Today’s guest post comes from reader Tracy.
When the silver screen was introduced a century ago in Germany and other parts of the world, it has become a revolution that enabled people to express themselves in moving pictures. Similar to books and music, German films as well as international ones feature stories or themes based on a person’s life, frustrations, and dreams, among many others. One of most common themes used in movies is gambling.
As playing casino games is one of the favorite activities of mankind, it wasn’t long before when people incorporated this with motion picture. From 1960 to the present, people have produced a number of titles that illustrate gambling as part of their subject’s lives. One example is The Gambler, a 2007 film of German director Sebastian Bieniek.
Apart from using real casinos in a film, there are also instances wherein filmmakers used gambling as an “under theme” in some of the scenes in their work. That being said, here is a personal list of the most memorable scenes with gambling references in non-gambling movies.
The roulette scene in Toy Story 3
When I saw Toy Story 3 on the silver screen for the first time, I didn’t expect to see a gambling scene. But I commend Pixar for treating a mature topic in such a way that the audience, especially the younger sector, would still enjoy it. The scene that I am talking about involves some of the founding toys at the preschool, including Ken. They are gathered together around a See ‘n Say, betting on where the spinner will stop. The tip of the arrow lands on the duck, making the octopus the winner.
The blackjack scene in The Hangover
Almost all of the scenes in The Hangover are in Las Vegas, so it is implausible not to see any gambling activity in the film. I included The Hangover’s blackjack scene in this short list as it is a pure homage to the Rain Man, especially when Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) descended on the escalator wearing a gray suit.
The roulette scene in Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run)
Directed by Tom Tykwer, this German film tells the story of Lola (Franka Potente) as she tries to look for money to use as substitute to the money that was lost by her boyfriend Manni. After failing in her first two attempts, Lola sees a casino and decides to put everything she’s got on the roulette table. She wins two bets with “20 black”, which gives her more than enough money to help Manni. What I love most about this scene is the reaction of the classy people when Lola entered the casino all sweaty and under-dressed.
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