© Provided by ScreenRant
The script for the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie is nearly done, according to creator Steven Knight, and fans couldn’t be more excited to see the Shelby boys back on screen. The series focuses on the Shelby family who built their empire through gambling. Although Peaky Blinders would not be the first TV show or movie to show gambling in all its complicated glory, it has been lauded as one of the best.
There is a trove of exceptional movies about gambling that match Peaky Blinder’s level of entertainment. Fans of poker, roulette, or just placing bets on sports teams understand the adrenaline and despair that can occur with the make-it-or-break-it atmosphere of gambling. Filmmakers from Spike Lee to Martin Scorsese understand this all-in mindset of gambling and infuse it into their awesome films.
Mo’ Better Blues (1990)
Stream On Starz
From the exalted director Spike Lee, Mo’ Better Blues features a fantastic performance from Academy Award winner Denzel Washington in the main role of Bleek Gilliam, a talented saxophonist who makes disastrous decisions in his financial, romantic, and professional life.
RELATED: The 10 Best Movies About Poker Ranked According To IMDb
Bleek’s right-hand man, Giant, played by Lee himself, is in deep with his bookie for gambling debts, putting his best friend in jeopardy. The film comments on the themes of friendship and loyalty, no more evident than in the relationship of Bleek and Giant.
Cheaters (1984)
Stream On The Criterion Channel
Known as Tricheurs in its native France, Cheaters follows gambling addict Elric, who falls for Suzie and entangles her in his addiction, forcing the pair to consort with a shifty con artist when they run out of their own funds. From European director Barbet Schroeder, most known to American audiences for Single White Female, the film explores compulsive behavior and addiction in addition to the themes of love and sexual power games.
RELATED: Ingmar Bergman & 9 Other Classic European Directors Every Movie Fan Needs To Check Out
Cheaters jumps from casino locale to locale, showing elegant locations and high-stakes roulette games in contrast to the undercurrent of the intense desperation of Elric and Suzie in each scene.
The Cooler (2003)
Stream On HBO Max
A perennial down-on-his-luck guy works as a gambling jinx, known as a cooler, in an old school casino until his luck changes for the better when he becomes smitten with a cocktail waitress, much to his cutthroat boss’s frustration.
The Cooler embeds itself into the casino milieu, showing the techniques that casinos use to get all the money they can from gamblers. In addition, the film sheds a light on the change in casino policies as the movie’s setting is forced to undergo changes to keep up with modern casinos.
The Gambler (1974)
Stream On Prime Video
One of James Caan’s best movies, The Gambler focuses on a literature professor with a gambling vice who must avoid loan sharks when they begin to circle.
The main character of Axel’s weakness for gambling ranges from betting on basketball to hot shot casino games, showing that the protagonist is entrenched too deep in his addiction to think logically. Caan manages to make his character, who steals from his own mother to pay his gambling debts, one that the audience can still root for.
Hard Eight (1996)
Stream On FuboTv
Possibly Paul Thomas Anderson’s least known film, Hard Eight tells the story of a veteran gambler who teaches stranger John the tricks of the trade. All goes well until John gets involved with a sex worker named Clementine.
The gambling in the film is more of a backdrop to Hard Eight’s character study of an assortment of interesting figures. Hard Eight is Paul Thomas Anderson’s directorial debut, showing the early talents of one of the best directors of his generation.
The Card Counter (2021)
Stream On HBO Max
The Card Counter is a revenge thriller about an ex-military interrogator turned gambler who is haunted by his past.
The film goes from casino to casino when the World Series of Poker becomes a beacon for the main characters, making poker the poison of the protagonist’s choice. From director Paul Schrader, the writer behind Taxi Driver, The Card Counter is a dark and intense ride through the ideas of redemption and the tight grip of the past.
Bay Of Angels (1963)
Stream On HBO Max
Bay of Angels comes from the visually sumptuous director Jacques Demy who was lauded for his artistic visuals and unique approaches to drama. A compulsive gambler falls in love with a bank clerk while on vacation in Nice in this romantic drama.
RELATED: 10 Essential French New Wave Directors
A film cynical in nature, the beguiling use of the spiraling roulette wheel is meant to represent the randomness and transience of life. As a result, giving this gambling film a much deeper meaning than what meets the eye.
Mississippi Grind (2015)
Stream On HBO Max
In dire straits, Gerry pairs up with the charismatic Curtis on a road trip across the American South to win back what they have lost in their poker gambling in Mississippi Grind.
This criminally underrated movie shows the intense highs and lows of the gambler’s mind, with the audience having a front-row seat. Acting as a realistic portrayal of gambling addiction, Ben Mendelsohn’s performance as Gerry shows the misery and recklessness that comes with his type of dependency.
Casino (1995)
Stream On Peacock Premium
A Martin Scorsese gem, Casino is about the competition between best friends, one a Mafioso and the other a casino executive, for a gambling empire and a fast-living socialite.
The movie runs the gamut of things a viewer would expect to find in any great movie on gambling; greed, deception, money, power, and even murder. The film’s main point revolves around the involvement of the mob in the Vegas casinos of the ’70s and ’80s.
Uncut Gems (2019)
Stream On Peacock Premium
From the Safdie Brothers, Uncut Gems follows fast-talking jeweler Howard as he tries to juggle family obligations, his mistress, angry collectors, and mounting debts on top of his insatiable thirst for gambling.
With a weakness for betting on sports, no gamble is too big for the larger-than-life Howard, played gamely by Adam Sandler. The movie is frenetic and chaotic, much like the character of Howard. The audience is along for the ride as they watch Howard succeed in his risks when they pay off and his failures when his gambling addiction overtakes him.
NEXT: 10 Films About Irish History