DVD Review: Casino (Widescreen 10th Anniversary Edition)

When released originally in 1995, Casino was not universally well-received. Expectations were extremely high for this epic of the good-old days when Las Vegas was run by the mob. Scorsese was teaming up again with writer Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote the novels for both Casino and Goodfellas and co-wrote with Scorsese the screenplays for both true-life mob stories as well. Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci were starring in the film as they had in Goodfellas. Immediately the Goodfellas comparison was invoked. Since all these players were involved in the 1990 classic, this could only be a half-hearted follow-up or sequel, if you will. And there was also the notion that Scorsese should try his hand at another genre besides crime and gangsters. Wonder if anyone ever told Alfred Hitchcock he should make a feel-good chick flick instead of a thriller or Fellini,Antonioni, and Cassavetes to make straight-forward linear films instead of non-linear, intellectual meditations on life and one’s soul? Crime IS what Scorsese has made his name on. If you look at his best films Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas, you know that Scorsese is at the top of his game when delivering a visually arresting kaleidoscope of flawed and dangerous men. Yet, somehow, Scorsese knows how to empathize with these men and in turn we are able to as well. Whether it’s Henry in Goodfellas, Jake in Raging Bull, Travis in Taxi Driver, or Charlie in Mean Streets, we are left with a lingering sadness and pity for these men and what has become of their lives. They are in various degrees somewhat evil men and represent the evil and violence that exists in all men.

To be sure, Casino is not the film Goodfellas is nor does it try to be. It actually takes the gangster genre to a new dimension. In Scorsese’s words,”It is kind of a sequel to Goodfellas,” in the sense that it “deals with that world on a bigger scale.” Because of the scale it sometimes feels like too much information was put in. That is why it demands multiple viewings and why 10 years later, it holds up alongside Scorsese’s best work, despite its initially poor reception. It belongs in the top 5 of Scorsese’s greatest films alongside the aforementioned four films. It has all the explosiveness and intensity one would expect from Scorsese, who focuses on the tragedy that befalls Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert DeNiro), Nicky Santoro(Joe Pesci), and Ginger McKenna(Sharon Stone) and how it was responsible for the fall of the mob-run Las Vegas. The movie literally explodes during the opening credits designed by Saul and Elaine Bass. This explosion is in the form of Ace’s car blowing up and his figure floating into hell throughout the credits. The rest of the film explains how this came to be. The first hour is essentially a history lesson, guided by narration from Ace and Nicky, on how mob tough guys came to power in Vegas and how “in the end, we fucked it all up” and were never “given anything that fucking valuable again.” In fascinating, painstaking detail we learn how money is skimmed off the top from the casinos and brought to the Kansas City mob bosses who own them. We learn how, without the Teamsters’ pension fund money, the mob would never have been able to buy the casinos they did in the 70’s. We learn how to dig a hole in the desert to bury a dead body in a time efficient manner. And most importantly we learn that “we’re the only winners, the players don’t stand a chance.” Vegas was untapped territory for the mob and they embraced it with full fury. As one could imagine, they did not take kindly to people stealing their stolen money. We see table cheaters have their fingers pounded with a hammer when caught in the act and cash vault attendants taking some extra cash for themselves. Ace, who is based on real-life handicapper Frank(Lefty) Rosenthal, starts out as a small-time bookmaker who becomes the mob’s favorite cash machine. Quite simply, Ace is a master gambler, who ”eats, drinks, and sleeps gambling.” He knows the numbers, the wind velocity of the fields, the type of wood used on the courts, and whether the quarterback is on coke or the point guard’s girlfriend is pregnant. Because of this genius and knack for making money, he is asked to run the Tangiers Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He only accepts when assured complete control. However, because of previous gambling arrests, he must work without a valid gaming license. He is assured though that as long as things are quiet and money is rolling that it won’t be a problem. It isn’t at first. With the no-nonsense Ace in charge of the Tangiers, the money drop doubles, the bosses are happy, and life is good. Problems arise though in the form of Nicky(Joe Pesci) and Ginger(Sharon Stone.) They will eventually contribute to his undoing as well as to the end of the mob’s involvement in Las Vegas. Ginger is a high-priced hooker who Ace immediately falls in love with after seeing her disperse her high-roller date’s chips in the air after being denied her cut of the money. Scorsese wisely takes his time with their initial meeting and shoots it in a pondering and hypnotic fashion. He’s hooked on her from that point on. However, as Ace points out “for a girl like Ginger, love costs money.” Ginger, a true hustler that loves only money, is the type of girl that requires 100 dollars just to go to the bathroom. When he proposes marriage, she says no. She incapable of leaving behind her loser childhood pimp Lester (James Woods in a performance that oozes grease and slime) and the independent lifestyle she has been accustomed to. Also, more importantly, she does not love him. Ace’s hubris gets the better of him, one of his tragic flaws, and he convinces her to marry him by convincing both of them that as long as there is mutual respect, love can grow. The money, jewelry, and lavish home are a big selling point. He convinces himself that he can change her and make her love him because “I’m Sam Rothstein.” This marriage is one of two major factors that leads to his downfall.

