Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Misteraser Critics,are you kidding us

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

werefox08 Atlantic City is a truly fantastic movie. Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon and Kate Ried are brilliant as the three principal characters. This is the tale of two aging old friends and their unexpected relationship with the young generation. It involves a drug deal gone wrong--a croupier with a lemon addiction--the destruction and remake of a city--Korean foot massage--death, murder and guns--and Mr. Medicare dealing in cocaine. Its about struggling individuals whos lives tangle irresistibly--and when falling in love is only a window away. Luis Malle directs this with a deft touch. The script is great..with rich irony and many wonderful one liners. There are better movies than this....at this moment....i cant think of one.

seymourblack-1 "Atlantic City" features some interesting characters whose paths cross at a time in the city's history when it's undergoing radical change and many of the decaying old edifices are being demolished to make way for modern casinos. This movie is both an unconventional love story and a crime drama but it's also a story about past disappointments and dreams of a better future.Sally Matthews (Susan Sarandon) is an ambitious young woman who left her drab life in Canada to look for something better in Atlantic City. She works at a local oyster bar but is also learning French and training to be a blackjack dealer as she dreams of someday working in a casino in Monte Carlo. At the end of her working day, she returns to the run down apartment block where she lives and routinely cuts lemons and rubs the juice into her upper body to eliminate the smell of fish.Lou Pascal (Burt Lancaster) is an elderly numbers runner who lives in a neighbouring apartment and regularly watches Sally's nightly ritual. In the past, he used to work for some notorious gangsters who he greatly admired but these days he takes care of the bedridden Grace Pinza (Kate Reid) who's his old boss' widow. She lives in the same building and habitually insults and humiliates him because she knows he depends on the money she pays him.Sally's past life is brought back into sharp focus when her ex-husband Dave (Robert Joy) unexpectedly turns up with her pregnant sister Chrissie (Hollis McLaren) who's the current woman in his life. Sally is angry that they've followed her to her new home but even more serious problems follow as Dave has stolen a substantial quantity of cocaine from some mobsters in Philadelphia and they're on his tail. Dave gets to know Lou and uses him to help to sell the dope.When the Philadephia mob catch up with Dave and kill him, Lou is left with the cocaine and a significant amount of money. This transforms his life as he suddenly has the means to buy a new suit and hat and be generous to Sally as they begin a relationship. Suddenly this impoverished, lonely old man who's nostalgic for the good old days and tells people exaggerated stories about his exploits and importance in the criminal world, finds himself financially well off. Even better, however, when Sally's threatened by the gangsters who think that she must have their stolen cocaine, he steps in and protects her and this makes him feel incredibly proud and exhilarated.Neither Sally nor Lou genuinely expect their offbeat relationship to be forever but it does, nevertheless, have a very positive effect on both their lives."Atlantic City" is well written and skilfully balances the poignancy of its story with some moments of humour and a very unexpected ending. Its greatest quality, however, is its ability to convey so powerfully, the plight of its two main characters who are both regretful about the disappointments of their pasts and preoccupied by dreams of a better future. Their circumstances are portrayed with great sensitivity and warmth and placing them in an environment that is also undergoing a period of transformation is extremely effective.Burt Lancaster is equally as convincing in portraying Lou's pathetic nostalgia for his fictionalised past as he is at conveying his immense pride and excitement when he successfully protects Sally. His performance and that of Susan Saradon are top class and contribute massively to the success of this wonderful movie.

MartinHafer "Atlantic City" has a lot of good acting but I sure found it to be a thoroughly unpleasant film. You've got an aging petty crook (Burt Lancaster), a drug dealing user, a doormat of a woman (Susan Sarandon), her bizarre and spacey sister and a nasty old lady with an equally nasty dog--all of which are hard to care in the least about and one who is just thoroughly despicable. Throw them into a thoroughly seedy and run-down environment and you've got a film that I found oppressively awful and hard to watch or care about in any way. Obviously I am not the voice of everyone, as the film received five Oscar nominations--though I really cannot see why. For me to enjoy a film, in most cases I need to have SOMEONE that I can relate to or care about, but in this film there wasn't even one. By the time it was all over, I just felt I needed a bath and never wanted to see this film again.

bkoganbing In his fourth Academy Award nominated role Burt Lancaster essays the role of Lou Pasco, low level numbers runner and guardian and service provider to Kate Reid, a former gangster's moll from the old days. As you might have reasonably guessed from the title role this all takes place in Atlantic City which in 1980 was undergoing a rebirth.The one time resort town was undergoing a face-lift when this film takes place. Legalized gambling was coming in and a lot of the old town was being torn down to make room for spanking new casinos. Burt's story parallels that of Susan Sarandon who is working in one of the hotel buffet lines and also going to school to learn to be a dealer when new casinos do finally open up. They live in adjoining buildings.But like the proverbial bad penny her husband Robert Joy shows up with a pregnant Holly McLaren. Joy has stolen a nice little package of heroin from the mob and he's looking to make a quick sale. He brings Lancaster into the deal, but manages to get himself killed in the process. That forces Lancaster and Sarandon into an alliance of convenience, but who would think at Burt's age and he was 76 when he made Atlantic City, he'd find love as well. Both Lancaster and Sarandon are so good as players they don't look foolish in the romance department.And after over 30 years in the lower levels of the underworld, Burt finally makes his bones. It's a surprise unto himself.Atlantic City was shot in Atlantic City, an Atlantic City we'll not see any more because it's now looking so different than what you're seeing in this film. Some interior stuff was shot in Montreal and the film wrapped on the last day of 1980 and released in 1981.Atlantic City got Oscar nominations for Lancaster and for Susan Sarandon and both ran up against On Golden Pond and lost to Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn. Director Louis Malle and the film itself were up as well, but lost to Warren Beatty for Reds and Chariots of Fire for Best Film. Chariots of Fire writer Colin Welland also beat writer John Guare for Best Original Screenplay. Five nominations, but not a winner for any of the categories.Still Atlantic City has become a minor classic and it did revive the career of Burt Lancaster somewhat. Lancaster was aging and he knew it. He transitioned nicely into character parts in his last productive decade as a result of Atlantic City.Not a bad reason for him to take this film assignment.