Casino (1995)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese | 180 minutes | drama, thriller, crime | Actors: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Frank Vincent, Pasquale Cajano, Kevin Pollak, Don Rickles, Vinny Vella, Alan King, LQ Jones, Dick Smothers, Joseph Rigano, John Bloom, Melissa Prophet

When ‘Casino’ came out in 1995, the film didn’t prove as successful at the box office as hoped. To put it bluntly, Scorsese’s rookie flopped. However, the master director already had his answer ready: in ten years it will turn out to be a classic. He was right.

Basically, ‘Casino’ resembles Scorsese films like ‘Goodfellas’, but is no less good. Movies don’t have to be highly original every time. ‘Casino’ is not only a great look at organized crime, but also shows how high-level trading was done in one of the biggest gambling palaces in Las Vegas in the 1970s and 1980s.

We’re there from minute one: Sam Rothstein flies through the air after his car blows up. Then we shoot back to the beginning of his ‘career’. Like some sort of chic documentary, the camera glides through the splendor of Las Vegas gambling. It all feels very authentic, thanks to the screenplay and book it’s based on. Writer Nicholas Pileggi used to know a ‘man’ who ran four casinos on behalf of the mafia. He wrote ‘Casino’ based on his story.

At about halfway through the film, Rothstein loses himself in love with call girl Ginger, Santoro in drugs and violence. Slowly but surely they are working themselves to the buttons. The tone of ‘Casino’ changes from swinging and glamorous to hectic and violent. And such changes are entrusted to Martin Scorsese: like no other, he can translate the decline of man to the silver screen. The fact that he takes no less than three hours to do this is no problem, every minute is hit in this epic crime film. The three main characters get plenty of room to shine and the negative spiral they end up in is nicely worked out.

We see this, for example, in De Niro who can repeat his trick from ‘Raging Bull’ in ‘Casino’. In Scorsese’s boxing classic, the career of De Niro’s character comes to an end and he eventually ends up in the lower regions of the entertainment industry, in ‘Casino’ we see a similar development. Here too, De Niro grabs everything and even airs a second-hand program. All for fame. But the price he and Santoro pay doesn’t lie…

And of course you can entrust your excesses of violence to Joe Pesci. He is the only one who can rage and rage so enthusiastically and put others on the rack.

Thanks to the pleasant storytelling rhythm, the strong acting (especially De Niro and Pesci are in shape, but Stone also shows that she can do more than just be beautiful), the beautiful camera work, but above all the authentic touch, ‘Casino’ can rank alongside ‘Goodfellas’. ‘ and ‘Meanstreets’ by Scorsese and, come on, ‘The Godfather’ trilogy by Coppola. After years of maturing and maturing, it has become a classic!