ATLANTIC CITY!

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For "Friday Movie Suggestion Night", I've selected Atlantic City. There is such a wonderful mix of characters in this movie! Lou Pasco (Burt Lancaster) is an aging, small time gangster hanging onto the Atlantic City's past and feeling alienated by the changing resort town. Lou is tethered to Grace for his livelihood, (Kate Reid) a former beauty queen and the wife of a deceased gangster named Cookie Pinza (you gotta love these names!) who is at Lou's beck and call and demeans him at every turn. Meanwhile a new girl has arrived in town from Canada named Sally Matthews (Susan Sarandon) who bring her own baggage of trouble along in the form of a sister and an ex-husband who are a complete train wreck. Sally harbors dreams of a better life as a Blackjack dealer. Ever the romantic, Lou befriends Sally while mobsters from out of state arrive looking for her ex-husband who has stolen their drugs. Lou's life takes on a renewed vigor and a will to live with his growing romantic interest in Sally, who is a waitress at an Oyster Bar (while studying to become a Blackjack dealer). Their lives intertwine and an interesting drama plays out. Quite an interesting film that was pulled together quickly.

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Director Louis Malle was dating Sarandon at the time this movie was made. Problems with finding the right script led Sarandon to enlist her friend and playwright John Guare. The three had a strict time frame imposed by the studio, so they met over dinner in early 1979 to work out the script and begin shooting over a mere 90 days. At the time, Atlantic City was still suffering from the urban deterioration that ultimately led to legalized gambling as a solution to save the city. This gave Malle a perfect opportunity to capture some great footage on film of Atlantic City's past and it's unveiling future. In fact, just two years after this film was shot, many of the old dilapidated haunts of yesteryear were demolished to make room for new casinos. Filming began on October 31,1979 and wrapped on January 5, 1980. Strangely enough, it did not open in the United States until April 3, 1981. Atlantic City was nominated for the following Academy Awards for 1982: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Burt Lancaster), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Susan Sarandon) Best Director: (Louis Malle; Best Picture (Dennis Heroux) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (John Guare). Here we have another film that in 2003 was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and suggested it for preservation in the National Film Registry. The Cast: Burt Lancaster as Lou Pascal; Susan Sarandon as Sally Matthews; Michel Piccoli as Joseph; Hollis McLaren as Chrissie; Robert Joy as Dave Matthews; Moses Znaimer as Felix; Robert Goulet is credited as "Singer in hospital" (special guest star)!; Al Waxman is Alfie and Kate Reid is Grace Pinza.

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ENJOY!