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IMDbPro

Born to Win

  • 19711971
  • RR
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
22,795
3,194
Karen Black and George Segal in Born to Win (1971)
A smart-mouthed junkie and loser known as J.J. (George Segal) spends his days looking for just "one more fix".
Play trailer2:52
2 Videos
82 Photos
ComedyCrimeDrama
A smart-mouthed junkie and loser known as J.J. (George Segal) spends his days looking for just "one more fix".A smart-mouthed junkie and loser known as J.J. (George Segal) spends his days looking for just "one more fix".A smart-mouthed junkie and loser known as J.J. (George Segal) spends his days looking for just "one more fix".
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
22,795
3,194
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Ivan Passer
    • Writers
      • David Scott Milton(screenplay)
      • Ivan Passer(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • George Segal
      • Paula Prentiss
      • Karen Black
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Ivan Passer
    • Writers
      • David Scott Milton(screenplay)
      • Ivan Passer(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • George Segal
      • Paula Prentiss
      • Karen Black
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 31User reviews
    • 18Critic reviews
    • 55Metascore

    Videos2

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:52
    Trailer
    Trailer
    Trailer 1:42
    Trailer

    Photos82

    George Segal in Born to Win (1971)
    George Segal in Born to Win (1971)
    Robert De Niro, Michael Madsen, and George Segal in Born to Win (1971)
    Robert De Niro in Born to Win (1971)
    Born to Win (1971)
    Born to Win (1971)
    Born to Win (1971)
    Born to Win (1971)
    Born to Win (1971)
    Born to Win (1971)
    Born to Win (1971)
    Born to Win (1971)

    Top cast

    Edit
    George Segal
    George Segal
    • J
    Paula Prentiss
    Paula Prentiss
    • Veronica
    Karen Black
    Karen Black
    • Parm
    Jay Fletcher
    Jay Fletcher
    • Billy Dynamite
    Hector Elizondo
    Hector Elizondo
    • Vivian
    Robert De Niro
    Robert De Niro
    • Danny
    • (as Robert DeNiro)
    Ed Madsen
    • Detective
    Marcia Jean Kurtz
    Marcia Jean Kurtz
    • Marlene
    Irving Selbst
    • Stanley
    Tim Pelt
    • Little Davey
    José Pérez
    José Pérez
    • Junior Conception
    • (as Jose Perez)
    Sylvia Syms
    • Cashier
    • (as Sylvia Simms)
    Jack Hollander
    • Harry
    Alex Colon
    Alex Colon
    • Bus Boy
    Max Brandt
    • Store Clerk
    Burt Young
    Burt Young
    • First Hood
    Roland Kindhard
    • Second Hood
    Jean David
    • Laundry Woman
    • Director
      • Ivan Passer
    • Writers
      • David Scott Milton(screenplay) (original story)
      • Ivan Passer(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Some of the characters in the film were played by actual New York City junkies at the time, people who Writer and Director Ivan Passer encountered while researching the film.
    • Quotes

      [first lines]

      J: They same I'm a charmer... that I charm the people I hustle. Well, that comes after dealing with women, after hairdressing. I love to dress hair! But being that I know what to do, being that I'm hip enough to know, I do it! That's love and peace. Love and peace. You just gotta keep sending it out. Love. That love and peace.

      [smiles]

      J: I'm not J for nothing, you know?

    • Alternate versions
      The budget video releases of this film feature an edited-for-TV print that cuts out the following scenes: Segal and Prentiss putting tourniquets on in a back room of the nightclub in preparation for taking heroin, an exchange involving Karen Black's character's breast size (and a retort involving Segal's breast size), an extension of the scene featuring Segal in the pink robe giving the "up-yours" sign to the girl on the balcony, dialogue when Black and Segal are making love, and assorted others. The 2005 German MGM DVD features the uncut version of the film.
    • Connections
      Features Applause (1973)
    • Soundtracks
      Ooh Poo Pah Doo
      Written by Jessie Hill (uncredited)

      Performed by Ike Turner and Tina Turner

    User reviews31

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    Better than you'd think
    It's interesting to see something as grainy and badly lit as this still bubble to the surface once in a while, particularly in this age of independent films produced on multi-million dollar budgets. This one obviously wasn't; from the outset, with its dated music and hokey effects, you can be sure you're in for low-tech.

    What sets Born to Win apart is its solid writing and steady, well-thought out performances. George Seagal, who, strangely, might be best remembered as a cliche on the old Tonight Show, has his character down cold. Karen Black is winning, and with the two of them in the lead, the rest of the movie skims along well. I found myself ignoring the stiff camera work and the Sly and the Family Stone-styled soundtrack to actually watch actors act, to see them sometimes apparently ad-lib entire sequences and do it with gusto.

    De Niro is too young for the part in which he's cast, and it shows. He looks like a child and has none of the edge we associate with his later performances. By Taxi Driver he'd toughened up, lost the baby-fat and the boy-next-door haircut. Born to Win should be the movie that argues against Seagal and Black being marginalized in film history as also-rans--Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller would both do well to take a look at this before they try another independent, just to see what people of their caliber were doing 30 years ago with nothing more than a cheap camera, a couple of lights and a boom mic. Well done.
    helpful•20
    2
    • Spearin
    • Nov 16, 1998

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 22, 1972 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Addict
    • Filming locations
      • New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Theater Guild
      • Segal-Tokofsky Productions
      • Scraping Bottom Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 28 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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