Killing Of A Chinese Bookie, The: The Criterion Collection (1976) Rating: Starring: Seymour Cassel, Ben Gazarra, Morgan Woodward, Al Ruban, Timothy Agoglia Carey, Robert Phillips, John Red Kullers Director: John Cassavetes Category: Drama Studio: Criterion Subtitles: Length: 135 mins     John Cassavetes engages film noir in his own inimitable style with The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Ben Gazzara brilliantly portrays gentlemen's club owner Cosmo Vitelli, a man dedicated to pretenses of composure and self-possession. When he runs afoul of a group of gangsters, Cosmo is forced to commit a horrible crime in a last-ditch effort to save his beloved club and his way of life. Suspenseful, mesmerizing, and idiosyncratic, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is a thought-provoking examination of desperation and masculine identity. Available for the first time as a stand-alone release, from the box set John Cassavetes: Five Films.