The Top 8 Roulette Films – Best Movies with Roulette Games
By
Jane Shaw
Senior Editor Updated: 11/16/2022
We count on Jane to inform our readers about the latest slot games in the US market. With her passion for video games and a degree in engineering, she’s our gambling tech expert. Jane’s also active in our blog section, where she tackles the curiosities and changes in the industry.
Top 8 Roulette Films
For decades, filmmakers have used roulette as a key plot point in their films to add a level of intrigue and suspense. Let’s take a look at some of the best roulette movies of all time that every gambling enthusiast must watch.
Top 8 Roulette Movies – The Best Movies Featuring Roulette of all Time
Roulette is one of the most represented forms of gambling in films, pipping even poker and blackjack to the top spot. With countless films that feature roulette in some way or for, we’re going to break down the best roulette films that you absolutely need to watch. As for spoilers, we’ll try to keep them to the minimum. But first, we’ve to answer a vital question – why does roulette work so well in gambling films?
- 🎰 Why do filmmakers love roulette?
- 🔍 Types of Roulette
- 👮 The Earliest World Class Roulette Movie
- 🕵️♀️ 1970s and 1980s Roulette Films
- 🎴 1990s Roulette Films
- ❓ FAQs
Why Do Filmmakers Love Making Movies About Roulette?
Roulette is the king of the hill when it comes to gambling being represented in films, and it isn’t hard to see why there are so many movies featuring roulette.
For starters, roulette is a game usually preferred by high-rollers who truly live on the edge. This enables writers to create really interesting characters with distinct personalities and unique traits – all the basic ingredients needed to start creating a potential cult classic. From spies, to the classic all-or-nothing trope, to true daredevils who stake their lives in Russian roulette, there are so many memorable characters and roulette scenes in movies that you’ll soon learn about. Meanwhile, if you are located New Jersey, for example, you may start exploring the best online roulette sites in NJ.
The second thing about roulette that makes it so great on the big screen, is roulette itself. The game is almost always high-stakes, and has a really high level of risk that lends itself well to great plots for roulette scenes in movies. While we’re sure it’s much easier said than done, we’d say that the fundamental nature of the game naturally makes it really easy to write a story around the game itself. With roulette, filmmakers have the opportunity to amplify the intensity of the actual game by building up to it through the rest of the film.
There’s also the fact that the casino environment is a natural fit for several genres of films – from action films to high-stakes spy thrillers. Directors use a play of lighting and grading to bring out the brutal all-or-nothing nature of the casino, and often hark back to the old days when casinos were run by mobs – by using exaggerated elements such as rowdy pit bosses that one wouldn’t find in real casinos. These films also often make it look a lot easier to rig a casino game than it actually is. For all these reasons and so many more, roulette is the preferred form of gambling for many filmmakers and we have no reason to complain.
Types of Roulette You Could Find the the Movies
While movies featuring roulette often don’t get too technical about the game itself, there’s definitely merit in knowing what the different types of roulette are. This will help you appreciate minor details in films that others wouldn’t, enabling you to fully appreciate the true genius that has gone into the best roulette movies.
There are three types of roulette you’ll often find in casinos – French, American, and European roulette. Another interesting type of roulette is triple zero roulette.
European Roulette
European roulette is the most popular form of the game, and is seen in most good casinos around the world. If you are located in Pennsylvania, you could play the games at the best roulette sites in PA. The game features 36 numbered squares with a single green zero segment.
The odds of hitting a number are 35/1, but the addition of the green zero segment actually raises the chances of this happening to 36/1 which is essentially the house’s edge. You could choose to bet on the zero segment at 35/1 odds, but there’s a catch – if you hit the zero, every player on the table who bet on any other number – odd or even, red or black – loses their bets. That doesn’t sound like something you’d want unless you’re a real daredevil.
American Roulette
American Roulette features a board that’s considerably bigger than its European counterpart, with the addition of a second green double zero segment.
However, bigger doesn’t always mean better. A player has considerably lower odds playing American roulette, giving you 37/1 odds of hitting a number as opposed to the typical 35/1 you get playing European roulette. This is thanks to the additional double zero segment. Another comparatively minor difference between American and European roulette is that the order of the numbers differs, though this makes no difference to the odds one gets.
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French Roulette
French roulette is perhaps the only one that cuts players a little slack with regard to the green zero segment. Just like in European roulette, the board features only one of these segments – but unlike that system, players don’t forfeit their 50/50 bets if the ball lands on this segment.
When the ball lands on the zero segment in French roulette, one of two things can happen. The first is a rule called La Partage, wherein a player gets back 50% of their losing 50/50 bets if they hit the zero.
The second is a rule called En Prison, which essentially gives the player a second chance. If you hit the zero, you get to keep all your 50/50 bets on the table for another spin and claim your winnings on the next spin.