The film ends in 1983 as we see most of the mob owned casinos destroyed to make way for the new corporate casinos funded through junk bonds. This ushered in the impersonal, conservative, big corporation Vegas that we know where “if you order room service, you’re lucky if you get it by Thursday.” In Casino, the star is Las Vegas, which Scorsese takes full advantage of. Along with the expert cinematographer Robert Richardson(Oliver Stone’s frequent director of photography) and Dante Ferreti’s superb production design, Scorsese gives us a portrait of Las Vegas so vivid that we can smell the blood and money that the town was built on. Scorsese’s favorite camera shots(whip pans, long tracking shots, slow-motion close ups, and rapid cuts that feed on violence) are on full display. His attention to period detail is astonishing. From DeNiro’s wardrobe of over 70 suits to Sharon Stone’s different hairstyles and 50 outfits to the bright, tacky colors that was Vegas in the1970s, this film feels like it was made in the 70s.

The acting is uniformly superb throughout. Although not one of his best roles, DeNiro brings his legendary obsessive intenseness to a man that can’t realize his hubris is destroying him and those whom he loves around him until it is too late. However, he is the one most easily identifiable with from the moment the film starts as he says in a sad tone “When you love someone, you have to trust them.” It’s that love for Ginger that harms him and clouds his better judgement. His final expression will stay with you long after the film ends. However, he does set a record for most cigarettes smoked during a film, putting himself alongside such company as himself in Midnight Run, Elliot Gould in The Long Goodbye, Danny DeVito in Hoffa, and just about any film noir with Kirk Douglas or Robert Mitchum. Pesci, despite criticism that he was basically reprising his Tommy role from Goodfellas, gives us a rich portrait of how the thirst for power and control can destroy you when taken too far, especially in a morally corrupt land such as Las Vegas. Nicky is an extension of Tommy; more power, more violent, yet more human. Only too briefly do we see the latter as we learn that no matter what was going on or where he was, Nicky would always be home in the morning to make breakfast for his son or when we see him sobbing over his and his brother’s fate. Sharon Stone gives the performance of her career, with panties on, and holds the screen with DeNiro and Pesci with a raw, no-holds barred performance that earned her an Oscar nomination and rightly so. The supporting includes James Woods as well as a no-laughs Don Rickles as Ace’s right hand man, Alan King as a Teamsters boss, and Kevin Pollack as the front man for the casino. Just having Rickles in the film brings back a sense of the Vegas of old. As in most of Martin Scorsese’s classic films, music plays an integral part of the film. In Casino, Scorsese uses the haunting score of Georges Delerue’s Theme de Camile from Jean –Luc Godards’s Contempt to underscore the ultimate destruction in the film. This is the most emotionally revealing music in the film because it is used in 3 crucial moments during the last hour which reveal the disintegration and ultimate destruction of Ace’s relationship with Nicky and Ginger. Much as Godard did in Contempt, this bittersweet and melancholy score brings a sense of sadness and loss that is felt by the viewer as we watch close relationships permanently unravel. In Contempt, it was Michel Piccoli and Brigitte Bardot. In Casino, it is a three way destruction among DeNiro, Pesci, and Stone. The rest of the soundtrack includes 1960’s, 70’s and a few 80’s hits from Rod Stewart, the Velvetones, Devo, and the Rolling Stones, always a Scorsese music staple, just to name a few.

Even if you don’t care for Casino, it is a glorious example of a master storyteller and filmmaker at the top of his game. These aren’t the most likable characters but there does come a point where you feel sorry for them and their inevitable fate. If you haven’t seen it in a while, see it again and watch your appreciation grow. It is a rarity in film these days; it gets better with each viewing. The movie by itself gets four stars. The DVD extras get 3 and a half.The Casino Special Edition is available via Amazon and Amazon UK.You can view a summary of special features in our database.