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James Spader, Mandy Patinkin, M. Emmet Walsh, Charles Durning, Joel Grey ... see more see more... , Samantha Mathis , Chris Penn , Pearl Jones , Bonnie Timmermann , Paul Auster , Christopher Penn

Documentary filmmaker Philip Haas made his dramatic feature film debut with The Music of Chance, adapted from Paul Auster's terse, existential novel. The film follows the plight of two hapless drifter... read more read more...s -- Jim Nashe (Mandy Patinkin), who is escaping family and responsibility with an inheritance and a red BMW, and Jack Pozzi (James Spader), a down-on-his-luck gambler and world class manipulator. Pozzi convinces Nashe to shoot the works and put his remaining $10,000 into a high stakes poker game against two rich suckers -- reclusive lottery winners Willie Stone (Joel Grey) and Bill Flower (Charles Durning), who share a lavish but isolated country estate, using the remains of their lottery fortune to construct a self-contained world on the grounds of their mansion. Instead of bilking the two millionaires, however, Pozzi and Nashe lose their windfall and find themselves indebted to Stone and Flowers, who compel them to work off their losses by constructing a stone monument on their estate, a chore that results in deception, flight, and possibly murder. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Flixster Users

84% liked it

688 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

10 critics

R, 1 hr. 38 min.

Directed by: Philip Haas

Release Date: June 4, 1993

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DVD Release Date: January 19, 1994

Stats: 63 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (63)

  • julito32
    April 27, 2008
    julito32
    WOW - there really should be more reviews of this movie.
    This is truly a movie that I had NO IDEA where it was going to lead me in the next few minutes. Spader is simply amazing and intriguing - and you just start wondering if these normal people are stuck in some sort of metaph... read moreysical hell.
    Complete character piece and worth your 90 minutes.

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Critic Reviews

Chuck O'Leary
October 10, 2005
Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily

A true original. Fascinatingly off-beat. One of the most underrated, overlooked films of the 1990s.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
July 18, 2003
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Spellbing film about the capriciousnes of human nature and the soullessness of lives enslaved to wealt Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

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Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

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Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

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James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

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Rita Kempley
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

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December 30, 2006
Empire Magazine

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Emanuel Levy
July 4, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

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    • Jack Pozzi: He is dead!
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The Music of Chance Trivia

  • Which word can will fit to make these movie title's complete? The _____ Man (1962) The Sound of _____ (1965) The _____ of Chance (1993) Elmo's World - Dancing _____ Books (2000) ______ and Lyrics (2007)   Answer »
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