Casino (1995)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers (WGA):

Nicholas Pileggi (book)
Nicholas Pileggi (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 November 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

You don't stay at the top forever

Plot:

Greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two mobster best friends and a trophy wife over a gambling empire.

Plot Keywords:

Casino | Las Vegas | Mafia | Murder | Gambling

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Sam 'Ace' Rothstein
Sharon Stone	...	Ginger McKenna
Joe Pesci	...	Nicky Santoro
James Woods	...	Lester Diamond
Frank Vincent	...	Frank Marino
Pasquale Cajano	...	Remo Gaggi
Kevin Pollak	...	Phillip Green
Don Rickles	...	Billy Sherbert
Vinny Vella	...	Artie Piscano
Alan King	...	Andy Stone
L.Q. Jones	...	Pat Webb
Dick Smothers	...	Senator
Joseph Rigano	...	Vincent Borelli
John Bloom	...	Don Ward
Melissa Prophet	...	Jennifer Santoro

Also Known As:

Casino (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal violence, pervasive strong language, drug use and some sexuality.

Runtime:

178 min

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Brazil:18 | Australia:R | Italy:VM14 | Philippines:R-18 | Israel:18 | India:A | Poland:15 | Argentina:18 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | Denmark:16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (w) | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #34125) | Finland:K-18 | Finland:K-16 (cut) | Singapore:R(A) | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Baker, Mojave Desert, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Martin Scorsese stated before the film's release that he created the "head in the vise" scene as a sacrifice, certain the MPAA would insist it be cut. He hoped this would draw fire away from other violent scenes that would seem less so by comparison. When the MPAA made no objection to the vise scene, he left it in, albeit slightly edited.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Pat Webb is meeting with Ace to ask for Don Ward to be rehired as the slots manager, Ace responds that Webb's accusation is "libelous." For Webb's comment to have been "libelous," it would have had to appear in print. Ace should have said that Webb's accusation was "slanderous."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] When you love someone, you've gotta trust them. There's no other way. You've got to give them the key to everything that's yours. Otherwise, what's the point? And for a while, I believed, that's the kind of love I had.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Jane Austen's Mafia! (1998)

Soundtrack:

How High The Moon

Brilliant acting. Superb story based on events that happened in real life.

Martin Scorcese's harsh and yet delicately balanced masterpiece rises above anything petty meaning that if one wishes and has the ability and means to create a Sicilian mafia movie he should do so with grandeur and put into it as much effort as possible for people remember those who take advantage of their talent and circumstances and are diligent in their undertakings. Casino is in my opinion an epic, but it's much more than that. This film speaks even to those who dislike the subject of organized crime. You have to be objective when judging this movie and those of us who criticize everything that stands out amongst the grey background of that which is mediocre are fools who envy others' accomplishments and view them as insults to their own personal uselessness. Casino is one of the best movies of the 90's. In fact, in my opinion, it's one of the best organized crime movies of all time. Its moral is that no matter how tough you think you are there's always someone you answer to and that you ultimately will, indeed, if you screw things up.