The King of Marvin Gardens
Two estranged brothers chase an impossible Atlantic City-to-Pacific paradise scheme while the language of Monopoly turns their failed ambitions into a fatal game.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- atmospheric
- fragmented
- late night cinephile viewing
- new hollywood retrospective
What critics said
Critics broadly recognized an original, atmospheric, intricately structured New Hollywood drama with exceptional performances, while finding its poetic construction uneven and sometimes empty.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The title, boardwalk setting, and repeated language of jail, Boardwalk, and getting rich turn Monopoly into a model of American life.
Jason's Pacific Island paradise scheme collides with Atlantic City's mob-connected boardwalk reality and the brothers' limited prospects.
The film is described as intricately structured and fragmented, with visual and verbal puns suggesting a key that never fully resolves the story.
Atlantic City's Boardwalk functions as Jason's home, criminal workplace, and stage for unrealized dreams.
Films like The King of Marvin Gardens, and why
Five Easy Pieces
shared new hollywood atmosphere, failed-dreams drama, and morally compromised characters
The Last Detail
shared poetic realism, crime-adjacent desperation, and psychologically fractured male protagonists
California Split
shared sibling tension, tawdry criminal worlds, and fatalistic american drama
Night Moves
shared atmospheric neo-noir mood, damaged dreamers, and stylized crime drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Bob Rafelson
- Release Date
- 1972-10-13
- Runtime
- 103 min
- Rating
- 5.9 / 10 (102)
Cast
- Jack Nicholson
- Bruce Dern
- Ellen Burstyn
- Julia Anne Robinson
- Scatman Crothers
- Charles LaVine
- John P. Ryan
- Sully Boyar
- Josh Mostel
- Arnold Williams
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 The King of Marvin Gardens about?
- Two estranged brothers chase an impossible Atlantic City-to-Pacific paradise scheme while the language of Monopoly turns their failed ambitions into a fatal game.
- What is The King of Marvin Gardens like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The King of Marvin Gardens as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The King of Marvin Gardens violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The King of Marvin Gardens as mild.
- What did critics think of The King of Marvin Gardens?
- Critics broadly recognized an original, atmospheric, intricately structured New Hollywood drama with exceptional performances, while finding its poetic construction uneven and sometimes empty.
- Which films are like The King of Marvin Gardens?
- Films with a similar feel include Five Easy Pieces, The Last Detail, California Split, and Night Moves.
- How long is The King of Marvin Gardens?
- The King of Marvin Gardens runs 103 minutes.
- Where can I watch The King of Marvin Gardens?
- In United States, The King of Marvin Gardens is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home.
