The Card Player

Original title: Il cartaio

20042004
Not RatedNot Rated
1h 43min

Il cartaio (2004)

Home Video Trailer from Anchor Bay Entertainment

Play trailer1:56

Horror Mystery Thriller

A Rome policewoman teams up with a British Interpol agent to find a crafty serial killer who plays a taunting game of cat-and-mouse with the police by abducting and killing young women and s... Read allA Rome policewoman teams up with a British Interpol agent to find a crafty serial killer who plays a taunting game of cat-and-mouse with the police by abducting and killing young women and showing it over an Internet web cam.A Rome policewoman teams up with a British Interpol agent to find a crafty serial killer who plays a taunting game of cat-and-mouse with the police by abducting and killing young women and showing it over an Internet web cam.

Director
- Dario Argento
Writers
- Dario Argento(story)
- Franco Ferrini(story)
- Jay Benedict(dialogue)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination

Videos1

The Card Player

The Card Player

Mia Benedetta in Il cartaio (2004)

Il cartaio (2004)

Liam Cunningham and Stefania Rocca in Il cartaio (2004)

Stefania Rocca in Il cartaio (2004)

Silvio Muccino and Stefania Rocca in Il cartaio (2004)

Liam Cunningham and Stefania Rocca in Il cartaio (2004)

Jennifer Poli in Il cartaio (2004)

Stefania Rocca in Il cartaio (2004)

Il cartaio (2004)

Stefania Rocca in Il cartaio (2004)

Conchita Puglisi in Il cartaio (2004)

Silvio Muccino and Conchita Puglisi in Il cartaio (2004)

Director
- Dario Argento
Writers
- Dario Argento(story) (screenplay)
- Franco Ferrini(story) (screenplay)
- Jay Benedict(dialogue)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

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After the abduction of a British tourist in Rome, police inspector Anna Mari is contacted by the criminal, who self-entitles The Card Player, challenging the police department to dispute a video poker with him where the prize would be the life of the victim. The Chief of Police refuses to participate and the victim is tortured and killed in front of an Internet web cam. British detective John Brennan is assigned to investigate the case and when another woman is kidnapped, they invite the addicted player Remo to play for the police. Anna and John lead the investigation trying to disclose who might be the serial-killer. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

serial killer psychopathic killer psychopath homicidal maniac slasher 123 more

Taglines
- A serial killer with a vice for Video Poker.
Genres
Certificate
- Not Rated
Parents guide

Trivia
The idea behind 'The Card Player' came in 1996 just after the release of 'The Stendhal Syndrome' and was intended to be a sequel to 'The Stendhal Syndrome' titled 'In The Dark' with Asia Argento returning to portray the character of Anna Manni, but director Dario Argento then decided to make 'Phantom of the Opera' instead and the idea was abandoned.

Goofs
The online victims (from their video poker game side window camera shots) are murdered by having their throats cut (subsequent cadavers show this); yet during the assaults, no neck / arterial blood spray or likes is seen in the 'live' online camera shot window.

Connections
Referenced in Ti piace Hitchcock? (2005)

Top review

6/10

Not great Argento but not awful

This movie deserves a bit more credit - it is not the best Argento film but it is certainly better than Phantom of the Opera. I think the main complaint that an Argento fan could have about this film is it is very un-Argento - it feels a bit more like a gory Ruth Rendell. However the plot is quite tight, the poker playing serial killer is a new concept that I quite appreciated, the main actress I thought was excellent, she reminded me a lot of Franka Potente. Definitely give this one a watch, its not the usual Argento style but it is still a good thriller. Do not watch this one if you are not a fan of Agatha Christie/Ruth Rendell/Inspector Morse and are expecting Argento's usual slightly bizarre edge - this is a pretty ordinary "detective trying to catch serial killer" flick.

helpful•10

1

lilac_point_burmese
Oct 25, 2005

Release date
- January 2, 2004 (Italy)
Country of origin
- Italy
Language
- Italian
Also known as
- Rest
Filming locations
- Rome, Lazio, Italy
Production companies
- Opera Film (II)
- Medusa Film
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Budget
- €2,000,000 (estimated)
Gross worldwide
- $3,368,452

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
- 1h 43min
Color
- Color
Sound mix
- Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1

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Il cartaio (2004)

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