The Earliest World Class Roulette Movie
This roulette movies list – and any such list, for that matter – can only start with one film that was generations ahead of its time in terms of writing and craft.
Casablanca (1942)
Rightly considered one of the greatest films of all time, Casablanca is a classic for many reasons including its depiction of roulette scenes. There are many reasons why Casablanca is considered one of the best roulette movies.
Out of several memorable scenes and one-liners from this film, one of the most memorable is a game of roulette played by the film’s protagonist – a cafe owner named Rick, played by Humphrey Bogart. In the film, Rick helps a woman and her husband flee the clutches of a corrupt investigator. The couple gambles everything on a single game of roulette, which Rick sets up to land on the number 22. Rick hands over the winnings to the couple, who eventually find their freedom by fleeing to America. The film was released in 1942, and has been a timeless classic ever since.
Roulette Movies from the 1970s and 1980s
Some of the best roulette scenes in movies were made in the 70s and 80s, which saw a huge boom in high-quality roulette films. From spy thrillers to gritty military dramas, this era of roulette films saw it all.
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
This film isn’t just one of Sean Connery’s most famous outings as James Bond, but also a legendary roulette film. Even compared against the likes of Casino Royale, it holds its own as a contender for the series’ most famous casino-centric film. Just like in Casino Royale, the story and the theme revolved around casino games and saw Bond playing a number of high-stakes casino games. One of those games was roulette. And while the roulette wasn’t the showstopper in the film, it held its own after taking place on the heel of the film’s iconic craps scene.
The roulette paired with the other casino games helped make the film highly atmospheric, making it the complete package of high-stakes gambling, a number of memorable zingers, tons of action, and all the elements that define a quintessential Bond film.
California Split (1974)
California Split is a classic in this list of the best roulette movies, and we particularly love this because the film is completely about gambling. While roulette does make a few appearances in this film, the film is basically a stunning showcase of all things gambling.
The film stars protagonists Elliot Gould and George Segal, whose characters were accused of colluding in a poker game. The two characters start bonding after this accusation, and go on a spree of winning games of craps, poker, and roulette. After a long time of cashing in hefty paydays, Segal’s character starts to grow tired of this lifestyle and eventually goes back to living a normal life.
The Deer Hunter (1978)
The Deer Hunter has one of the grittiest, most iconic scenes in cinematic history and it revolves around roulette – the kind where it’s a literal win-or-die situation. The film shows just how tense, powerful, and downright terrifying Russian roulette scenes can be when executed with attention to the craft.
The Deer Hunter has one such scene involving a bunch of American soldiers and their friends, who were captured by Vietnamese soldiers. Their captors pointed a gun at each American’s head and forced them to pull the trigger themselves.
While Russian roulette isn’t a form of gambling anyone should take part in, this film shows how it still has a place in cinema. It’s something you just need to see to truly appreciate.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Waving away the 80s was Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – an iconic film that puts the world of gambling on full display, complete with a memorable roulette scene that was undoubtedly one of the film’s biggest highlights.
The film stars Steve Martin and Michael Caine, who need no introduction as two of the greatest actors of all time. The duo plays the role of two con men, who swindle thousands and thousands of dollars from French casinos. The roulette scene – one of the most memorable in the film – sees the duo play a game of roulette against each other.
The Best Movies Featuring Roulette from the 1990s
The late 90s saw a number of incredible movies featuring roulette, carrying the momentum of the 70s and the 80s into the charge towards a new century.
Run Lola Run (1998)
Run Lola Run is a German film that involves life-or-death gambling that isn’t Russian roulette. The protagonist of the film is a woman who needs to win 100,000 marks through gambling to save her boyfriend from being murdered by the cohort he’s travelling with. With these consequences hanging overhead, she goes about her mission by playing casino games.
The film featured three separate endings, and that’s where the roulette really shines. One of the endings showed the woman winning 126,000 marks after a game of roulette – enough money to save her boyfriend with change to spare. However, she finds out just after cashing out that her boyfriend no longer needs the money.
Croupier (1998)
Croupier is one of the most reflective, deep films on this list, starring Clive Owen as an amateur writer who also moonlights as a casino grouper. Over the course of his job, he learns a lot about the lifestyle of high-stakes gamblers, the highs, the lows, and everything in-between. This eventually becomes great material for his writing career. Equal parts fun and devestatting, the film features roulette in one of its many casino scenes.
Indecent Proposal (1993)
This film depicts a roulette game gone wrong – and how that led to a series of very strange, indecent events. The film stars Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, and Robert Redford, and revolves around a newly married couple who lost all their money in a fateful game of roulette. Out of desperation, the couple agrees to take money from a billionaire in exchange for Moore’s character spending the night with him, which brings with it its own set of problems.
