Overview
A wild ride through the highs and lows of gambling and friendship.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- boozy
- restless
- late night viewing
- casino movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film’s vivid location realism, idiosyncratic detail, performances, and comic energy, while some found its episodic structure and ending lacking cohesion.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Bill and Charlie repeatedly pursue poker, roulette, races, and escalating bets despite debt, loss, and personal consequences.
Bill and Charlie bond through gambling adventures, intoxication, trouble, and a shared resistance to ordinary domestic life.
The film’s famously dense, garbled exchanges create an observational texture associated with Altman’s ensemble sound design.
The story moves through card parlors, casinos, racetracks, drinking, robbery, and travel with an intentionally wandering momentum.
Films like California Split, and why
The Gambler
shared new hollywood naturalism, gambling milieu, male friendship, and uneasy comic tone
Mikey and Nicky
shared roving male friendship, episodic structure, improvised dialogue, and bittersweet countercultural energy
The Cincinnati Kid
shared casino setting, gambling compulsion, dark humor, and psychologically frayed protagonists
The Last Detail
shared new hollywood looseness, comic alienation, and drifters resisting conventional life
Movie Details
- Director
- Robert Altman
- Release Date
- 1974-08-07
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (145)
Cast
- George Segal
- Elliott Gould
- Ann Prentiss
- Gwen Welles
- Edward Walsh
- Joseph Walsh
- Bert Remsen
- Barbara London
- Barbara Ruick
- Jay Fletcher
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is California Split about?
- Two compulsive gamblers turn a run of casino luck into a loose, intoxicating odyssey through friendship, debt, and American escape.
- What is California Split like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of California Split as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is California Split violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in California Split as mild.
- What did critics think of California Split?
- Critics broadly praised the film’s vivid location realism, idiosyncratic detail, performances, and comic energy, while some found its episodic structure and ending lacking cohesion.
- Which films are like California Split?
- Films with a similar feel include The Gambler, Mikey and Nicky, The Cincinnati Kid, and The Last Detail.
- How long is California Split?
- California Split runs 108 minutes.
- Where can I watch California Split?
- In United States, California Split is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home.
