X
- 1987
- R
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 42 m
- 1987
- R
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 42 m
Summary A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.
Directed By: David Mamet
Written By: Jonathan Katz, David Mamet
- 1987
- R
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 42 m
- 1987
- R
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 42 m
House of Games
78
7.4
Where to Watch
Summary A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.
Directed By: David Mamet
Written By: Jonathan Katz, David Mamet
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
78
85% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
8% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
78
85% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
8% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
His meticulous, largely self-taught directing style—dazzlingly showcased in House of Games, a master class in dramatically functional compositions and camera moves—should be mandatory viewing for any would-be filmmaker.
The clipped tough-guy language, Juan Ruiz Anchía's rich chiaroscuro lighting, the layers of "short cons" and larger deceptions—they're all elements of a genre whose time had passed, but that Mamet was able to revive with effortless aplomb.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 14 User Ratings
7.4
71% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
29% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 14 User Ratings
7.4
71% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
29% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Directing his first feature film, playwright David Mamet has accomplished
the seemingly impossible: His dark and gripping House of Games is at once
perfectly faithful to the world of his stage work and a fully realized piece
of cinema.
Mantegna and Nussbaum are so good as the con artists that their reading of Mamet's dialogue--and often Crouse's reading as well--justifies the movie. These actors have worked many times on stage with Mamet, as have J. T. Walsh, and cardsharp Ricky Jay (as a Las Vegas gambler), and when they latch onto these lines, they're like seasoned pitchers palming and scuffing the ball. Oozing confidence, they, and Mamet, put on a coldly skillful, killingly well - calculated show.
Mamet has created a suspenseful, psychologically complex film that constantly plays tricks on the viewer as it draws him into its milieu of insightful deceit.
A wildly profane stew of twists and surprises. And for the most part, the ways in which the various elements combine are enormously diverting. It's a clever, intelligent piece of work with an impulse to surprise and entertain. It's also a crock.
House of Games is so bad it seems reasonable to conclude that God was out of town and Mamet's muse was in a coma. [16 Oct 1987]
Production Company
Filmhaus
Release Date Oct 14, 1987
Duration 1 h 42 m
Rating R
Tagline Nothing is as it seems.
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Venice Film Festival
• 4 Wins & 5 Nominations
London Critics Circle Film Awards
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
