IMDb > Atlantic City (1980)
Atlantic City
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Atlantic City (1980) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 4 NEW)
Atlantic City (1980) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)
Atlantic City (1980) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)
Atlantic City (1980) -- Moviesbox.us - Trailer (Flash)
Atlantic City (1980) -- AllTrailers.net - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   5,165 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 56% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Louis Malle
Writer:
John Guare (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Atlantic City on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
3 April 1981 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama | Romance more
Tagline:
She made him become what he always wanted to be - a lover, a hero, a rich man...and a killer! more
Plot:
Lou is a small time gangster, who thinks he used to be something big. He meets up with a younger girl... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 14 nominations more
NewsDesk:
Singer Robert Goulet Dies at 73
 (From WENN. 31 October 2007)

User Comments:
French connection more (39 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Burt Lancaster ... Lou Pascal

Susan Sarandon ... Sally Matthews
Kate Reid ... Grace Pinza
Michel Piccoli ... Joseph
Hollis McLaren ... Chrissie

Robert Joy ... Dave Matthews
Al Waxman ... Alfie

Robert Goulet ... Singer in hospital
Moses Znaimer ... Felix
Angus MacInnes ... Vinnie
Sean Sullivan ... Buddy

Wallace Shawn ... Waiter (as Wally Shawn)
Harvey Atkin ... Bus driver
Norma Dell'Agnese ... Jeanne
Louis Del Grande ... Mr. Shapiro
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Atlantic City (USA)
Atlantic City, USA (Canada: English title)
more
Runtime:
104 min
Country:
Canada | France
Language:
English | French
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
A French-Canadian production company gave director Louis Malle money to make a film under the stipulation that he use the money within an allotted period of time or he'd have to give it back. With time running out and not entirely happy with the one script that stood out from the ones he took under consideration, Malle's then-girlfriend Susan Sarandon introduced him to a good friend of hers, John Guare, a playwright ("House of Blue Leaves", "Six Degrees of Separation", and "Four Baboons Adoring the Sun" among others). Over dinner, Malle and Sarandon (who was attached to star) discussed the problems they had with the script and offered suggestions as to how Guare could possibly fix it so they could beat the pending deadline and start filming. Guare quickly reworked the script (it was his idea to set the film in Atlantic City) and filming got underway within a few months of the trio's initial meeting. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: There is no channel 7 on TV in Philadelphia. more
Quotes:
Chrissie: Oh, I never use seatbelts. I don't believe in gravity. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Family Guy: Road to Rhode Island (#2.13)" (2000) more
Soundtrack:
Atlantic City, My Old Friend more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
12 out of 19 people found the following comment useful.
French connection, 28 January 2006
9/10
Author: mgrindberg from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

The setting and the characters are just right for each other. Atlantic City is undergoing a transformation, with new casinos and hotels dotting its shoreline while a few blocks in, out of the tourists sight, the full time residents live in what's left over from the past. Louis Malle captures it all with this story about a retired small time member of the local organized crime syndicate (Burt Lancaster) who comes into a small fortune worth of stolen cocaine when the guy that stole it (Robert Joy) is killed by the dealers who meant to buy it in the first place down in Philadelphia, and are now hot on his heels as well. Back in the life, though unwittingly, he sells the coke to an ongoing poker game in one of the suites in a new hotel, bit by bit, and falls into the romance of his dreams with young Susan Sarandon, whom he watched every night from his hotel room as she bathed her breasts with lemon juice in her room across the way. Like the refurbishing city its set in, he feels rejuvenated and in one instance even fearless in the face of the ruthless Philly dealers. The film put Lancaster back in the limelight for a while, and refreshingly so. Its gritty realism and characters, especially Joy, who makes an excellent hippie con-man, marked the end of an era of that realistic 70's urban crime drama genre that deftly mixed romance with drugs and violence, and portrayed the underworld, mostly minus the cops, so well.

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