Where to Watch:
8.6/10
FilmFascination Rating
Scorsese’s Casino is no less than a three-hour epic about the relationship between the mafia and the Casino. But what drives it are human emotions. When you start a long movie, you know that it is going to take its time for something to really happen and to gain some speed. But not this one. This one starts with Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert De Niro) walking through the door in his classy and showy pink suit talking about love and trust. He sits in his car and all of a sudden- “Bam!”, it blasts when he starts the ignition. Now that’s a hell of a way to start a movie.
Sam Rothstein is a sports handicapper and is at the top of his game. In any type of betting, Sam is considered the one to be followed, and whatever he bets against is sure to win. This catches the mafia’s attention. The Chicago Mafia sends him to one of the biggest Casinos in Las Vegas, the Tangiers Casino, to unofficially run it for them. And Phillip Green (Kevin Pollak) being the casino and hotel CEO who never really works in the Casino and is just there for the Mafia to show it as legit. With his expertise, he quickly doubles the profit of the Tangiers. It is quite engaging and intriguing to see how the Casinos work under the Mafia. We see the inside of everything. It feels like being in a secret place.
Las Vegas casinos in the ’70s practiced a legalized version of what the Mob was already doing. And in Tangiers, everything directs toward profits with Sam being the ultimate mastermind behind everything. “In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and to keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose, and in the end, we get it all”, says Sam. He’s the heart of the casino, but on some level, he’s dead before anyone tries to blow him up.
The only time he feels a bit alive is when he falls in love with a beautiful hustler and former prostitute Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone). He marries her despite of her not loving him, just because of his infatuation. For a while, Sam, without a gaming license, tries to play it as safely as he can by just changing his job title from Casino Executive to Food and Beverage Chairman now and then. But things don’t stay simple when the muscle of the gang, his best friend Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) comes into the town.
Nicky makes his presence in the town known for his violence and it is not long before he is banned from the Casino. Nicky’s violence in Las Vegas creates problems for Sam from being legitimate due to his connections with him. Many threads of the story tangle among each other to make this a story of love, deception, greed, attraction, lust, friendship, and most importantly self-destruction. Self-destruction is one of the central themes of Casino where outsized ambition in seductive Las Vegas lead to their downfall. One of my favourite dialogues by Nicky is- “It should have been perfect. I mean he had me, Nicky Santoro, his best friend watching his ass. And he had Ginger, the woman he loved on his arm. But in the end, we fucked it all up. It should have been so sweet too.”
Scorsese tells his story with the great energy and pacing he’s famous for with getting all the details necessary. We get to see the famous trio- Scorsese, De Niro and Pesci in yet another flamboyant movie. It has one of the best storytelling I have seen. De Niro and Pesci take turns telling the story making the movie one of the best crime movies I have seen. Their way of talking gives you the atmosphere of the crime genre. In fact, most of the conversations between Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci were improvised. Scorsese would tell them where to start and where to end. The rest was up to them. Scorsese knows quite a bit about the Casino system and portrays this world incredibly well. Las Vegas is shown effectively with all the shiny jewellery, flamboyant clothes, politicians, showgirls, bright lights, and the huge dump of money. It couldn’t have been done better.
Along with the plot, what keeps our attention is the admirable acting. De Niro and Pesci have mastered playing the powerful men especially the mafia. Sharon Stone was also quite impressive and gives an incredible performance of a hooker (Ginger McKenna). Michelle Pfeiffer turned down the role of Ginger because it was too similar to her role in Scarface. Stone also received Academy Award nomination for her role.
The movie is fascinating, mostly because it has been inspired by true events. And after some research, I found out that the majority of the plot pillars of the movie happened in real life. It is based on New York crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi’s book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. De Niro’s character Sam “Ace” Rothstein was based on the career of casino boss Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal. Although the Tangiers resort shown in the movie is fictional, the casino was actually modeled upon the famous Stardust Resort and Casino.
According to an article Scorsese discloses the real name of the casino through clever use of the soundtrack, especially the song ‘Stardust’. Joe Pesci also has some natural resemblance to Tony Spilotro, upon whom his character was based. In makeup, he looked even more like him, so much so that, when Pesci entered the Casino where the movie was shot, some pit bosses who had personal dealings with Spilotro, almost fainted.
One of the common things in organized crime movies is that they tend to complicate things by providing too much information which might overwhelm the audience. This also prevents the viewers from enjoying the movie. But ‘Casino’ does not overcomplicate things and tries to keep it as simple as possible. Now for people not used to watching long movies, this probably might not be for you. But it still becomes a recommendation from my side because of the amazing direction and fantastic performances. It will pull you into their world and for me, that is all that matters. How much do I forget about my own life and start to think about theirs.
Favourite Quotes
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] No matter how big a guy might be, Nicky would take him on. You beat Nicky with fists, he comes back with a bat. You beat him with a knife, he comes back with a gun. And if you beat him with a gun, you better kill him, because he’ll keep comin’ back and back until one of you is dead.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and to keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose, and in the end, we get it all.
Ace Rothstein: Back home, they would have put me in jail for what I’m doing. Here, they’re giving me awards.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] he had a fool-proof scheme, all right. It wasn’t very scientific but it worked. When he won, he collected. When he lost, he told the bookies to go fuck themselves. What were they gonna do? Muscle Nicky? Nicky was the muscle.
Nicky Santoro: [voice-over] Matter of fact, nobody knew all the details. But it should have been perfect. I mean he had me, Nicky Santoro, his best friend watching his ass. And he had Ginger, the woman he loved on his arm. But in the end, we fucked it all up. It should have been so sweet, too. But it turned out to be the last time that street guys like us were ever given anything that fuckin’ valuable again.
Flirting Executive: Hello Mrs. Rothstein, how are you? [kisses her hand]
Flirting Executive: You’re one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen. You’re a lucky man, Mr. Rothstein.
Ace Rothstein: [hesitant] Thank you, thanks for that compliment.
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] He was a young kid from the casino. Nice kid, bright boy. What balls on this fuckin’ kid. The next day I fired him.
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