This lavish Soviet/Czech co-production is based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's famous novel, The Gambler, which tells the story of a Russian living in Germany, in a gambling resort. This film is set at the turn of the century, and was filmed in Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Czechoslovakia. Played by Nikolai Burlyayev, the gambler succumbs completely to his addiction, using up every resource he has (human, spiritual and financial) in his wagering, finally becoming a rootless drifter.
Acting
Burlyayev's physical deterioration is genuinely disturbing.
Production
Karlovy Vary's Belle Époque architecture is a character itself.
Director
Aleksey Batalov
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Batalov was primarily an actor; this was his only directorial feature. He played the student in The Cranes Are Flying.
Soviet audiences in 1972 would recognize the 'rootless cosmopolitan' ending as politically loaded—Dostoyevsky's critique of European corruption repurposed for Cold War ideology.
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