Lou is an aging, deluded, small-time crook who scrapes a living running numbers for the mob in Atlantic City. In his fantasies, he is a big fish in with the big boys like Al Capone. His life takes an interesting turn when he encounters Dave, a young cocaine dealer who attempts to sell the wares he stole from some heavyweight gangsters. Sally is Lou's neighbour and Dave's ex-wife. She's an attractive, ambitious oyster bar waitress, eager to learn in order to make way for a better life. When Dave’s actions bring down trouble, an opportunity opens for Lou which could see him living the gangster life he's always dreamed of...

Louis Malle's Atlantic City stars Burt Lancaster as Lou, and Susan Sarandon as Sally and paints a vivid picture of the sad, seedy lives of a group of loners in this tale which won numerous accolades including two BAFTAS (Best Actor and Best Direction) as well as being nominated for five Oscars.

Almost every character here either dreams of a much better life, or spends their time living in the past remembering a time when their opinion mattered. This is a film about change and, almost in sympathy, Atlantic City itself is being torn down - the once great buildings being demolished to make way for a new era. "New era" in reality, for Atlantic City when this movie was made, meant the land being used to build casinos.

Robert Joy (CSI: NY; Alien Vs Predator: Requiem, The Hills Have Eyes) plays Dave Matthews, a young cocaine dealer who gets into more trouble than he bargained for after trying to muscle in on Atlantic City's drug scene. And Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fans will be pleased to see Wallace Shawn (Grand Nagus Zek) pop up briefly as a waiter.

This movie has stood the test of time quite well - it's still got a message at its core that's as powerful today as it was in 1980; that most people live in the past or live for the possibility that the future will bring something better for them. The reality is very different, the past is never what we remembered, and the future rarely brings any grand rewards for those looking to make shortcuts.

The only extra is the trailer, which basically just about tells the whole plot of the movie in under two minutes.

This is well worth adding to your collection.

7

Pete Boomer