TorommE I would have to say this fine piece of drug-oriented cinema is the reason we have film festivals. Simply amazing. I am surprised Vincent Gallo has not stumbled across the idea of remaking "Born To Win", it would be his third film, furthermore third film in which the title begins with the letter "B". This is a classic picture. An ex-hairdresser gone junkie, walking the streets, doing petty jobs for just one more fix, a man who truly knows the blues, a man who has lost everything, and pulls it off with such style and grace. If Vincent Gallo doesn't do something, then there is a glitch in the system. This film is the reason I started taking movies seriously.. it is the reason I dropped out of school and wanted to be a drug-dealer when I grew up.

Kieran Green 'BORN TO WIN' Is a Downbeat, but Somewhat very funny look at drug addicts, in New York, The ever Excellent George Segal, plays JJ a former Hairdresser,Who is fixed on heroin,and with him on his quest for the perfect fix is his pal played by Jay Fletcer,One night on the streets JJ is attempting to steal a car,but is amusingly caught by the owner who is played by the free spirited Karen Black,who brings Segal home together the pair fall for each other despite Segal's, desperate Heroin ridden antics,Cult Favorite Paula Prentiss,(The Original Stepford Wives) plays JJ's former wife who is Highly strung, unfortunately she becomes property of the local pimp and supplier 'geek' played by Hector Elizondo, One scene in this classic that's worth mentioning is Segal's superb knack for physical comedy is the 'take your clothes off' scene, that see's Segal, at the mercy of the supplier's the scene where Segal attempts to get the attention of the teenager across at the adjacent apartment is a hoot! And Segal's subsequent chase clad only in a robe is hilarious! A Very Young Robert De' Niro, plays an undercover cop out to bust JJ,Don't be fooled by the many DVD's available of this classic with 'De Niro on the cover Segal is the Star!

bbarnes1 If you want to learn why George Segal movies are no longer watched, this is a great opportunity. It is a fine example of amateur and extremely hammy characterizations, foolish jargon, awful editing, bad dialog, and complete lack of continuity. The only slightly redeeming feature is the jazz music which lurches from moment to moment without regard for the action, or lack of it, on screen. One moment George is hopping around in a pink peignoir, then he's shooting up in the bathroom, or trying to. If a film student submitted this turkey for review, he would be laughed out of class. Watch it only to see why the 70's antihero movie went out of style.

laursene ... not to direct - Ivan Passer's a master who ought to have steady employment and somehow doesn't. But can someone request Scorsese to get behind a restoration of this fine film? It may have been made on a low budget, but that's no reason why the only way to see it anymore is on disgracefully butchered videotapes that leave the story in fragments and turn the color photography into mush (I doubt it was quite this bad when originally released).I recall from Pauline Kael's review back when it came out that "Born to Win" was dumped on the market and hardly got an audience even then. Maybe with a decent restoration, and a nice DVD transfer, it can finally get some justice? And Ivan Passer can finally get some good projects to work on?On the critical note, and having seen both Born to Win and Midnight Cowboy again recently, I can say that Passer's film holds up a hell of a lot better than Schlesinger's rather more pretentious contraption. Less showboaty, but also far less sentimental and way more powerful. And a good job by the whole cast.