The Card Player Review Country : Italy Year: 2004 Genre: Mystery / Thriller Format: DVD Running Time: 103min Distributor: Anchor Bay Apparently this is Argento on a more understandable level, as opposed to a more stylish one, in any event the Pit has alot of time for the Italian maestro... Credits Directed by Dario Argento. Screenplay & story by Dario Argento. Starring Stefania Rocca, Liam Cunningham, Claudia Santamaria, Antonio Cantafora, Fiore Argento. In The Card Player, (IL CARTAIO) the latest installment from maestro Dario Argento, policewoman Anna Mari (Stefania Rocca) teams up with a British Interpol agent John Brennan (Liam Cunningham) to find a crafty serial killer whom plays a taunting game of internet poker with the police by abducting and killing young women and showing it over an Internet web cam. Pretty sweet concept right? Looking back and seriously thinking about what Dario Argento has accomplished in horror, I don't think we will see him top this film soon. This is a leap for Argento being his first thriller and trust me; I was just as skeptical as you are reading this review. But Argento does an amazing job of filmmaking on The Card Player. He shows incredible restraint and pinpoint camera placement. He doesn't force an awkward style on the picture, but rather picks certain spots to let his outstanding visual eye shine. This is something most directors could learn from. I thought Argento’s composition, like the shot with the gambling savant Remo (Silvio Muccino) getting ‘hooked’ was impressive. Not gory at all, but just as shocking as a typical Argento style death. Frequent composer Claudio Simonetti (Goblin) also does a dynamite job scoring The Card Player. His score gives the film propulsion with an intense techno beat, leading the audience to the intense ending. It’s also nothing like anything he has done prior which adds another excellent dimension to the film. I bet you are asking… do we see the trademark ‘Black gloved killer’? Yes… and its good ole’ Dario himself doing the slashing. That’s one thing you can count on. The acting is solid. Liam Cunningham puts on a fine performance as well as lead Stefania Rocca. The cinematography is breathtaking. The richness of black exudes out of this DVD. This DVD is from Anchor Bay. You gotta love them when it comes bearing all kinds of supplemental gifts; featuring a 16x9 Widescreen version of the film, and Dolby 5.1. There is also an audio commentary with Argento historian Alan Jones, and three making of specials. No deleted scenes here, but you get plenty of interviews with Argento, trailers, and the electronic press kit. Besides the film, which looks and sounds remarkable, I found the commentary track to be entertaining and informative. This is one of the best selections representing Anchor Bay and of course Dario Argento’s first thriller. You have to pick this DVD up. It’s mandatory viewing for all you Pit fiends! Review by John Gray, for Pitofhorror.com