KING GAMBLER is an epic-feeling Shaw Brothers gambling comedy split into six different chapters. At the outset we're introduced to Chen Kuan Tai's corrupt gambling king who thinks nothing of blinding his opponents and his rivals, a huge gambling family with ancient roots who decide to take him down. Various individual sub-plots involving all kinds of elaborate scams build to the classic poker duel climax, and indeed this film as a whole serves as the template for the later gambling comedies that both Shaw and Wong Jing would make. THE STING is an obvious inspiration but KING GAMBLER has a Hong Kong look and feel all of its own. The direction is a little hyperactive at times but the ensemble cast is outstanding and the whole thing has a fresh and inventive feel to it.
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