Watch Born to Win For Free

You won't be disappointed!

good back-story, and good acting

Fantastic!

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Not pretty, but nevertheless a must-see movie . George Segal gives an outstanding performance as a junkie muddling through a bleak existence in Manhattan circa 1971. He lies, cheats and steals his way to his next fix until he meets free-spirited rich girl Karen Black. While she wants him to go straight, his pride won't let him. Nor will crooked cops Ed Madsen & Robert DeNiro or pusher/pimp Hector Elizondo. Segal gives a remarkable performance and the direction by Czech Ivan Passer is great. There's very little let up in this film! Black is fine and Jay Fletcher is terrific as Segal's junkie cohort. Paula Prentiss, though second billed, appears in little more than a cameo. The movie is ugly, scary, funny and suspenseful all at the same time. Its working title was SCRAPING BOTTOM & that should give you a sense for what you're in for. A real highlight in the career of the often underrated Segal.

I'm a huge fan of Robert De Niro. I've made an effort to hunt down all of his older films (like Greetings and the awful "Sam's Song" a.k.a. "The Swap") and have done pretty well so far - I saw "Born to Win" at a grocery store for six bucks on DVD and since I'd seen it listed on IMDb as one of his early films (and after making sure it wasn't one of the countless "other titles" for "Sam's Song") I purchased it.Much to my surprise (well, not really, I kinda suspected as much) the cover was totally deceiving. It features Robert De Niro's face (from another film, mind you), his hand holding a gun. It says, "ROBERT DE NIRO" and "George Segal" in smaller print underneath his name. The tagline on the DVD is something like, "A junkie goes against a cop trying to bring down Mr. Big." Now, mind you, no one in this film is named Mr. Big, and the junkie (Segal) doesn't "go against" the cop. De Niro the Cop is only in TWO scenes (count 'em, two) and has maybe a page's worth of dialogue, if that.The film relies on Segal and he really delivers a fine performance. The entire cast is good - Hector Elizondo and Karen Black in supporting roles, as well as a younger Burt Young (pre-"Rocky").This isn't a great film and it isn't superbly directed. It's a bit hard to watch at times due to a grainy transfer and bad audio. But it's reminiscent of Al Pacino's "Panic in Needle Park" so far as it presents a realistic, gritty, depressing vision of junkies operating on the streets, and how miserable your life can become by resorting to drugs (mainly heroin).A good, rewarding picture - but don't be fooled by the title, nor Leonard Maltin's description of it as a "very funny" comedy.

Poor JJ, every time he scores some junk or pulls a job he gets screwed over. It's not easy being a junkie, but it CAN be funny!! This movie is listed as a drama but it flows like a well made comedy. If you can overlook the so-so editing, lighting, and cinematography you will be able to relax and enjoy an extremely well acted film. The dialogue is superb. George Segal is in top form as JJ, a Heroin addict on the streets of NYC in 1971. Robert De Niro has a supporting role as an undercover vice cop. I haven't looked it up yet but I assume that this is one of De Niro's first films as his name doesn't appear in the credits until about the halfway point. De Niro does the best he can with the small role he's given but keep in mind that this isn't a De Niro film. The real joy in this movie is George Segal's performance as JJ. He plays an excellent dope-fiend. Both JJ and Billy Dynamite (Jay Fletcher) are in love with the needle. Billy Dynamite put it best: "It's like we have a purpose in life. Every morning we wake up and know EXACTLY what we're gonna do... hustle up another bag!!!... "I wouldn't trade this life for nothing man... Nothing!!" It's almost as if he genuinely loves being an an addict. JJ (Segal) has been up to no good and is afraid someone might try to pass him a hotshot. A "hotshot" is a shot of heroin that the dealer has cut with strychnine or battery acid. The sole purpose of giving someone a hotshot is kill them, and JJ has a couple of dealers that would like to see him dead. Does JJ get the hotshot... or not??? I won't tell. Check it out and see for yourself!******** (8 out of 10 stars)

"Midnight Cowboy"'s enormous commercial and critical success in 1969 created a ho-hum sub-genre of life on the mean streets of New York City in the early-1970s. In 1971, Al Pacino got a big break in "The Panic in Needle Park" and Robert DeNiro also was able to be recognized in a smaller role in "Born to Win". DeNiro is not the star here though, instead it is George Segal (who had actually received an Oscar nomination for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" back in 1966) who stars as a junkie who has lost it all literally and continues to roam the darkest places of New York just looking for that next high. Karen Black is also along for the long and twisted ride as a woman who is little more than a prostitute herself. DeNiro and fellow detective Ed Madsden go to Segal to try and bring down a heartless drug-dealer/pimp (an early part for Hector Elizondo) that has terrorized the streets for years. "Born to Win" is one of those films that could have been really thought-provoking, but ultimately fails due to the fact that it becomes more of an exploit product by the final act. DeNiro would of course hit super-stardom not long after this and he is arguably the greatest asset here in spite of the fact that his screen-time is not near as great as it should have been. 2.5 out of 5 stars.