so this last one is a bit of a cheat. It is not a scene from a movie but a TV show. Jack Ryan is a series that premiered on Amazon Prime in 2018, created by Graham Roland and Carlton Cuse. It uses the character Jack Ryan, featured in multiple Tom Clancy novels. In episode three of season one of the show, Victor Polizzi, a character played by John Magaro, walks onto a casino floor and begins betting on roulette. He eventually wins $29,400 by wagering on 22 black, likely a nod to Casablanca. What makes this sequence pop is the song Human from Rag’n’Bone Man playing in the background. It adds an impactful sense of atmosphere. 

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